The New Minster in Winchester was a royal

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

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 Christians, Christian monks and nun ...

founded in in

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

in the English county of

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

Alfred the Great Alfred the Great ( ; – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who both died when Alfr ...

had intended to build the

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

, but only got around to buying the land. His son,

Edward the Elder Edward the Elder (870s?17 July 924) was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 899 until his death in 924. He was the elder son of Alfred the Great and his wife Ealhswith. When Edward succeeded to the throne, he had to defeat a challenge from his cousi ...

, finished the project according to Alfred's wishes, with the help of Saint

Grimbald Saint Grimbald (or Grimwald) (c. 820s – 8 July 901) was a 9th-century Order of Saint Benedict, Benedictine monk at the Abbey of Saint Bertin near Saint-Omer, France. Although of dubious historical accuracy, the life of Grimbald was recorded in ...

who became its first

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

. It stood so close to the

Old Minster The Old Minster was the Anglo-Saxon cathedral for the English diocese of Wessex and then Winchester from 660 to 1093. It stood on a site immediately north of and partially beneath its successor, Winchester Cathedral. Some sources say that the m ...

that the voices of the two choirs merged with chaotic results. The body of King Alfred was transferred to the New Minster, Saint Grimbald joined him and it was also given the body of the Breton Saint Judoc (Saint Josse), making it an important

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...

centre. It became a Benedictine house in 963. According to

John of Worcester John of Worcester (died c. 1140) was an English monk and chronicler who worked at Worcester Priory. He is now usually held to be the author of the . Works John of Worcester's principal work was the (Latin for "Chronicle from Chronicles") or ...

, in 972 King Edgar "ordered the church of the New Minster, begun by his father King Edmund, but completed by himself, to be solemnly dedicated". It is not known what parts of the church were rebuilt. Queen Emma added the head of

Saint Valentine Saint Valentine (; ) was a 3rd-century Roman saint, commemorated in Western Christianity on February 14 and in Eastern Orthodoxy on July 6. From the High Middle Ages, his feast day has been associated with a tradition of courtly love. He is al ...

in 1041. With the building of the new cathedral at Winchester after the

Norman Conquest of England The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

, the monks of New Minster were obliged to move to Hyde Mead just outside the northern

city walls A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications such as curtain walls with to ...

, thus founding the Abbey of Hyde.

Burials

Ealhswith Ealhswith or Ealswitha (died 5 December 902) was the wife of King Alfred the Great. She was the mother of King Edward the Elder who succeeded King Alfred to the Anglo-Saxon throne. Her father was a Mercian nobleman, Æthelred Mucel, Ealdorman ...

* Saint Grimbald *

Ælfweard of Wessex Ælfweard (; – ) was the second son of Edward the Elder, the eldest born to his second wife Ælfflæd. Kingship and death The '' Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' simply states that Ælfweard died soon after his father's death on 17 July 924 a ...

Eadwig Eadwig (also Edwy or Eadwig All-Fair, 1 October 959) was King of England from 23 November 955 until his death in 959. He was the elder son of Edmund I and his first wife Ælfgifu, who died in 944. Eadwig and his brother Edgar were you ...

References

External links

Victoria County History of Hampshire: New Minster, or the Abbey of Hyde
Anglo-Saxon monastic houses Anglo-Saxon sites in England Archaeological sites in Hampshire Abbeys in Hampshire Benedictine monasteries in England Buildings and structures in Winchester Christian monasteries established in the 10th century 10th-century establishments in England 1538 disestablishments in England 901 establishments Religious buildings and structures completed in the 900s Churches in Winchester {{Hampshire-struct-stub