Bradwell Abbey

Bradwell Abbey
Bradwell Abbey
	Chapel at Bradwell Abbey
	Bradwell Abbey Mapping © OpenStreetMap Bradwell Abbey Location within Buckinghamshire
OS grid reference	SP826395
Civil parish	Bradwell ;
Unitary authority	Milton Keynes ;
Ceremonial county	Buckinghamshire ;
Region	South East ;
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	MILTON KEYNES
Postcode district	MK13
Dialling code	01908
Police	Thames Valley
Fire	Buckinghamshire
Ambulance	South Central
UK Parliament	Milton Keynes North ;
	List of places UK England Buckinghamshire 52°02′53″N0°47′41″W / 52.0480°N 0.7947°W

Last updated March 18, 2024

Bradwell Abbey or Bradwell Priory is a Scheduled Monument, urban studies site, district and former civil parish in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The site was once the location of a Benedictine priory, founded in 1155.

Historic Bradwell Priory

The Priory was established around 1154.^[1] It grew during the Middle Ages to become an important local centre, but declined during the Black Death when, amongst others, its prior William of Loughton died.^[1] The Priory was closed in 1524 (some 12 years before the general dissolution of the monasteries) and the site of the monastery and its scanty revenues were granted to Cardinal Wolsey for the endowment of his new college.^[2] All that remains today is a small chapel and a farmhouse that has become a centre for cultural activities and an Urban Studies centre. Many of the medieval trackways converging on the abbey became rights of way and bridleways and subsequently became part of the Milton Keynes redway system (a network of shared paths).

The arrival of the West Coast Main Line railway split the Abbey lands, with Bradwell village to the east of the line and the Abbey to the west. Today, the small Bradwell Abbey district includes parkland and industry outside the Abbey grounds.

The Abbey site in total is a Scheduled Monument.^[3] The Chapel of St Mary is a Grade I listed building.^[4] There are a further five Grade II listed buildings or structures on the Abbey grounds.^[5]

Bradwell Abbey today

Today, Bradwell Abbey is home to the Milton Keynes City Discovery Centre (an urban studies centre),^[6] providing a workspace, library and guidance for visiting international town planners and students who wish to study the development of Milton Keynes. It also hosts school visits to see its medieval buildings – the chapel is Grade I listed^[7] – its fish ponds and its physic garden, and how they have changed since then. Finally the Abbey provides meeting space to local community groups.

Togfest

An annual music festival was started on the site in 1999. Performers have included Vikki Clayton in 1999, Joe Driscoll in 2005. In 2009 the festival dates were 26 and 27 June and acts performing included The Swanvesta Social Club.

Bradwell Abbey district

The modern Bradwell Abbey district is a relatively small one, sandwiched as it is between the West Coast Main Line to the east, the A5 to the west, H3 Monks Way (A422) to the north and H4 Dansteed Way to the south. It includes a small industrial estate and the Loughton Valley flood plain "linear park". The Swan's Way long-distance path and the Sustrans route 51 follow the valley.

Formally, it is in the Bradwell grid-square, but this square is split into three parts by the railway line (on an embankment) and the A5 (in a cutting).

Civil Parish

Bradwell Abbey formerly gave its name to a civil parish on the other side of the A5. This parish has been renamed as Abbey Hill. Today, the abbey district itself is part of Bradwell civil parish.

Related Research Articles

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The City of Milton Keynes is a unitary authority area with both borough and city status, in Buckinghamshire. It is the northernmost district of the South East England Region. The borough abuts Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire and the remainder of Buckinghamshire.

Bletchley is a constituent town of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. It is situated in the south-west of the city, and is split between the civil parishes of Bletchley and Fenny Stratford and West Bletchley.

Bradwell is an ancient village and modern district in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England, situated approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) north-west of Central Milton Keynes. It has also given its name to a modern civil parish that is part of the City of Milton Keynes. The village was adjacent to Bradwell Abbey, a Benedictine priory, founded in 1155 and dissolved in about 1540, but the abbey and its immediate environs were always a separate ecclesiastical parish.

Calverton is a civil parish in the unitary authority area of the City of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England and just outside the Milton Keynes urban area, situated roughly 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Stony Stratford, and 4 miles (6.4 km) west of Central Milton Keynes. The parish consists of one village, Lower Weald, and two hamlets, Upper Weald and Middle Weald. Lower Weald is the largest of the three settlements, and Manor Farm, the parish church and the former parochial school are within its boundaries.

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Snelshall Priory was a Benedictine priory in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire in the United Kingdom, built around 1200. The priory was founded after Sybil d'Aungerville granted land at Tattenhoe to Lavendon Abbey, a Premonstratensian monastery of 'White canons' who most likely started a cell at Snelshall. This did not thrive and was abandoned about 1207. About 1219, the founder's son brought in Benedictine monks, increased the endowment and the new monastery began again. However Snelshall Priory paid 1 mark a year to Lavendon until 1232, at which point the Bishop of Lincoln decided that Snelshall owned its own lands and chapel. The priory accumulated various land through gifts, but even with all these grants, in 1321 when Henry Burghersh visited, it was so poor that "the monks scarcely had the necessities of life and had to beg even for these".

Abbey Hill is a civil parish that covers the Two Mile Ash, Kiln Farm, and Wymbush districts of Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire, England. As the first tier of Local Government, the parish council is responsible for the people, living and working in this area of Milton Keynes.

Loughton and Great Holm is a civil parish in the City of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. It includes the districts of Loughton, Great Holm, the National Bowl and Elfield Park, West Rooksley, Loughton Lodge, and Knowlhill. It is bordered by H4 Dansteed Way to the north, V4 Watling Street to the west, a tiny stretch of H8 Standing Way to the south, and the West Coast Main Line to the east. Originally named Loughton, it was renamed to Loughton and Great Holm in 2013

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References

1 2 Markham, Sir Frank (1986) [1973]. History of Milton Keynes and District. White Crescent Press. pp. 105–108. ISBN 0-900804-29-7.
↑ 'Houses of Benedictine monks: The priory of Bradwell' – Victoria History of the Counties of England, A History of the County of Buckingham: Volume 1 (1905), pp. 350–352. Date accessed: 22 September 2009.
↑ Historic England (16 June 1948). "Bradwell Abbey: a Benedictine priory, chapel and fishpond (1009540)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 28 February 2022.
↑ Historic England (3 March 1952). "CHAPEL TO NORTH OF BRADWELL ABBEY HOUSE (1125271)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 28 February 2022.
↑ "Search Results for 'Bradwell Abbey'". Historic England. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
↑ Milton Keynes City Discovery Centre
↑ Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1125271)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 6 January 2009.

External links

"The architectural secrets of Milton Keynes" – BBC (with audio content)
Places to go: Bradwell Abbey and City Discovery Centre
The history of Bradwell Abbey – City Discovery Centre. Includes video tour.
Milton Keynes City Discovery Centre (Urban Studies educational centre).
Togfest Music Festival
William Page, ed. (1927). "Parishes : Bradwell". A History of the County of Buckingham. Victoria History of the Counties of England. Vol. 4. London: Constable & Co. Ltd. pp. 283–288.

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[markham-1] 1 2 Markham, Sir Frank (1986) [1973]. History of Milton Keynes and District. White Crescent Press. pp. 105–108. ISBN 0-900804-29-7.

[2] 'Houses of Benedictine monks: The priory of Bradwell' – Victoria History of the Counties of England, A History of the County of Buckingham: Volume 1 (1905), pp. 350–352. Date accessed: 22 September 2009.

[3] Historic England (16 June 1948). "Bradwell Abbey: a Benedictine priory, chapel and fishpond (1009540)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 28 February 2022.

[4] Historic England (3 March 1952). "CHAPEL TO NORTH OF BRADWELL ABBEY HOUSE (1125271)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 28 February 2022.

[5] "Search Results for 'Bradwell Abbey'". Historic England. Retrieved 28 February 2022.

[6] Milton Keynes City Discovery Centre

[7] Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1125271)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 6 January 2009.

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v t e Benedictine abbeys and priories in medieval England and Wales
Independent houses	Abbotsbury Abergavenny Abingdon Alcester Athelney Bardney Bath Battle Bedford Birkenhead Bradwell Brewood (Black Ladies) Buckfast Burton Bury St Edmunds Canterbury (Christ Church) Canterbury (St Augustine's) Canwell Cerne Chertsey Chester Cholsey Colchester Coventry Crowland Durham Ely Evesham Eynsham Farewell Priory Faversham Glastonbury Gloucester Humberston Luffield Malmesbury Milton Monk Bretton Muchelney Molycourt Norwich (Holy Trinity) Pershore Peterborough Ramsey Reading Repton Rochester St Albans St Benet of Hulme Sandwell Selby Sherborne Shrewsbury Snelshall Tavistock Tewkesbury Thorney Upholland Walden Westminster Whitby Winchcombe Winchester (New Minster) Winchester (St Swithun) Worcester York (St Mary's)
Dependent houses	Aldeby Alkborough Alcester Alvecote Beadlow Bedemans Berg Belvoir Binham Breedon Brecon Bristol Bromfield Cardiff Cardigan Cranborne Darenth Deeping Dover Dunster Earls Colne Ewenny Ewyas Harold Exeter Farne Felixstowe Finchale Freiston Great Malvern Hatfield Peverel Henes (Sandtoft) Hereford Hertford Holy Island Horton Hoxne Hurley Jarrow Kidwelly Kilpeck King's Mead Kings Lynn Lammana Langley Leominster Leonard Stanley Lincoln Little Malvern Littlemore Lytham Middlesbrough Monkwearmouth Morville Norwich (St Leonard's) Oxford (of Canterbury) Oxford (of Durham) Oxford (of Gloucester) Penwortham Pilton Redbourne Richmond Rumburgh St Bees St Ives Scilly Snaith Snape Stamford Studley (Oxfordshire) Studley (Warwickshire) Tickhill Tynemouth Wallingford Westbury-on-Trym Wetheral Wymondham Yarmouth
Alien priories	Allerton Mauleverer Andover Andwell Appuldurcombe Arundel Astley Aston Priors Atherington Avebury Axmouth Blyth Boxgrove Brimpsfield Burstall Burwell Caldy Carisbrooke Chepstow Clatford Cogges Corsham Covenham Cowick Creeting (St. Mary) Creeting (St. Olave) Debden Deerhurst Dunwich Ecclesfield Edith Weston Ellingham Everdon Eye Folkestone Frampton Goldcliff Grovebury Hamble Harmondsworth Hatfield Regis Haugham Hayling Headley Hinckley Holbeck Horsham St Faith Horsley Lancaster Lapley Lewisham Isleham Livers Ocle Llangennith Llangua Loders Minster Minster Lovell Minting Modbury Monks Kirby Monk Sherborne (Pamber) Monmouth Newent Ogbourne Otterton Panfield Pembroke Pill Ruislip Runcton St Cross St Dogmells St Michael's Mount St Neots Sele Spalding Sporle Standon Steventon Stogursey Stoke-by-Clare Stratfield Saye Swavesey Takeley Throwley Tickford Titley Toft Monks Totnes Tutbury Tywardreath Upavon Ware Wareham Warminghurst Warmington Wath Weedon Beck Weedon Lois West Mersea Wilsford Wing Winghale Wolston Wootton Wawen York (Holy Trinity)