Chertsey Abbey, dedicated to

St Peter Saint Peter (born Shimon Bar Yonah; 1 BC – AD 64/68), also known as Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the first leaders of the early Christian Church. He appears repe ...

, was a

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 ...

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 ...

located at

Chertsey Chertsey is a town in the Borough of Runnymede, Surrey, England, southwest of central London. It grew up around Chertsey Abbey, founded in AD 666 by Earconwald, St Erkenwald, and gained a municipal charter, market charter from Henry I of Engla ...

in the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

county of

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

. It was founded in 666 AD by

Saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

Erkenwald Saint Earconwald or Erkenwald (died 693) was a Saxon prince and Bishop of London between 675 and 693. He is the eponymous subject of one of the most important poems in the foundations of English literature (thought to be by the Sir Gawain and the ...

who was the 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 ...

, and from 675 AD the

Bishop of London The bishop of London is the Ordinary (church officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury. By custom the Bishop is also Dean of the Chapel Royal since 1723. The diocese covers of 17 boroughs o ...

. At the same time he founded the abbey at Chertsey, Erkenwald founded

Barking Abbey The Abbey of St Mary and St Ethelburga, founded in the 7th-century and commonly known as Barking Abbey, is a former Roman Catholic, royal monastery located in Barking, in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. It has been described as havi ...

on the Thames east of London, where his sister Saint Ethelburga was the first

abbess An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa'') is the female superior of a community of nuns in an abbey. Description In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Coptic, Lutheran and Anglican abbeys, the mod ...

. In the 9th century it was sacked by the

Danes Danes (, ), or Danish people, are an ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural. History Early history Denmark ...

and refounded from

Abingdon Abbey Abingdon Abbey (formally Abbey of Saint Mary) was a Order of St. Benedict, Benedictine monastery in Abingdon-on-Thames in the modern county of Oxfordshire in the United Kingdom. Situated near to the River Thames, it was founded in 675 AD and was ...

by King

Edgar of England Edgar (or Eadgar; 8 July 975), known sometimes as Edgar the Peacemaker or the Peaceable, was King of the English from 959 until his death in 975. He became king of all England on his brother Eadwig's death. He was the younger son of King Ed ...

in 964. In the eleventh century the monks engineered the

Abbey River The Abbey River is a right-bank backwater of the River Thames in England, in Chertsey, Surrey — in the town's northern green and blue buffers. The L-shaped conduit adjoins mixed-use flood plain: water-meadows landscaped for a golf cou ...

as an offshoot 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, s ...

to supply power to the abbey's watermill. In the

Late Middle Ages The late Middle Ages or late medieval period was the Periodization, period of History of Europe, European history lasting from 1300 to 1500 AD. The late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period ( ...

, the Abbey became famous as the burial place of King Henry VI (whose body was later transferred to

St George's Chapel, Windsor St George's Chapel, formally titled The King's Free Chapel of the College of St George, Windsor Castle, at Windsor Castle in England is a castle chapel built in the late-medieval Perpendicular Gothic style. It is a Royal Peculiar (a church und ...

). The abbey was dissolved by the commissioners 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 known for his six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disagreement w ...

in 1537, but the community moved to

Bisham Bisham is a village and civil parish in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. The village is on the River Thames, around south of Marlow in the neighbouring county of Buckinghamshire, and around northwest of Mai ...

Remnants

The site was given to Sir William Fitzwilliam and now only slight traces remain amongst later buildings, although the abbey is remembered in many local names (for example: Abbey River, Monk's Walk, Abbey Fields). Some very fine medieval tiles from the abbey, some depicting the legend of

Tristan and Iseult Tristan and Iseult, also known as Tristan and Isolde and other names, is a medieval chivalric romance told in numerous variations since the 12th century. Of disputed source, usually assumed to be primarily Celtic nations, Celtic, the tale is a ...

, may be seen in the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

. From the ruins of the abbey,

individual letter tiles Medieval letter tiles are one- letter ceramic tiles that were employed in monasteries and churches of the late Middle Ages for the creation of Christian inscriptions on floors and walls. They were created by pressing stamps bearing a reverse im ...

dating to the second half of the 13th century were recovered. They were assembled to form religious inscription texts on the floor and can be considered a forerunner of

movable type Movable type (US English; moveable type in British English) is the system and technology of printing and typography that uses movable Sort (typesetting), components to reproduce the elements of a document (usually individual alphanumeric charac ...

printing. One of the Abbey's bells, cast by a

Wokingham Wokingham ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Berkshire, England. It is the main administrative centre of the wider Borough of Wokingham. At the 2021 census the parish had a population of 38,284 and the wider built-up area had a populati ...

foundry circa 1380 and weighing just over half a

ton Ton is any of several units of measure of mass, volume or force. It has a long history and has acquired several meanings and uses. As a unit of mass, ''ton'' can mean: * the '' long ton'', which is * the ''tonne'', also called the ''metric ...

, is still in use as the 5th of the ring of eight at

's church, Chertsey, and is one of the oldest bells in current use in Surrey. A medieval

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

panel with the abbey's coat of arms is displayed in the

Burrell Collection The Burrell Collection is a museum in Glasgow, Scotland, managed by Glasgow Museums. It houses the art collection of William Burrell, Sir William Burrell and Constance Burrell, Constance, Lady Burrell. The museum opened in 1983 and reopened on ...

near

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, and the two crossed keys (of Saint Peter) from the arms are also in the official Banner of Arms of Surrey County Council. Some

illuminated manuscript An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared manuscript, document where the text is decorated with flourishes such as marginalia, borders and Miniature (illuminated manuscript), miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Churc ...

s from the abbey survive in various collections. The Chertsey

Breviary A breviary () is a liturgical book used in Christianity for praying the canonical hours, usually recited at seven fixed prayer times. Historically, different breviaries were used in the various parts of Christendom, such as Aberdeen Breviar ...

, c. 1300, is in the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1602 by Sir Thomas Bodley, it is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second-largest library in ...

in Oxford (Bodley ). Chertsey Abbey is mentioned in

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's ''

Richard III Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and its cadet branch the House of York. His defeat and death at the Battle of Boswor ...

'', Act I, Scene 2, Line 27, where Lady Anne says, "Come now towards Chertsey with your holy load", referring to the body of Henry VI. The

Worshipful Company of Haberdashers The Worshipful Company of Haberdashers, one of the Great Twelve City Livery Companies, is an ancient merchant guild of London associated with the silk and velvet trades. History and functions The Haberdashers' Company received its first ro ...

holds 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, a ...

of St Peter's, Chertsey, nowadays.

Later history of the site

After Sir William Fitzwilliam, Chertsey Abbey was owned by Dr John Hammond (c. 1555–1617), physician to the royal household under

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) * James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) * James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu * James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334� ...

, who purchased the site of Chertsey Abbey in Surrey in 1602. Dr Hammond's son, Lt.Col. Thomas Hammond of

Cromwell's Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially a ...

New Model Army The New Model Army or New Modelled Army was a standing army formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians during the First English Civil War, then disbanded after the Stuart Restoration in 1660. It differed from other armies employed in the 1639 t ...

, was named as a Commissioner at the

High Court of Justice The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal (England and Wales), Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Courts of England and Wales, Senior Cour ...

for the

trial of Charles I The trial of Charles I was a significant event in English history that took place in January 1649, marking the first time a reigning monarch was tried and executed by his own subjects. Following years of conflict during the English Civil War, ...

, and despite attending no fewer than fourteen of its sittings, he did not sign the

death warrant An execution warrant (also called a death warrant or a black warrant) is a writ that authorizes the execution of a condemned person. United States In the United States, either a judicial or executive official designated by law issues an ...

. In the mid-19th century the site of the abbey was excavated under the supervision of the architect and archaeologist

Samuel Angell Samuel Angell (1800 – 1866) was a British architect and archaeologist. Life Angell was born in 1800, son of William Sandell Angell of Cornhill, in the City of London, and Hornsey. Angell studied at the Royal Academy in London and with Tho ...

, who published an account of the investigations, accompanied by a ground plan of the abbey church, in 1862.

Known Abbots of Chertsey

, founder and first Abbot of Chertsey Abbey * Abbot Beocca, monastery sacked 875 by

Vikings Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

Chertsey Abbey
history. * Ordbert of Chertsey, 964 * Wulfwold, Abbot of Chertsey, died 1084 * John de Rutherwyk, 1307–46 * John Corderoy, 1537

Burials

John Bourchier, 1st Baron Berners John Bourchier, 1st Baron Berners (died May 1474) was an English peer. Bourchier was the fourth son of William Bourchier, 1st Count of Eu, and his wife Anne of Woodstock, Countess of Buckingham, daughter of Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of ...

*Abbot Beocca *Sir Richard Berners, Knight of West Horsley

Gallery

File:Ruined wall of Chertsey Abbey (165892 0994f2f8).jpg, Ruined wall of Chertsey Abbey File:Chertsey Breviary - St. Erkenwald.jpg,

teaching in the Chertsey Breviary (c.1300) File:Breviary of Chertsey Abbey (folio 6r).jpg, Folio 6r of the Chertsey

File:Britishmuseumrichardtiles.jpg,

Saladin Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub ( – 4 March 1193), commonly known as Saladin, was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from a Kurdish family, he was the first sultan of both Egypt and Syria. An important figure of the Third Crusade, h ...

tiles in the

File:The Conventual Seal, Chertsey Abbey (Surrey Archaeological Collections).png, Conventual seal File:Plan of Chertsey Abbey (Surrey Archaeological Collections).png, Chertsey Abbey, plan of the Demesne from the Exchequer Ledger File:Plan of Chertsey Abbey, showing walls, &c., excavated in 1855 (Surrey Archaeological Collections).png, Plan of Chertsey Abbey, showing walls, &c., excavated in 1855 File:Stone coffins excavated on site of Chertsey Abbey (Surrey Archaeological Collections).png, Stone coffins excavated on site of Chertsey Abbey

References

Bibliography

* * p93–97.