Blanchland Abbey at Blanchland, in the

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county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

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 ...

, was founded as a premonstratensian priory in 1165 by Walter de Bolbec II, and was a daughter house of

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 ...

in Leicestershire. It became an abbey in the late 13th century. The 16th century former Abbot's house (now The Lord Crewe Arms Hotel) is a

Grade II* listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Ir ...

and the whole site is a

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The Anglo-Scottish wars

The abbey granges were pillaged during the Anglo-Scots wars, in particular during 1327, but the abbey itself was apparently left unscathed. There is however a legend that during one raid in the area, the monks prayed that the abbey would be spared. Subsequently, a mist descended which shielded the valley and monastery from view and was overlooked by the Scottish raiders, who passed by. The foolish monks upon hearing this, proceeded to ring the abbey bells to signal to every one in the valley that it was safe, that the invaders had passed. During their celebration of bell ringing, the Scottish invaders heard the bells, turned around and ransacked the Monastery. Blanchland abbey 01

The Dissolution and beyond

The abbey was dissolved in 1539 and granted to the Bellow and Broxholm families. It was later acquired by the Radclyffe family from whom it passed by marriage to Nicholas Forster. Part of the abbey church was altered and retained for use as the parish church, and the abbots' former residence became the manor house. In 1612, it was the residence of Sir Claudius Forster,

High Sheriff of Northumberland This is a list of the High Sheriffs of the English county of Northumberland. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries ...

. When in 1701 Fernando Forster was murdered, the estate passed through to co-heirs: Dorothy (sister of Fernando) who had married

Nathaniel Crew, 3rd Baron Crew Nathaniel Crew, 3rd Baron Crew (31 January 163318 September 1721) was Bishop of Oxford from 1671 to 1674, then Bishop of Durham from 1674 to 1721. As such he was one of the longest-serving bishops of the Church of England. Crew was the son of Jo ...

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, and Thomas Forster of Adderstone, the son of her deceased sister Frances. The estate was however encumbered with debt. Lord Crew purchased all the Forster estates including Blanchland in 1704 for £20,697, sufficient to pay off the creditors. The Forster connection with Blanchland came to an end as a result of Thomas Forster's involvement in the

Jacobite rising of 1715 The Jacobite rising of 1715 ( gd, Bliadhna Sheumais ; or 'the Fifteen') was the attempt by James Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender) to regain the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland for the exiled Stuarts. At Braemar, Aberdeenshire ...

. On his death in 1721, Lord Crew left all his properties to be administered in trust for charitable purposes (Lord Crewe's Charity). The abbey gatehouse survives and the stone houses surrounding the village square were partly constructed using stone from the monastery. The manor house became an inn, the Lord Crewe Arms, in the 1720s.

References

* Anthony New. ''A Guide to the Abbeys of England and Wales'', pp, 69–71. Constable. * Rev. James Raine. ''The History and Antiquities of North Durham'', pp. 306–310. Forster history and Pedigree (1840) {{Subject bar , portal1= Catholicism , portal2= England 1165 establishments in England Religious organizations established in the 1160s 1539 disestablishments in England Monasteries in Northumberland Grade II* listed buildings in Northumberland Country houses in Northumberland Scheduled monuments in Northumberland Christian monasteries established in the 12th century Premonstratensian monasteries in England Grade II* listed monasteries

The Anglo-Scottish wars

The Dissolution and beyond

See also

References