Newbo Abbey was a
Premonstratensian
The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their habit), is a religious order of canons regular of the Catholic Church ...
house of
canons regular
Canons regular are priests who live in community under a rule ( and canon in greek) and are generally organised into religious orders, differing from both secular canons and other forms of religious life, such as clerics regular, designated by a ...
in
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, dedicated to the
Assumption of Mary
The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it in 1950 in his apostolic constitution ''Munificentissimus Deus'' as follows:
We proclaim and define it to be a dogma revealed by Go ...
.
In the Middle Ages,
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...
was one of the most densely populated parts of England. Within the historical county there were no less than nine
Premonstratensian
The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their habit), is a religious order of canons regular of the Catholic Church ...
houses. Other than Newbo Abbey, these were:
Barlings Abbey
Barlings Abbey, Lincolnshire, was a Premonstratensian monastery in England, founded in 1154, as a daughter house of the Abbey of St. Mary and St. Martial in Newsham.
History
Its founder was Ralph de Haye, son of the constable of Lincoln Castle ...
,
Cammeringham Priory,
Hagnaby Abbey
Hagnaby Abbey was an abbey and former priory in Hagnaby, Lincolnshire, England.
It was founded as a house for Premonstratensian canons around 1175, by Agnes, widow of Herbert de Orreby. The priory was a dependency of Welbeck Abbey and named in ...
,
Newsham Abbey
Newsham Abbey was an abbey in Newsham, a small hamlet north of Brocklesby village in Lincolnshire, England. Founded by Peter of Gousla in 1143, Newsham was a daughter house of the Abbey of Licques, near Calais, and the first Premonstratensian hous ...
,
Orford Priory
Orford Priory was a priory of Premonstratensian canonesses in Stainton le Vale, Lincolnshire, England.
The priory of Orford, in Stainton-le-Vale, was probably built some time during the reign of King Henry II by Ralf d'Albini, in honour of the ...
(women),
Stixwould Priory
Stixwould Priory was a priory in Lincolnshire, England, a Cistercian nunnery founded by Lucy, countess of Chester, in 1135. The Mappa Mundi describes it as Gilbertine, but modern authors regard it as Premonstratensian. Originally suppressed in ...
,
Tupholme Abbey
Tupholme Abbey was a Premonstratensian abbey close to the River Witham some east of the city of Lincoln, England. The Witham valley in Lincolnshire is notable for its high concentration of monasteries—there were six on the east bank and th ...
and
West Ravendale Priory
West Ravendale Priory was a Premonstratensian priory in North East Lincolnshire, England. The site of the priory lies south-west of Grimsby, and west of the A18. Its previous position is defined by earthworks and rubble. The ruins are Grade ...
.
Pogrom
Newbo was founded in about 1198 very close to
Sedgebrook
Sedgebrook is an English village and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire. It lies on the A52 road, west of Grantham. Its population, given as 372 in 2001, fell by the 2011 census to 355, and was estimated to be 347 in ...
by Richard de Malebisse or Malbis (died 1209). Malbis, as one of the judges itinerant of
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
and heavily in debt to a Jewish banker, had instigated in 1190 a
pogrom
A pogrom () is a violent riot incited with the aim of massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe 19th- and 20th-century attacks on Jews in the Russia ...
against the Jews of the city, which may have cost as many as 500 lives. (See the History section of
York Castle
York Castle is a fortified complex in the city of York, England. It consists of a sequence of castles, prisons, law courts and other buildings, which were built over the last nine centuries on the south side of the River Foss. The now-ruined ...
and the page of
Yom Tov of Joigny
Yom Tov (alt. Yom Tob) of Joigny, also denoted of York (died 1190) was a French-born rabbi and liturgical poet of the medieval era who lived in York, and died in the massacre of the Jews of York in 1190. A Hebrew language hymn attributed to him, ...
, an eminent rabbi who was among the victims.)
Decline
''"In 1401, the monastery was almost depopulated by the results of pestilence and poverty. A licence had to be granted to the abbot in this year to admit twelve canons regular of the order, priests or in minor orders, who should be willing to transfer themselves to Newbo for their lifetime, or until more novices should come to the house. There was evidently some difficulty in finding enough to fill up the vacant places; for about the same time a further licence was granted to the abbot to dispense twelve secular persons from any kind of defect of birth, and to promote them to holy orders; they might hold benefices or any ecclesiastical dignities. The indulgence of the Portiuncula was granted at the same time to penitents visiting the conventual church and contributing to its repair. No doubt some time passed before the abbey recovered its numbers and prosperity; but by the end of the century all seems to have been fairly well."''
Suppression
Newbo was suppressed at Michaelmas 1536 during the
Dissolution of the Monasteries by
Henry VIII
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
.
[History Online](_blank)
British-history.ac.uk. Accessed 21 September 2022. He gave a lease to the courtier
Margery Lyster Margery Lyster or Lister, nee Horsman (died 1565) was an English courtier in the 1520s and 1530s.
Career
She became a Maid of Honour at court, and is recorded in the service of three queens consort of Henry VIII of England. Her dates of birth and d ...
.
[Elizabeth Askren, 'Margery Horsman Lyster', ''A Biographical Encyclopedia of Early Modern Englishwomen'' (Routledge, 2017), p. 478.]
Stone coffins were dug up in the area of the abbey in about 1920 by the then
Duke of Rutland
Duke of Rutland is a title in the Peerage of England, named after Rutland, a county in the East Midlands of England. Earldoms named after Rutland have been created three times; the ninth earl of the third creation was made duke in 1703, in who ...
and are believed to be at present in
Belvoir Castle
Belvoir Castle ( ) is a faux historic castle and stately home in Leicestershire, England, situated west of the town of Grantham and northeast of Melton Mowbray. The Castle was first built immediately after the Norman Conquest of 1066 an ...
,
[English Heritage](_blank)
/ref> which is only about four miles from the site.
Abbots of Newbo
*Ralf, occurs 1227
*Matthew, occurs 1242
*William, elected 1276, occurs 1310
*Ralf, occurs 1401
*Simon of Mumby, elected 1406
*John, elected 1412
*William Gresley, occurs 1433
*William Bottesford, elected 1436
*Peter York, occurs 1475 to 1478
*John Mownckton, occurs 1482 to 1491
*John Colby, occurs 1494 to 1500
*William Broil, occurs 1522
*Richard Carre, last abbot, occurs 1529
References
See also
English Heritage
{{coord, 52, 55, 53.74, N, 0, 43, 8.51, W, display=title, region:GB
Monasteries in Lincolnshire
Monasteries dissolved under the English Reformation
Archaeological sites in Lincolnshire