Syon Abbey , also called simply Syon, was a dual
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 ...
of men and women of the
Bridgettine Order, although it only ever had abbesses during its existence. It was founded in 1415 and stood, until its demolition in the 16th century, on the left (northern) bank of the
River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...
within the parish of
Isleworth
Isleworth ( ) is a town located within the London Borough of Hounslow in West London, England. It lies immediately east of the town of Hounslow and west of the River Thames and its tributary the River Crane, London, River Crane. Isleworth's or ...
, in the county of
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...
, on or near the site of the present Georgian mansion of
Syon House
Syon House is the west London residence of the Duke of Northumberland. A Grade I listed building, it lies within the 200-acre (80 hectare) Syon Park, in the London Borough of Hounslow.
The family's traditional central London residence had be ...
, today in the
London Borough of Hounslow. It was named after the biblical holy "City of David which is Zion" (1 Kings 8:1), built on the eponymous
Mount Zion
Mount Zion ( he, הַר צִיּוֹן, ''Har Ṣīyyōn''; ar, جبل صهيون, ''Jabal Sahyoun'') is a hill in Jerusalem, located just outside the walls of the Old City (Jerusalem), Old City. The term Mount Zion has been used in the Hebrew ...
(or Sion, Syon, etc.).
At the time of the
dissolution
Dissolution may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Books
* ''Dissolution'' (''Forgotten Realms'' novel), a 2002 fantasy novel by Richard Lee Byers
* ''Dissolution'' (Sansom novel), a 2003 historical novel by C. J. Sansom Music
* Dissolution, in mu ...
, the abbey was the wealthiest religious house in England. Syon Abbey maintained a substantial library, with a collection for the monks and another for the nuns. When
Catherine of Siena's ''Dialogue of Divine Revelation'' was translated into English for the abbey, it was given a new title, "''The Orchard of Syon,''" and included a separate prologue written to the nuns.
Background
![KingsGreatWorksSheen](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/KingsGreatWorksSheen.jpg)
Syon Abbey was built as part of King
Henry V Henry V may refer to:
People
* Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026)
* Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125)
* Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161)
* Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (c. 1173–1227)
* Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (121 ...
's “The King's Great Work” centred on
Sheen Palace
Richmond Palace was a royal residence on the River Thames in England which stood in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Situated in what was then rural Surrey, it lay upstream and on the opposite bank from the Palace of Westminster, which w ...
(renamed ''Richmond Palace'' in 1501). The royal manor of Sheen lay on the right (south), Surrey, bank of the River Thames, opposite the parish of
Twickenham
Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...
and the royal manor of Isleworth on the left, Middlesex, bank. Sheen had been a favourite residence of the last
Plantagenet
The House of Plantagenet () was a royal house which originated from the lands of Anjou in France. The family held the English throne from 1154 (with the accession of Henry II at the end of the Anarchy) to 1485, when Richard III died in batt ...
king
Richard II
Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales, and Joan, Countess of Kent. Richard's father died ...
(1377–1399) and his beloved wife
Anne of Bohemia
Anne of Bohemia (11 May 1366 – 7 June 1394), also known as Anne of Luxembourg, was Queen of England as the first wife of King Richard II. A member of the House of Luxembourg, she was the eldest daughter of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor and ...
. When Anne died there of plague in 1394, Richard cursed the place where they had found great happiness and razed the palace to the ground. His throne was usurped by his cousin Henry Bolingbroke, Duke of Lancaster, who ruled as
Henry IV (1399–1413), who was involved in the murder of Richard in 1400 — and in that of
Richard le Scrope,
Archbishop of York
The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers th ...
— and made a vow to expiate his guilt by founding 3 monasteries, which vow he died before fulfilling. The derelict palace was unfavoured by Henry IV but his son
Henry V Henry V may refer to:
People
* Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026)
* Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125)
* Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161)
* Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (c. 1173–1227)
* Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (121 ...
(1413–1422) saw its reconstruction as a means of emphasising the dynastic link between his own
House of Lancaster
The House of Lancaster was a cadet branch of the royal House of Plantagenet. The first house was created when King Henry III of England created the Earldom of Lancasterfrom which the house was namedfor his second son Edmund Crouchback in 126 ...
and that of Plantagenet, of unquestioned legitimacy, and decided at the same time to found the three monasteries pledged by his father in one great, multi-campus building scheme, known as “The King's Great Work”. Thus the “Great Work” commenced in the winter of 1413–14, comprising a new
Sheen Palace
Richmond Palace was a royal residence on the River Thames in England which stood in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Situated in what was then rural Surrey, it lay upstream and on the opposite bank from the Palace of Westminster, which w ...
, and nearby the following three monasteries:
*A Monastery of the
Celestine Order. Established probably in Isleworth Manor. This monastery was of French monks, who refused to pray for Henry V following his warring with France, probably at
Agincourt in 1415, and was therefore dissolved by the King almost immediately after its foundation. This monastery probably occupied the site in Isleworth to which Syon Monastery moved in 1431.
*The House of Jesus of Bethlehem of Sheen, of the Order of
Carthusian
The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians ( la, Ordo Cartusiensis), are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has its ...
s (1414) ''
Sheen Priory''. Built within Sheen Manor, to the north of the new palace.
*The Monastery of St Saviour and St Bridget of Syon, of the
Order of St Augustine (1415) ''Syon Monastery'', the subject of this article. The first and original site of this monastery was probably almost due west of Sheen Palace, across the river, on the left bank of the Thames in Twickenham Parish.
Foundation
The first stone of Syon Abbey was laid by King Henry V himself on 22 February 1415, in the presence of
Richard Clifford, Bishop of London. It was not until 9 days later on 3 March 1415 that the King's founding charter was signed at Westminster. The exact location of this original plot is unknown, but it was certainly in the parish of Twickenham, the most northerly river frontage of which lies directly west across the Thames from Sheen Palace. Aungier states it is said to have been in the meadows which at the time of his publication in 1840 were the property of the
Marquis of Ailsa, “formerly called ''Isleworth Park'' or ''Twickenham'' Park”. The dimensions of the plot were specified in the charter, and seem to comprise a
trapezoid
A quadrilateral with at least one pair of parallel sides is called a trapezoid () in American and Canadian English. In British and other forms of English, it is called a trapezium ().
A trapezoid is necessarily a Convex polygon, convex quadri ...
, the longest side of which fronted the river:
“... in a certain parcel of land of our demesne
A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. The concept or ...
of our manor of Isleworth within the parish of Twickenham in the county of Middlesex, containing namely in length near the field towards Twickenham from a stone placed on the north side unto another stone placed on the south side 1938 ft. and in breadth towards the south from that stone placed on the south side unto the water of Thames, 960 ft. And in length by the bank of the Thames, from a stone likewise placed by the aforesaid bank at the north side to another like stone placed on the south side by the bank aforesaid, 2820 ft. And in breadth from the north side from the aforesaid stone placed on the north side from the aforesaid stone placed on the north side unto the water of the Thames, 980 ft.”
Nomenclature
The foundation charter states: ''We will and decree that it shall be called “The Monastery of St Saviour and St Bridget of Syon, of the Order of St Augustine” through all successive ages.'' (''Monasterium'' in the original Latin). This name was quoted slightly differently by the Abbess and Convent in their petition of 1431 as “The Monastery of St Saviour and ''the Saints Mary the Virgin and'' Bridget of Syon of the Order of St Augustine ''and of St Saviour''”. The funerary brass of Agnes Jordan, Syon's last pre-reformation abbess, describes her as “Sometyme abbesse of the ''monasterye'' of Syon”.
Biblical Sion
There are numerous references to ''Sion'' in the Latin Bible, called ''Zion'' in the English Authorised Version, almost all of which are in the Old Testament.
Mount Zion
Mount Zion ( he, הַר צִיּוֹן, ''Har Ṣīyyōn''; ar, جبل صهيون, ''Jabal Sahyoun'') is a hill in Jerusalem, located just outside the walls of the Old City (Jerusalem), Old City. The term Mount Zion has been used in the Hebrew ...
was the citadel of
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
, which
David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
captured from the
Jebusite
The Jebusites (; ISO 259-3 ''Ybusi'') were, according to the books of Joshua and Samuel from the Tanakh, a Canaanite tribe that inhabited Jerusalem, then called Jebus (Hebrew: ''Yəḇūs'', "trampled place") prior to the conquest initiated by ...
s c. 1000 BC, as is clear from II Samuel, 5:7 ''David took the stronghold of Zion: the same is the city of David''. It was there that David, 2nd King of Israel, established the capital of his kingdom of Israel, and upon which citadel it was that his son
Solomon
Solomon (; , ),, ; ar, سُلَيْمَان, ', , ; el, Σολομών, ; la, Salomon also called Jedidiah (Hebrew language, Hebrew: , Modern Hebrew, Modern: , Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Yăḏīḏăyāh'', "beloved of Yahweh, Yah"), ...
built the
Temple
A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...
, in which he was the dwelling place of God (II Samuel 7:6). It is thus the holiest site of Judaism and highly revered by Christians. Psalm 87:2 states ''The Lord loveth the gates of Zion''; Joel 3:17 states ''I am the Lord your God dwelling in Zion my holy mountain''. The Romans razed the Jewish Temple to the ground in 70 AD and following the rise of Islam from 622, and the Muslim capture of the Holy Land in 636, the Muslims built on Mount Zion their Muslim shrine ''The
Dome of the Rock
The Dome of the Rock ( ar, قبة الصخرة, Qubbat aṣ-Ṣakhra) is an Islamic shrine located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem, a site also known to Muslims as the ''al-Haram al-Sharif'' or the Al-Aqsa Compound. Its initial ...
'', which still stands today. The Crusaders recaptured Jerusalem for the Christians in 1099 and the
Knights Templar
, colors = White mantle with a red cross
, colors_label = Attire
, march =
, mascot = Two knights riding a single horse
, equipment ...
built a round church near the site of the old Jewish Temple. Following the Muslim recapture of Jerusalem a century later, the site has been unavailable for formal Jewish or Christian prayer.
Order
The monastery was founded “of the order of St Augustine, called St Saviour ... according to the regular institutes (i.e. regulations/rule) of the religious order by the aforesaid Bridget of Heaven inspired, founded and instituted ...” The charter previously stated the foundation to be “Especially in honour of the most holy St Bridget, who as is acknowledged by sufficient evidence, by divine inspiration founded a religious order under her name and obtained from Heaven that in whatsoever kingdom a monastery of the same religious order should be founded there peace and tranquility by the mediation of the same, should be perpetually established”.
St Bridget was a visionary, and is supposed to have seen the Risen Christ, displaying his wounds. The
''Bridgettine order'' was a modified order of St Augustine, with particular devotions to the Passion of Christ and the honour of The Virgin Mary. The Bridgettines had first been brought to England from Wastein (
Vadstena Abbey) in Sweden by
Henry Lord Fitz-Hugh, who suggested to Henry V that he should grant the order one of his planned 3 new monastic foundations.
The Bridgettine nuns sent by Abbess
Gerdeka Hartlevsdotter Gerdeka Hartlevsdotter, or Hartlefsdotter, also called Gerdica (1370–1438), was a Swedish Bridgettine nun. She was the abbess of Vadstena Abbey from 1403 until 1422.
Life
Gerdeka Hartlevsdotter was the daughter of Hartlev Bolk (d.1390) and Ingebo ...
from the
mother house
]
A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of gestati ...
Vadstena Abbey in Sweden to England were Anna Karlsdotter, Christina Finwitsdotter, Christina Esbjörnsdotter and Anna Esbjörnsdotter.
Personnel
The king's original foundation followed Bridget's rule and consisted of 85 persons. The full complement was as follows:
Women (60):
*1 Abbess
*59 Nuns
Men (25):
*1 Confessor General
*12 Priests
*4 Deacons
*8 Lay Brethren
The different sexes were “to dwell in separate habitations, to wit the said abbess and sisters within one court by themselves and the said confessor and brothers in a separate court by themselves, within the same monastery”. The legal corporate entity was “The Abbess and Convent” which could transact business by affixing its single
Corporation, corporate seal. The
Convent
A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...
(from Latin ''con-venio'', to come together) consisted of the Abbess and nuns together with the Confessor and all the religious men. Clearly the Abbess was the overall presiding officer.
Abbesses
Only eight abbesses were ever elected.
* Matilda Newton 1418–1420 (titular abbess)
* Joan North 1420–1433 (elected abbess)
* Maud Muston 1433–1447
* Margaret Ashby 1448–1456
* Elizabeth Muston 1456–1497
* Elizabeth Gibbs 1497–1518
* Constance Browne 1518–1520
*
Agnes Jordan 1520–1539 (d. 29 Jan 1546)
Burials
*
Thomas Stanley, 2nd Earl of Derby
*
Richard Sutton (lawyer)
Sir Richard Sutton (c. 1460-1524) was an English lawyer. He was founder, with William Smyth, bishop of Lincoln, of Brasenose College, Oxford, and the first lay founder of any college.
He was born in Sutton, Cheshire, the younger son of Sir Wil ...
*
William Stanley (Battle of Bosworth)
Expansion and relocation
Sometime before 1431 the Abbess and Convent received permission by
letters patent
Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, titl ...
from
King Henry VI
Henry VI (6 December 1421 – 21 May 1471) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. The only child of Henry V, he succeeded to the English throne a ...
(1422–1461), the son of the founder and who was particularly favourable to Syon, having made it several grants and confirmations in rapid succession, to move the monastery to a new site of their own choosing some mile and a half downstream to a riverbank site within Isleworth parish. The land in question had been in the monastery's ownership since 1422, in which last year of the life of Henry V that king had by Act of Parliament separated the manor of Isleworth from the
Duchy of Cornwall
The Duchy of Cornwall ( kw, Duketh Kernow) is one of two royal duchies in England, the other being the Duchy of Lancaster. The eldest son of the reigning British monarch obtains possession of the duchy and the title of 'Duke of Cornwall' at ...
and given it to Syon. The reason for the move was to gain more space, as is made clear from the letters patent:
“The said Abbess and Convent had presented their humble petition setting forth that their aforesaid monastery was so small and confined in its dimensions that the numerous persons therein ... were not only incommodiously but dangerously situated...that in consequence thereof the said abbess and convent had chosen out a spot in the neighbourhood of their said priory within the said lordship of Isleworth, more meet healthful and salubrious for them to inhabit”.
The ''danger'' of the situation referred to may have been due to proximity to the river, or possibly even spiritual danger to the inmates due to a too close intermingling of the sexes.
New building
The letters patent authorising the move, which were ratified by a grant by the king dated 1431, make clear that some of the new buildings had already been started and indeed completed:
“The Abbess and convent...had begun and with great cost completed the erection of a certain edifice more spacious and convenient as well for the habitation of themselves as of the said religious brethren, which monastery so built anew and enlarged they have earnestly requested licence of us ...to consecrate and set apart as a habitation for them the said abbess and nuns and men of religion...Know ye we therefore of our pity have...permitted them...to the said mansion so chosen and by the said abbess and convent erected edified built and enlarged as aforesaid...to remove immediateley...”
It seems that this building, apparently living quarters or “mansion” must have been started several years before 1431 to have been described as “completed” in the letters of patent issued before 1431
There was however another building, possibly the new Church-building itself, which still had not been completed 11 years later, by 1442, when Henry VI issued further letters patent granting the Abbess and Convent special privileges for the transport of building materials from the king's warren in the royal manor of Sheen across the river to Isleworth:
That none of the masons, carpenters and tilers or any of their workmen or any of their materials to be employed towards the construction of the new Monastery of Syon, should be taken away by any his officers against their will.
The new site of the church building itself is now believed, after recent archaeological work, to lie partly underneath and to the east of the present Georgian mansion of Syon House. (see below: ''Archaeological Excavations'').
Dissolution
![AgnesJordanAtDenham](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/AgnesJordanAtDenham.jpg)
Following Henry VIII's decision in 1534 to break with Rome, many of the inmates of Syon expressed themselves favourable to Henry's supremacy over the English Church, and even converted recalcitrant monks from other monasteries to do likewise. Many however refused to acknowledge the King's new title.
Due to the actions of one Syon monk named
Richard Reynolds, an eminent doctor in divinity later canonised, the King made Syon an object of special vengeance. Reynolds had facilitated a meeting at Syon between Sir
Thomas More, the King's chief opponent in his assumption of
Supreme Headship, and
Elizabeth Barton, the mystic “Holy Maid of Kent” at which More was fueled with supposed divine revelations further supporting his opposition.
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 ...
, the King's minister in effecting the Dissolution, had visited Syon in person to obtain expressions of acceptance of supremacy, but seems to have met an antagonistic reception from one of the monks at the front-door grate. He left two of his agents, Thomas Bedyll and Master Leightone, to obtain the required acceptances from the nuns and monks of the King's new status.
Bedyll reported that “the bretherne stand stif in thaire obstinacy as you left thaim”. Two were sent to the Bishop of London, within whose diocese Syon lay, apparently for a course of conversion, whilst two Church of England clerics were brought in to convert another two Syon monks who were particularly obstinate, Whitford and Little. On the following day the King himself sent four different
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
clerics to Syon for the same purpose, again without success. The agent Bedyll then took the recalcitrant Whitford for a walk in the monastery garden to further persuade him “both with faire wordes and with foule” to convert. He then resorted to what appears a classic use of blackmail, accusing Whitford of having “used bawdy wordes to diverse ladys at the tymes of thaire confession”, which would bring him “to the greate shame of the world”. Still he did not convert, having “a brasyn forehead which shameth at no thing”. Whitford and Little were also reported, whilst hearing confessions through a hole in the wall, of persons external to the monastery, to have denounced the king's new title as Supreme Governor, and his divorce and remarriage, for which reason it was proposed to Cromwell that the confessional grille be bricked-up.
The nuns were more easily won over however, and were sat down together in the chapter house of Syon in the presence of the Bishop of London and their own male confessor. All who accepted the king's new title were asked to remain seated, whilst those opposed were asked to leave the chamber. All remained seated, signifying their acceptance, no doubt reluctantly. The nuns thereupon in resignation to their new status sent a special request to Cromwell that he should “be a good maister unto thaim and to thaire house, as thaire special trust is in you”. It seems they were then confident in the continuation of their monastery. One nun however named Agnes Smythe “a sturdy dame and a wylful” made a show of some resistance in persuading her sister nuns not to hand over the convent seal, which had been required by Cromwell's agents to seal a declaration of conversion to be signed by the abbess and nuns.
On 4 May 1535 Reynolds was hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn for denying the king's supremacy, which martyrdom gained him his
canonisation from Rome. The monastery finally surrendered to the king's commissioners in 1539 and the community was expelled. The annual net revenues were then reported to be £1,731. A very large pension of £200 was given to the abbess Agnes Jordan and one of £6 each to the junior nuns. The male Confessor-General received a pension of £15, the junior monks receiving £6 to £8 each.
Peregrination
The expelled community, unlike many others, did not disband and separate, but exiled itself to the Netherlands. These nuns including
Elizabeth Sander
Elizabeth Sander (before 1574 – 1 August 1607) was an English Bridgettine nun and writer. She joined the Syon Abbey nuns, who were in religious exile, and then returned to England where she was imprisoned and escaped in 1580. She then escaped ...
would visit England on missions.
The community were recalled briefly to Syon following the accession of the Catholic
Queen Mary (1553–1558) in 1553. The buildings had remained intact during the interval. On the accession of
Queen Elizabeth (1558–1603) in 1558 an Act of Parliament was passed annexing and re-dissolving certain religious houses, including Syon, whereupon the nuns obtained royal licence to leave England, eventually settling in
Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
, Portugal, where they arrived in 1594, after having experienced many troubles and afflictions in travels through France and Spain. While in Lisbon, they produced an illuminated petition to the King of Spain and his daughter asking for help returning to England. This petition, called the Arundel Manuscript, is now housed at Arundel Castle.
Return to England
![Gateposts, Syon Abbey - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Gateposts%2C_Syon_Abbey_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1206358.jpg)
The Lisbon community returned to England in 1861, settling first in
Spetisbury
Spetisbury () is a village and civil parish in north Dorset, England, situated on the River Stour and the A350 road, southeast of Blandford Forum. In the 2011 census the civil parish had 224 households and a population of 555.
Spetisbury vil ...
,
Dorset
Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...
; moving in 1887 to
Chudleigh
Chudleigh () is an ancient wool town located within the Teignbridge District Council area of Devon, England between Newton Abbot and Exeter. The electoral ward with the same name had a population of 6,125 at the 2011 census.
Geography
Chudl ...
,
Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...
; and then in 1925 (or 1935) to Marley House, in the parish of
Rattery,
South Brent
South Brent is a large village on the southern edge of Dartmoor, England, in the valley of the River Avon. The parish includes the small hamlets of Aish, Harbourneford, Lutton, Brent Mill, and many scattered farmhouses. It is five miles (8&n ...
,
Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...
. The religious community, or Abbey, of Syon thus had the distinction of being the only English one that survived the
Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
unbroken. A large piece of sculptured stonework from the monastery's remains was returned to them ceremoniously by the Duke of Northumberland, owner of Syon House. In 2004, the remaining medieval books in the abbey's collection were deposited for safe-keeping with the
University of Exeter
The University of Exeter is a public university , public research university in Exeter, Devon, England, United Kingdom. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of Min ...
Library. In 2011 Syon Abbey, by now reduced to three elderly sisters, was closed and sold. The remaining sisters now live in Plymouth.
Resting place for coffin of Henry VIII
On 14 February 1547 the coffin of 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 disa ...
lay overnight at Syon, en route from Westminster for burial in
St George's Chapel, Windsor. Twelve years before in 1535 a
Franciscan
The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...
friar named William Peyto (or Peto, Petow), (d.1558 or 1559), had preached before the king at
Greenwich Palace
Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross.
Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...
“that God's judgements were ready to fall upon his head and that dogs would lick his blood, as they had done to
Ahab”, whose infamy rests upon
Kings
Kings or King's may refer to:
*Monarchs: The sovereign heads of states and/or nations, with the male being kings
*One of several works known as the "Book of Kings":
**The Books of Kings part of the Bible, divided into two parts
**The ''Shahnameh'' ...
16:33: "And Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him". The prophecy was said to have been fulfilled during this night at Syon, when some “corrupted matter of a bloody colour” fell from the coffin to the floor.
Replacement by mansion of Syon House
![15th century sculpture from demolished Syon Monastery at Syon House](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/15th_century_sculpture_from_demolished_Syon_Monastery_at_Syon_House.jpg)
After dissolution, the estate came into the possession of
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset,
Lord Protector
Lord Protector (plural: ''Lords Protector'') was a title that has been used in British constitutional law for the head of state. It was also a particular title for the British heads of state in respect to the established church. It was sometimes ...
to the young
Edward VI, who started work on building the first Syon House in the Italian Renaissance style, apparently incorporating the west end of the monastery church. Following the Duke's execution for treason in 1552, it was confiscated for the Crown under Queen Mary, who briefly re-established the community there during 1557 to 1558. Her successor Queen Elizabeth I granted in 1594 a lease of the manor to
Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland
Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland, KG (27 April 1564 – 5 November 1632) was an English nobleman. He was a grandee and one of the wealthiest peers of the court of Elizabeth I. Under James I, Northumberland was a long-term prisoner i ...
on his marriage to
Dorothy Devereux, the younger daughter of
Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex
Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex, KG (16 September 1541 – 22 September 1576), was an English nobleman and general. From 1573 until his death he fought in Ireland in connection with the Plantations of Ireland, most notably the Rathlin Isl ...
, who later received a grant of the freehold from King James I in 1604. The square house seen today is a Georgian remodelling of the first house by
Hugh Percy, 1st Duke of Northumberland
Hugh Percy, 1st Duke of Northumberland, (c. 17146 June 1786), was an English peer, landowner, and art patron.
Origins
He was born Hugh Smithson, the son of Lansdale Smithson (b. 1682) of Langdale and Philadelphia Revely. He was a grandson of ...
(1714–1786), in about 1760. The first Duke was born Hugh Smithson, and married Lady Elizabeth Seymour (daughter and heiress of Algernon Seymour, 7th Duke of Somerset (d.1750), a direct descendant of Protector Somerset), whose grandmother Lady Elizabeth Percy (d.1722) was the heiress of the 15th and last Percy, Earl of Northumberland, from whom Syon House thus devolved onto the first Duke of Northumberland. In 1750, 10 years after his marriage, he adopted the name Percy in lieu of his patronymic.
Archaeological excavations
Syon House
Syon House is the west London residence of the Duke of Northumberland. A Grade I listed building, it lies within the 200-acre (80 hectare) Syon Park, in the London Borough of Hounslow.
The family's traditional central London residence had be ...
remains in 2010 the London seat of the
Dukes of Northumberland. Foundations of the Monastery Church lying to the immediate east of Syon House were partially uncovered in excavations starting in summer 2003, made by
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
's ''
Time Team
''Time Team'' is a British television programme that originally aired on Channel 4 from 16 January 1994 to 7 September 2014. It returned online in 2022 for two episodes released on YouTube. Created by television producer Tim ...
'' archaeological programme, broadcast on 4 January 2004. The programme highlighted medieval masonry blocks in the foundation wall of the north Wing as evidence that the west end of the church may have been incorporated into the current house built by
Protector Somerset
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset (150022 January 1552) (also 1st Earl of Hertford, 1st Viscount Beauchamp), also known as Edward Semel, was the eldest surviving brother of Queen Jane Seymour (d. 1537), the third wife of King Henry VI ...
. However, subsequent sweeping of the floor demonstrated that the Tudor floor surface continued underneath the wall, suggesting that the medieval blocks were simply reused when this wing was rebuilt in 1820. So far there is no evidence on the exact length of the church or whether it does actually extend under Syon House. Further excavations by
Birkbeck, University of London
, mottoeng = Advice comes over nightTranslation used by Birkbeck.
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £4.3 m (2014)
, budget = £10 ...
have continued from 2004 to 2011.
Syon Abbey collection
A substantial collection of material relating to Syon Abbey is held at th
University of Exeter Special Collections A large proportion of this collection comprises material deposited by the sisters of Syon Abbey between 1990 and the monastery's closure in 2011, including the community's archive, manuscripts and printed books.
References
Sources
*Aungier, George James. The History and Antiquities of Syon Monastery, the Parish of Isleworth and the Chapel of Hounslow; Compiled from Public Records, Ancient Manuscripts, Ecclesiastical and Other Authentic Documents. London, 1840.
* Cloake, John. Richmond Palace, its History and its Plan. London, 2001
External links
The Syon Breviary — ''Daily Office of Our Lady'' — 600th anniversary edition now available in EnglishThe Syon Abbey Society, dedicated to promoting the study of the literature and history of Syon Abbey*
ttp://www.tudorplace.com.ar/Documents/SyonAbbey.htm History of Syon Monastery based on research of Theo Keller, published by www.tudorplace.comPainting of hypothetical reconstruction of Syon Monastery by Jonathan Foyle*
{{Authority control
Religious buildings and structures completed in 1415
Religious organizations established in the 1410s
Former buildings and structures in the London Borough of Hounslow
History of the London Borough of Hounslow
History of Middlesex
Monasteries in London
Christian monasteries established in the 15th century
1415 establishments in England
1539 disestablishments in England
Bridgettine monasteries
Monasteries dissolved under the English Reformation
2011 disestablishments in England