Langdon Abbey () was a Premonstratensian

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 con ...

near

West Langdon West Langdon is a village in the Dover district of Kent, England. It is located five miles north of Dover town. The population of the village is included in the civil parish of Langdon. The name ''Langdon'' derives from an Old English ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, founded in about 1192 and dissolved in 1535, reportedly the first religious house to be dissolved by Henry VIII. The visible remains of the abbey are now confined to the extensive cellaring below the 16th-century house that occupies its site and small remains of a 17th-century ice house.

Foundation

Langdon Abbey was founded in about 1192 by William de Auberville (the elder) of

Westenhanger Stanford is a village and civil parish in Kent, England. It is part of the Folkestone and Hythe district. It has been divided by the M20 into Stanford North and Stanford South. The Stanford Windmill is to the north of the M20 and west of the a ...

, Kent (son of Hugh de Auberville), with the assent of his wife Matilda (Maud), daughter of

Ranulf de Glanville Ranulf is a masculine given name in the English language. It is derived from the Old Norse name ''Reginúlfr''. This Old Norse personal name is composed of two elements: the first, ''regin'', means "advice", "decision" (and also "the gods"); the s ...

(who died at the

Siege of Acre Siege of Acre may refer to: * Siege of Acre (1104), following the First Crusade *Siege of Acre (1189–1191), during the Third Crusade * Siege of Acre (1263), Baibars laid siege to the Crusader city, but abandoned it to attack Nazareth. *Siege of A ...

in 1190),

Chief Justiciar Justiciar is the English form of the medieval Latin term ''justiciarius'' or ''justitiarius'' ("man of justice", i.e. judge). During the Middle Ages in England, the Chief Justiciar (later known simply as the Justiciar) was roughly equivale ...

of England to King Henry II. William de Auberville was a knight in duty to Simon de Avranches. He was also a King's Justiciar, had assisted at the foundation of the Premonstratensian abbey of

Leiston Leiston ( ) is an English town in the East Suffolk non-metropolitan district of Suffolk, near Saxmundham and Aldeburgh, about from the North Sea coast, north-east of Ipswich and north-east of London. The town had a population of 5,508 at th ...

, Suffolk, by his father-in-law in 1182, and was a patron of Ranulf's religious foundation at

Butley Priory Butley Priory, sometimes called ''Butley Abbey'', was a religious house of Canons regular (Augustinians, Black canons) in Butley, Suffolk, dedicated to The Blessed Virgin Mary. It was founded in 1171 by Ranulf de Glanville (c. 1112-1190), Chief ...

, Suffolk, of 1171. Langdon Abbey was founded as a

daughter house A dependency, among monastic orders, denotes the relation of a monastic community with a newer community which it has founded elsewhere. The relationship is that of the founding abbey or conventual priory, termed the motherhouse, with a monaster ...

of Leiston Abbey, under the hand of Robert, abbot of Leiston, and was dedicated to the

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...

and St Thomas the Martyr. Sir William annexed the church of St. Mary in

Walmer Walmer is a town in the district of Dover, Kent, in England. Located on the coast, the parish of Walmer is south-east of Sandwich, Kent. Largely residential, its coastline and castle attract many visitors. It has a population of 6,693 (2001), i ...

to the abbey, in perpetual alms, and the church remained with the abbey until its dissolution. Patronage of Langdon descended to Nicholas de Crioll (the younger), son of William's great-granddaughter Joan de Auberville and her husband

Nicholas de Crioll Nicholas de Crioll (Cryoyll, Kerrial or Kyriel) (died c. February 1272), of a family seated in Kent, was Constable of Dover Castle and Keeper of the Coast during the early 1260s. His kinsman Bertram de Criol (died 1256) had distinguished himself ...

(the elder).

Royal favour

In 1325 Edward II recuperated at the abbey, having been taken ill on the road to Dover. The Abbot and Convent of Langedon were granted a

licence to crenellate In medieval England, Wales and the Channel Islands a licence to crenellate (or licence to fortify) granted the holder permission to fortify his property. Such licences were granted by the king, and by the rulers of the counties palatine within th ...

in 1348. In 1491 it was reported that Langdon had 300 acres (121 hectares) of grain and a very good supply of animals.

Dissolution

In 1535 the abbey was reputedly the first religious house to be dissolved by Henry VIII and had, at that time, an annual revenue estimated at £56. Dr. Leyton, the commissioner who carried out the visitation of the abbey, sent the following report to Cromwell on his arrest of the abbot and his mistress:

Later history

The fee simple ('fief') of the manor was acquired by John Master, who died in 1588. His son, James Master (who died in 1631, aged 84) was described as "''Primo de Sandwich, postea de East Langden, ubi edificavit mansionem''". James Master's eldest son, Sir Edward Master, was High Sheriff of Kent in 1639. The site of the abbey itself was occupied by a farmhouse, parts of which date back to the 16th century. The monks’ cellar (retaining its original arches) remains in place underneath the house. In 1828, it was reported that the farmhouse "has been occupied many years by a respectable family of the name of Coleman",''A Short Historical Sketch of the Town of Dover'' (6th edition, Dover, 1828), and the returns from the 1881 census show that one Richard Coleman remained a substantial farmer at Langdon as at that date.

Gallery

Image:LangdonAbbey1.jpg, Monastic cellars at Langdon Abbey

References

{{Authority control Premonstratensian monasteries in England Monasteries in Kent Dover District Christian monasteries established in the 12th century 1190s establishments in England Monasteries dissolved under the English Reformation