January 972 A.D. Thorney Abbey,
Cambridgeshire—Priory Church of St. Mary and St. Botulph; Founded by Benedictine Monks, the First Abbot
of Peterborough; Dissolved 1539; Church Continues in Parochial Use
Thorney Abbey
From Wikipedia, the free
encyclopedia
Thorney Abbey Church.
The central door of the Thorney Abbey's west front.
Thorney
Abbey was a medieval monastic house
established on the island of Thorneyin The Fens of Cambridgeshire, England.
Contents
History
Interior of the Abbey, looking east
The earliest documentary
sources refer to a mid-7th century hermitage destroyed by a Viking incursion in the late 9th century. A Benedictine monastery was founded in the 970s, and a huge rebuilding
programme followed the Norman Conquest of 1066. A new church was begun under the abbacy of
Gunther of Le Mans, appointed in 1085.[1]It was in use by 1089, but not entirely finished
until 1108.[2] Henry I was a benefactor of the Abbey;[3] a writ survives ordering the return of the manor of Sawbridge to the Abbey " and there is to be no complaint
of injustice".
The focus of the settlement
shifted away from the fen edge in the late 12th or early 13th century, the
earlier site becoming a rubbish dump, perhaps because of encroaching water. It
was reoccupied in the 13th and 14th centuries, when clay layers were laid down
to provide a firm foundation for the timber buildings. More substantial
buildings were erected in the 16th century and these are thought to have been
part of an expanding abbey complex, perhaps for use as guesthouses, stables, or workshops.
Much of Thorney Abbey
disappeared without trace after the Dissolution
of the Monasteries. Its last abbot, Robert Blythe, was a supporter of the King, having signed
a letter to the pope urging that his divorce should be allowed. He was rewarded
with a pension of £200 a year. The abbey was surrendered to the king's
commissioners on 1 December 1539,[1] and most its buildings were later demolished and
the stone reused.
The nave of the church
survived, and was restored as the Parish Church of St Mary and St Botolph in
1638. At this date the aisles were demolished and the arcade openings walled
up. The present east end, in the Norman style, is by Edward Blore, and dates from 1840-1.[2]
There is a model of the
monastery in the Thorney Museum.
The name Thorney Abbey is also
given to a house, partly late sixteenth and partly seventeenth century, in the
village of Thorney.[2]
Burials
As a large Abbey of the Dark Ages a number of Saints have been buried and venerated in the Abbey,
Including:
- Herefrith of Thorney
- Saint Inicium
Excavation
Excavation was undertaken in
2002 prior to redevelopment, by University of
Leicester Archaeological Services. This focused on the northern edge of the former
island. As well as pottery, animal bone and roofing material, a large deposit
of 13th and 14th century painted glass was found in and around the buildings.
The intricate designs were of very high quality.
See also
Sources
- Thomas, J. (2006). Thorney Abbey discovered? Current Archaeology 204: 619
References
1. ^ Jump up to:a b L.F. Salzman (editor) (1948). "Houses of Benedictine monks: Abbey of Thorney". A History of the County of Cambridge and the Isle of Ely:
Volume 2. Institute of Historical Research. Retrieved 3 August 2011.
2. ^ Jump up to:a b c Pevsner, Nikolaus (1954). Cambridgeshire. The Buildings of England. Penguin
Books. pp. 584–5.
4. Jump up^ Charles H. Talbot, The Life of
Christina of Markyate: A Twelfth Century Recluse (University of Toronto Press,
1998) page 23.
External links
 |
|
- The Calendar and the Cloister, website dedicated to Oxford, St John's College MS 17, an early 12th-century manuscript produced at Thorney Abbey.
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