Pipewell Abbey was an English

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...

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 ...

, in the

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

hamlet of Pipewell in the old

Rockingham Forest Rockingham Forest is a former royal hunting forest in the county of Northamptonshire, England. It is an area of some lying between the River Welland and River Nene and the towns of Stamford and Kettering. It has a rich and varied landscape, wit ...

. It was established in 1143 by William Butevilain as a daughter house of

Newminster Abbey Newminster Abbey was a Cistercian abbey in Northumberland in the north of England. The site is protected by Grade II listed building and Scheduled Ancient Monument status. Ranulph de Merlay, lord of Morpeth, and his wife, Juliana, daughter of ...

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

. The Abbey also held properties in the neighbouring county of

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

, in the area of

Rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

, which was then a small village, the monks had several

grange Grange may refer to: Buildings * Grange House, Scotland, built in 1564, and demolished in 1906 * Grange Estate, Pennsylvania, built in 1682 * Monastic grange, a farming estate belonging to a monastery Geography Australia * Grange, South Austral ...

s at the villages of Cawston, Thurlaston,

Little Lawford Little Lawford is a hamlet and civil parish around to the north of the much larger village of Long Lawford and west of Rugby in Warwickshire, England. Consisting of 5 dwellings plus numerous other buildings that are used for commercial or farming ...

and

Long Lawford Long Lawford is a village and civil parish in the Rugby borough of Warwickshire, England, located just west of Rugby, around west of Rugby town centre. In the 2021 census, the population of the parish was 4,545, a significant increase from 3,180 ...

and Rugby, with other properties at Bilton,

Newbold-on-Avon Newbold-on-Avon (usually shortened to just Newbold) is a suburb of Rugby in Warwickshire, England, located around 1½ miles north-west of the town centre, it is adjacent to the River Avon from which the suffix is derived. Newbold was historicall ...

, Toft, and possibly

Church Lawford Church Lawford is a village and civil parish in Warwickshire. It is located just under west of the town of Rugby and east of Coventry. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2021 census was 432. The village lies north of the A428 mai ...

. The Cawston Grange was the largest and most valuable of their Warwickshire properties, and became the base of their operations there. During the dissolution of the monasteries in 1538 the Abbey and its properties were seized by the Crown and sold off; the Abbey at Pipewell was sold to Sir William Parr, and in 1675,

Pipewell Hall Pipewell Hall in Northamptonshire, England, is a building of historical significance and is Grade II listed on the English Heritage Register. It was built near the ruins of a Cistercian abbey in 1675. At this time it was owned by the Barons of Pow ...

was built nearby from the stones of the Abbey. The Boughton family purchased many of the Warwickshire properties, including Cawston, Bilton, Little and Long Lawford, and Newbold.

References

Monasteries in Northamptonshire {{England-hist-stub