Rewley Abbey
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The Cistercian Abbey of Rewley was an
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
Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
,
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 ...
. It was founded in the 13th century by
Edmund, 2nd Earl of Cornwall Edmund of Almain (26 December 1249 – 1300) was the second Earl of Cornwall of the fourth creation from 1272. He joined the Ninth Crusade in 1271, but never made it to the Holy Land. He was the regent of the Kingdom of England from 1286 to 1289 ...
. Edmund's father,
Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall Richard (5 January 1209 – 2 April 1272) was an English prince who was King of the Romans from 1257 until his death in 1272. He was the second son of John, King of England, and Isabella, Countess of Angoulême. Richard was nominal Count of Poi ...
, founder of
Hailes Abbey Hailes Abbey is a former Cistercian abbey, in the small village of Hailes, two miles northeast of Winchcombe, Gloucestershire, England. It was founded in 1246 as a daughter establishment of Beaulieu Abbey. The abbey was dissolved by Henry VIII ...
, had intended to establish a college or chantry of three secular priests to pray for his soul, but his son Edmund substituted 'six
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 ...
monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...
s, having more confidence in them'. If this was the original plan, it was soon enlarged. In 1280 he offered the general chapter of the Cistercian order to found a college (studium) for Cistercians at Oxford, and the chapter accepted the offer, and decreed that the college should have the same privileges as the college of St. Bernard at
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, and that it should be under the Abbot of Thame, as the other was under the
Abbot of Clairvaux Clairvaux Abbey (, ; la, Clara Vallis) was a Cistercian monastery in Ville-sous-la-Ferté, from Bar-sur-Aube. The original building, founded in 1115 by St. Bernard, is now in ruins; the present structure dates from 1708. Clairvaux Abbey was a ...
. The following year the chapter decreed 'out of due respect to the Earl of Cornwall' that the Abbot of Thame should be empowered to appoint an Abbot of his own choice for the house of study at Oxford, and that there should be a daily memory of the late Earl of Cornwall at
Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...
at the college (studium) of Oxford, according as the Abbot of the place shall ordain.


Land

The Abbey obtained from its founder the Manor of
Yarnton Yarnton is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire about southwest of Kidlington and northwest of Oxford. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 2,545. Archaeology Early Bronze Age decorated beakers have been found in the par ...
, mills in
Cassington Cassington is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire about northwest of Oxford. The village lies on gravel strata about from the confluence of the River Evenlode with the River Thames. The parish includes the hamlet of Worton northeast of ...
, the hamlet of Wyllanston in the parish of
Mixbury Mixbury is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire, about southeast of Brackley in Northamptonshire. Manor The toponym is derived from the Old English ''mixen-burgh'', meaning "fortification near dung-heap". ''"Burgh"'' refers to Beaumont ...
, two parks in
Nettlebed Nettlebed is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire in the Chiltern Hills about northwest of Henley-on-Thames and southeast of Wallingford. The parish includes the hamlet of Crocker End, about east of the village. The 2011 Census recor ...
called Great and Little Hymer (now Highmore), tenements in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, and the
advowson Advowson () or patronage is the right in English law of a patron (avowee) to present to the diocesan bishop (or in some cases the ordinary if not the same person) a nominee for appointment to a vacant ecclesiastical benefice or church living, ...
of the church of St. Wendron in
Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
(now called
Wendron Wendron ( kw, Egloswendron (village), Pluw Wendron (parish); historically St. Wendron) is a village and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, to the north of Helston. The parish population at the 2011 census was 2,743. The electora ...
). Of this church the Abbey had the appropriation as early as 1324. Subsequently,
Edward the Black Prince Edward of Woodstock, known to history as the Black Prince (15 June 1330 – 8 June 1376), was the eldest son of King Edward III of England, and the heir apparent to the English throne. He died before his father and so his son, Richard II, su ...
gave the advowson of St.
Stithians Stithians ( kw, Stedhyans), also known as St Stythians, is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It lies in the middle of the triangle bounded by Redruth, Helston and Falmouth, Cornwall, ...
, Cornwall, and in 1354, the
Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
granted them the appropriation. Before 1291 the Abbey also had possessions in
Chesterton, Oxfordshire Chesterton is a village and civil parish on Gagle Brook, a tributary of the Langford Brook in north Oxfordshire. The village is about southwest of the market town of Bicester. The village has sometimes been called Great Chesterton to distinguis ...
, doubtless given by the founder, who owned that manor. The
Valor Valor, valour, or valorous may mean: * Courage, a similar meaning * Virtue ethics, roughly "courage in defense of a noble cause" Entertainment * Valor (band), a Christian gospel music group * Valor Kand, a member of the band Christian Death * ' ...
shows that by 1535 it had rents in
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, but had acquired little beyond its original endowments. Lands in Arwothell, in Cornwall, are mentioned in 1396, when the abbot, (''Abbas de Regali Loco iuxta Oxon''), was accusing men of taking goods in Arwothell.


Inmates

The number of inmates, which at first was fifteen, by the year 1294 was raised to sixteen. In 1292 an order was issued by the Abbot of Cîteaux that the Cistercian houses in the province of
Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...
should send students to the 'studium Oxonie,' one from every
monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...
with twenty monks. How long Rewley remained a place of study is not certain. The fact that there was a dispute in 1300 as to what precedence the monks of Rewley should have in university processions shows that the monks were students then, and an entry in the
Patent Rolls The patent rolls (Latin: ''Rotuli litterarum patentium'') are a series of administrative records compiled in the English, British and United Kingdom Chancery, running from 1201 to the present day. Description The patent rolls comprise a register ...
for 1315 concerning damage done at Rewley contains the words 'the monks residing there are scholars.' John is named as abbot "Loco Regali", in 1401. Probably it ceased to be a place of study when Bernard College was built, and
King 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 disag ...
, patron of the Abbey, seems to have ordered that a grammar master should be kept at Rewley, and that one or two of the monks should be supported at Bernard College.


The Dissolution

Rewley Abbey was a victim of the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539. Abbot Nicholaus Austen, early in 1536, offered
Thomas Cromwell Thomas Cromwell (; 1485 – 28 July 1540), briefly Earl of Essex, was an English lawyer and statesman who served as chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false charge ...
£100 to save the monastery if only by converting it into a college, (fn. 20) but it was useless, and Abbot Nicholas was pensioned off and retired to
Trinity Hall, Cambridge Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. It is the fifth-oldest surviving college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by ...
, to study. There is a Catholic Priest who has the title of Abbot of Rewley Abbey.


Traces of the abbey

Stones from Rewley Abbey were used to strengthen the base of the tower of
St Mary Magdalen's Church, Oxford St Mary Magdalen is a Church of England parish church in Magdalen Street, Oxford, England, dedicated to Jesus' companion Mary Magdalene. It is one of the city's ancient parish churches and is a Grade I listed building. Worship Worship at St Mar ...
.
Oxford Rewley Road railway station Oxford Rewley Road railway station was a railway station serving the city of Oxford, England, located immediately to the north of what is now Frideswide Square on the site of the Saïd Business School, to the west of Rewley Road. It was the t ...
was built on the site of the Abbey in 1851, but the site ceased to be in railway use in 1984. The only remaining trace of the Abbey is the remains of a wall and gate near the terminus of the
Oxford Canal The Oxford Canal is a narrowboat canal in central England linking the City of Oxford with the Coventry Canal at Hawkesbury (just north of Coventry and south of Bedworth) via Banbury and Rugby. Completed in 1790, it connects to the River Thame ...
, which for many years marked the perimeter of the
rail yard A rail yard, railway yard, railroad yard (US) or simply yard, is a series of tracks in a rail network for storing, sorting, or loading and unloading rail vehicles and locomotives. Yards have many tracks in parallel for keeping rolling stock or u ...
at
Oxford railway station Oxford railway station is a mainline railway station, one of two serving the city of Oxford, England. It is about west of the city centre, north-west of Frideswide Square and the eastern end of Botley Road. It is on the line for trains between ...
. An estate of houses now occupies the land on which Rewley Abbey stood.


See also

*
Osney Abbey Osney Abbey or Oseney Abbey, later Osney Cathedral, was a house of Augustinian canons at Osney in Oxfordshire. The site is south of the modern Botley Road, down Mill Street by Osney Cemetery, next to the railway line just south of Oxford sta ...
*
Rewley House Rewley House, located on the corner of Wellington Square and St John Street in the city of Oxford, England, is the primary base of Oxford University's Department for Continuing Education (previously the Department of External Studies). Histor ...
*
Rewley Road Rewley Road is in the west of central Oxford, England. It is located in St Thomas's parish. History The name derives from Rewley Abbey. A ''Rewley Lane'' (or ''Ruley Lane'') existed in 1538. Oxford Rewley Road railway station used to be locat ...


References

{{Authority control Monasteries in Oxford Former buildings and structures in Oxford Cistercian monasteries in England Former churches in Oxfordshire Christian monasteries established in the 13th century 13th-century establishments in England 1536 disestablishments in England