The Northampton Abbey of St James was founded in

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

in 1104–05 by

William Peverel William Peverel († 28. January 1114), Latinised to Gulielmus Piperellus), was a Norman knight granted lands in England following the Norman Conquest. Origins Little is known of the origin of the William Peverel the Elder. Of his immediate f ...

, as a house of

Augustinian canons 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 ...

, and was dedicated to St James. William Peverel endowed it with some forty acres in nearby

Duston Duston is a suburb of Northampton and a civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England. History Archaeological remains found in the area suggest that Duston has roots in Prehistoric and Roman settlements. However, development in the area h ...

, the church of Duston, and the parish's mill. The abbey's endowments were quickly increased and within a century the abbey was in possession of ten churches, mostly in Northamptonshire; in addition to these, the abbey also held farms, or received rents from some thirty different parishes in the county. One account concerning the abbey notes, "On the forfeiture of Peverel the manor of Duston was granted by Henry II to Walkelin de Duston, who afterwards adopted the religious habit and entered the abbey of St. James, of which he subsequently became abbot."'Houses of Austin canons: The abbey of St James, Northampton', A History of the County of Northampton: Volume 2 (1906), pp. 127-130. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/northants/vol2/pp127-130 Date accessed: 03 October 2015. The abbey church was rebuilt on a large scale during the reign of

King Edward I Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassal ...

and completed in around 1310. By the time of the dissolution it was reported that the monastery was well kept, the community held in high esteem and with a lot of good done for the poor of the area. Nonetheless, it was dissolved in 1538 and granted to Nicholas Giffard who converted the buildings into a mansion. The abbey was located in the Abbots Way area, off the south side of Weedon Road in the town. The former Express Lift factory including the lift-testing tower, was redeveloped for housing in 1999–2000. The site was known to occupy part of the precinct of the abbey. Excavations were carried out to determine the location and remains of any parts of the abbey. The abbey and a cemetery were located. The main buildings were preserved beneath the new housing development. The cemetery of c.300 burials was excavated during winter 2000–2001. The bones were analysed to determine the health and burial practices in the late medieval population of Northampton. 294 burials were uncovered in well ordered rows, with many wooden coffins, graves lined with old ceramic roof-tiles, stone-lined graves and a single stone coffin suggesting the occupants of relatively high status. Use of the cemetery later was less orderly. Burials were in simple, shallow graves with just a shroud. On the south side was a stone-built building with two mortuary chapels. One had a stone-lined tomb, and a fragment of life-sized sculptured leg, with chain mail and a stirrup strap from a broken effigy. This may have happened at the dissolution of the abbey in 1538. A highly decorated grave slab and the remains of two skeletons had been unearthed in 1970. Analysis of the burials shows a large number of elderly people many having suffered from trauma such as leg fractures, fused and/or deformed leg joints and advanced spine degeneration. Many of these may have died in the abbey infirmary and further analysis is being undertaken. Nothing now remains except the tomb slab of Abbott de Flore in the vestry of

church.

Burials

* John Catesby *Sir John de Grey, 3rd Baron Grey de Rotherfield *

Richard Woodville, 3rd Earl Rivers Richard Woodville, 3rd Earl Rivers (1453 – 6 March 1491) succeeded his brother, Anthony Woodville, as the third Earl Rivers. He was the son of Richard Woodville, 1st Earl Rivers, and Jacquetta of Luxembourg. Richard was the brother of the Engli ...

References

General: Anthony New. 'A Guide to the Abbeys of England And Wales', p284. Constable. {{coord, 52.24, -0.9, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Monasteries in Northamptonshire Augustinian monasteries in England 1100s establishments in England Christian monasteries established in the 12th century 1538 disestablishments in England

Abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The conce ...

Burials

See also

References