Newsham Abbey was an abbey in Newsham, a small hamlet north of

Brocklesby __NOTOC__ Brocklesby is a village and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated south from Habrough, south-west from Immingham, and is located close to the border of both North Lincolnshire and North ...

village 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. Founded by Peter of Gousla in 1143, Newsham was a daughter house of the Abbey of

Licques Licques () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography A farming village located 24 km south of Calais in the valley of the Hem, at the junction of the D191 and D215 roads. It is a larg ...

, near Calais, and the first Premonstratensian house established in England.

History

Founded in 1143, the Abbey of St. Mary and St. Martial at Newsham (or Newhouse) was the first

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 established in England.Geudens, Francis Martin. "Abbey of Newhouse." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 10. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 22 January 2019

Foundation

It was founded by Peter of Gousla, who held in Newsham one

knight's fee In feudal Anglo-Norman England and Ireland, a knight's fee was a unit measure of land deemed sufficient to support a knight. Of necessity, it would not only provide sustenance for himself, his family, and servants, but also the means to furnish him ...

of Ralf de Bayeux, with the consent of his lord. It was populated with a colony from Liegues Abbey, near

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. Th ...

, France, then under the rule of Abbot Henry. On their arrival in England the White Canons were hospitably received by William, Earl of Lincoln, who confirmed the donations made to Gelro, the first Abbot of Newhouse, by Peter of Goxhill, by Ralph de Halton, and Geoffrey de Tours. William de Romara, earl of Lincoln, and Elias d'Albini were also benefactors of the monastery. Bishop

Alexander of Lincoln Alexander of Lincoln (died February 1148) was a medieval English Bishop of Lincoln, a member of an important administrative and ecclesiastical family. He was the nephew of Roger of Salisbury, a Bishop of Salisbury and Chancellor of England und ...

and his successor,

Robert de Chesney Robert de Chesney (died December 1166) was a medieval English Bishop of Lincoln. He was the brother of an important royal official, William de Chesney, and the uncle of Gilbert Foliot, successively Bishop of Hereford and Bishop of London. Educat ...

, issued confirmation charters and took the new monastery into their protection. The abbey was a daughter house of the abbey of Lisques, near

, and was parent of eleven others, including Barlings,

Tupholme Tupholme is a village in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated east from Lincoln, and is the site of the ruined Tupholme Abbey on the road between Horncastle and Bardney. The population is included in the civil pa ...

, and Newbo. In 1385 the canons complained of poverty and heavy burdens of hospitality, and recent storms had almost reduced the monastic buildings to ruins. In 1472 the abbot was censured for not providing an abbot for the daughterhouse of

Alnwick Alnwick ( ) is a market town in Northumberland, England, of which it is the traditional county town. The population at the 2011 Census was 8,116. The town is on the south bank of the River Aln, south of Berwick-upon-Tweed and the Scottish bor ...

Abbots

The names of twenty-six abbots of Newsham are known, the last being Thomas Harpham, who was abbot from 1534 to the suppression of the abbey 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 ...

. Gerlo, (fn. 33) first abbot, 1143-60 Amblardus, (fn. 34) occurs 1177 David, (fn. 35) occurs 1177-83 Gervase (fn. 36) Adam, (fn. 37) occurs 1199 Lambert, (fn. 38) occurs 1200-03 Walter (fn. 39) Geoffrey, (fn. 40) occurs 1219 Osbert, (fn. 41) occurs 1226-30 Thomas, (fn. 42) occurs 1242-75 John de Cave, (fn. 43) occurs 1278-94 Thomas de Hedon, (fn. 44) elected 1296, occurs to 1310 Ralf, (fn. 45) occurs 1327 Alan, (fn. 46) elected 1334, occurs to 1354 Robert of Thornton, (fn. 47) elected 1355 William of Teleby, (fn. 48) occurs 1377-83 Hugh, (fn. 49) occurs 1395-1419 Henry of Limber, (fn. 50) elected 1420, occurs to 1435 Robert, (fn. 51) occurs 1446-62 Thomas Ashton, (fn. 52) occurs 1475, resigned 1478 John Swift, (fn. 53) elected 1478, resigned 1497 William Sawndalle, (fn. 54) elected 1497, occurs to 1503 Thomas, (fn. 55) resigned after 1503 John Max, (fn. 56) occurs 1518 Christopher Lord, (fn. 57) occurs 1522 and 1529, died 1534 Thomas Doncaster or Harpham, (fn. 58) last abbot, elected 1534

Spread of the Order

In the Middle Ages,

was one of the most densely populated parts of England. Within the county there were no less than nine

houses. Other than Newsham 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 ...

Broadholme Priory Broadholme Priory was a convent of canonesses of the Premonstratensian Order located near to the village of Broadholme. Historically in Nottinghamshire, since boundary changes in 1989, the priory and village has been in Lincolnshire. History The ...

(women), 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 ...

Newbo Abbey Newbo Abbey was a Premonstratensian house of canons regular in Lincolnshire, England, dedicated to the Assumption of Mary. In the Middle Ages, Lincolnshire was one of the most densely populated parts of England. Within the historical county there ...

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,

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 ...

. Beyond

, Newhouse had an important role, in time becoming the mother-house of eleven of the

houses throughout England. Between 1147 and 1200 some 100 canons left Newsham to colonise new houses in England. The following list gives in alphabetical order the names and dates of foundations of the Premonstratensian (Norbertine) abbeys, made from the Abbey of Newhouse and existing in England at the time of the Reformation: *

Alnwick Abbey Alnwick Abbey was founded as a Premonstratensian monastery in 1147 by Eustace fitz John near Alnwick, England, as a daughter house of Newhouse Abbey in Lincolnshire. It was dissolved in 1535, refounded in 1536 and finally suppressed in 1539. ...

, Northumberland, this was the first foundation made from Newhouse (1147); *

, near Lincoln (1154); *

Beeleigh Abbey Beeleigh Abbey near Maldon in Essex, England, was a monastery constructed in 1180 for the Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré, as known as the Norbertines or Premonstratensians. The order linked the change of the separate life of monks in t ...

(Bileigh Abbey, once Maldon Abbey), near

Maldon, Essex Maldon (, locally ) is a town and civil parish on the Blackwater estuary in Essex, England. It is the seat of the Maldon District and starting point of the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation. It is known for Maldon Sea Salt which is produced ...

(1180); *

Coverham Abbey Coverham Abbey, North Yorkshire, England, was a Premonstratensian monastery that was founded at Swainby in 1190 by Helewisia, daughter of the Chief Justiciar Ranulf de Glanville. It was refounded at Coverham in about 1212 by her son Ranulf fit ...

, North Yorkshire (originally established at Swainby, 1190); *

Croxton Abbey Croxton Abbey, near Croxton Kerrial, Leicestershire, was a Premonstratensian monastery founded by William I, Count of Boulogne. History Croxton Abbey was founded by William, Count of Boulogne and Mortain, who donated the land for the abbe ...

, near

Melton Mowbray Melton Mowbray () is a town in Leicestershire, England, north-east of Leicester, and south-east of Nottingham. It lies on the River Eye, known below Melton as the Wreake. The town had a population 27,670 in 2019. The town is sometimes promo ...

, Leicestershire (1163); *

Dale (Stanley Park) Abbey Dale Abbey, also known as the Abbey of Stanley Park, was a religious house, close to Ilkeston in Derbyshire. Its ruins are located at the village of Dale Abbey, which is named after it. Its foundation legend portrays it as developing from a h ...

, Derbyshire (1204); *

Easby Abbey Easby Abbey, or the Abbey of St Agatha, is a ruined Premonstratensian abbey on the eastern bank of the River Swale on the outskirts of Richmond in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England. The site is privately owned but maintained b ...

(Abbey of St Agatha) at Easby, near

Richmond, Yorkshire Richmond is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, and the administrative centre of the district of Richmondshire. Historically in the North Riding of Yorkshire, it is from the county town of Northallerton and situated on t ...

(1152); *

, near

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 ...

, Lincolnshire (1198); *

Sulby Abbey Sulby Abbey was a Premonstratensian house in Northamptonshire, England, founded in 1155 as daughter house of the Abbey of St. Mary and St. Martial in Newsham. History The abbey of Sulby was founded about the year 1155 for canons of the Premonst ...

, Northamptonshire (originally established at Welford) (1155).

Burials

Philip le Despencer, 1st Baron le Despencer Philip le Despenser, 1st Baron le Despenser (18 October 1342 in Gedney, Lincolnshire, England – 4 August 1401) was the son and heir of Sir Philip le Despenser of Goxhill, grandson of Sir Philip le Despenser, and great-grandson of Hugh le Des ...

and wife Elizabeth Spencer Despencer *Joan Cobham, mother of

(daughter of

John de Cobham, 2nd Baron Cobham (of Kent) John de Cobham, 2nd Baron Cobham (died 1355) lord of the Manor of Cobham, Kent, was an English nobleman.Richardson, Douglas. ''Magna Carta Ancestry.'' Baltimore, MD: GPC, 2005. 902. He was the eldest son and heir of Henry de Cobham, 1st Baron C ...

) *Sir

Henry Wentworth Sir Henry Wentworth of Nettlestead, Suffolk, KB (born c. 1448 – died between 17 August 1499 and 27 February 1501), ''de jure'' 4th Baron le Despencer, was the grandfather of Henry VIII's third wife, Jane Seymour, and the great-grandfather of ...

Suppression

It was suppressed in 1536, and the site was incorporated into a landscape park by

Capability Brown Lancelot Brown (born c. 1715–16, baptised 30 August 1716 – 6 February 1783), more commonly known as Capability Brown, was an English gardener and landscape architect, who remains the most famous figure in the history of the English la ...

during the 18th century. Parts of the abbey including the precinct boundary are visible as earthworks, and there is a heavy scatter of building material, and grassed-over foundations.

References

;Attribution * The entry cites: **

William Dugdale Sir William Dugdale (12 September 1605 – 10 February 1686) was an English antiquary and herald. As a scholar he was influential in the development of medieval history as an academic subject. Life Dugdale was born at Shustoke, near Coleshi ...

, ''Monasticon Anglicanum'', VI; **Collectanea Anglo-Præmonst, in Redmen, Register, ed.

Francis Aidan Gasquet Francis Aidan Cardinal Gasquet (born Francis Neil Gasquet; 5 October 1846 – 5 April 1929) was an English Benedictine monk and historical scholar. He was created Cardinal in 1914. Life Gasquet was the third of six children of Raymond Gasquet, ...

(Royal Historical Society, 3rd series, VI, X, XII); **Geudens, A Sketch of the Premonstratensian Order and its houses in Great Britain and Ireland (London, 1878); **Hugo, Annales Præmonstratenses (Nancy, 1734). {{Coord, 53.604284, N, 0.298081, W, display=title Monasteries in Lincolnshire Premonstratensian monasteries in England 1143 establishments in England 1530s disestablishments in England Christian monasteries established in the 12th century