Chertsey Abbey

Last updated

Chertsey Abbey
Stained glass in the Burrell CollectionDSCF0487 14.JPG
Medieval stained glass with the arms of the abbey, a sword and the keys of St Peter
Monastery information
Order Benedictine
Established666
refounded: 964
Disestablished1537
Dedicated to St Peter
People
Founder(s)Saint Erkenwald
Important associated figuresKing Frithuwald of Surrey
King Henry VI
Site
Location Chertsey,
Surrey, England
Coordinates 51°23′42″N0°30′11″W / 51.3950°N 0.5031°W / 51.3950; -0.5031
Visible remainsYes
Public accessYes
Richard I and Saladin in the British Museum tiles Britishmuseumrichardandsaladintiles.jpg
Richard I and Saladin in the British Museum tiles

Chertsey Abbey, dedicated to St Peter, was a Benedictine monastery located at Chertsey in the English county of Surrey. [1] [2]

Contents

It was founded in 666 AD by Saint Erkenwald who was the first abbot, and from 675 AD the Bishop of London. At the same time he founded the abbey at Chertsey, Erkenwald founded Barking Abbey on the Thames east of London, where his sister Saint Ethelburga was the first abbess.

The Founder, St Erkenwald, depicted in a state at St Albans Cathedral St Alban's Abbey IMG 2742 (28883447381).jpg
The Founder, St Erkenwald, depicted in a state at St Albans Cathedral

Most of north-west Surrey was granted to the abbey by King Frithuwald of Surrey. Dark Age saints buried here include Saint Beocca, a Dark Ages Catholic Saint from Anglo-Saxon England buried here around 870 AD, and ninth century Saint Edor of Chertsey.

In the 9th century it was sacked by the Danes and refounded from Abingdon Abbey by King Edgar of England in 964. In the eleventh century the monks engineered the Abbey River as an offshoot of the River Thames to supply power to the abbey's watermill. In late medieval times, the Abbey became famous as the burial place of King Henry VI (whose body was later transferred to St George's Chapel, Windsor). The abbey was dissolved by the commissioners of King Henry VIII in 1537, but the community moved to Bisham.

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, may be seen in the British Museum. [3] From the ruins of the abbey, individual letter tiles dating to the second half of the 13th century were recovered. [4] They were assembled to form religious inscription texts on the floor and can be considered a forerunner of movable type printing. [5]

One of the Abbey's bells, cast by a Wokingham foundry circa 1380 and weighing just over half a ton, is still in use as the 5th of the ring of eight at St Peter's church, Chertsey, and is one of the oldest bells in current use in Surrey.

A medieval stained glass panel with the abbey's coat of arms is displayed in the Burrell Collection near Glasgow, 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 manuscripts from the abbey survive in various collections. The Chertsey Breviary, c. 1300, is in the Bodleian Library in Oxford (Bodley Ms Lat. liturg. d. 42).

Chertsey Abbey is mentioned in William Shakespeare's Richard III , 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 holds the advowson 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, who purchased the site of Chertsey Abbey in Surrey in 1602. Dr Hammond's son, Lt.Col. Thomas Hammond of Cromwell's New Model Army, was named as a Commissioner at the High Court of Justice for the trial of Charles I, and despite attending no fewer than fourteen of its sittings, he did not sign the death warrant.

In the mid-19th century the site of the abbey was excavated under the supervision of the architect and archaeologist Samuel Angell, who published an account of the investigations, accompanied by a ground plan of the abbey church, in 1862. [6]

Known Abbots of Chertsey

Burials

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Benet's Abbey</span>

St Benet's Abbey was a medieval monastery of the Order of Saint Benedict, also known as St Benet's at Holme or Hulme. It was situated at Cow Holm, Horning, on the River Bure within the Broads in Norfolk, England. St Benet is a medieval English version of the name of St Benedict of Nursia, hailed as the founder of western monasticism. At the period of the Dissolution of the Monasteries the abbey's possessions were in effect seized by the crown and assigned to the diocese of Norwich. Though the monastery was supposed to continue as a community, within a few years at least the monks had dispersed. Today there remain only ruins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Netley Abbey</span> Ruins of 13th-century abbey at Hampshire, England

Netley Abbey is a ruined late medieval monastery in the village of Netley near Southampton in Hampshire, England. The abbey was founded in 1239 as a house for monks of the austere Cistercian order. Despite royal patronage, Netley was never rich, produced no influential scholars nor churchmen, and its nearly 300-year history was quiet. The monks were best known to their neighbours for the generous hospitality they offered to travellers on land and sea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chertsey</span> Town in Surrey, England

Chertsey is a town in the Borough of Runnymede, Surrey, England, 29 km (18 mi) south-west of central London. It grew up round Chertsey Abbey, founded in 666 CE by St Erkenwald, and gained a market charter from Henry I. A bridge across the River Thames first appeared in the early 15th century. The River Bourne through the town meets the Thames at Weybridge. The Anglican church has a medieval tower and chancel roof. The 18th-century listed buildings include the current stone Chertsey Bridge and Botleys Mansion. A curfew bell, rung at 8 pm on weekdays from Michaelmas to Lady Day ties with the romantic local legend of Blanche Heriot, marked by a statue of her and the bell at Chertsey Bridge. Green areas include the Thames Path National Trail, Chertsey Meads and a round knoll with remains of a prehistoric hill fort known as Eldebury Hill. Pyrcroft House dates from the 18th century and Tara from the late 20th. Train services are run between Chertsey railway station and London Waterloo by South Western Railway. The town is within the M25, accessible via junction 11.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Mary's Abbey, York</span> Scheduled monument ruin in York, England

The Abbey of St Mary is a ruined Benedictine abbey in York, England and a scheduled monument.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Earconwald</span> 7th-century Bishop of London and saint

Saint Earconwald or Erkenwald was a Saxon prince and Bishop of London between 675 and 693. In recent times he has been portraited novels and films in the work of Bernard Cornwell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prüfening Abbey</span>

Prüfening Abbey was a Benedictine monastery on the outskirts of Regensburg in Bavaria, Germany. Since the beginning of the 19th century it has also been known as Prüfening Castle. Notably, its extant dedicatory inscription, commemorating the founding of the abbey in 1119, was created by printing and is a unique document of medieval typography.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zinna Abbey</span> Former monastery in Jüterbog

Zinna Abbey is a former Cistercian monastery, the site of which is now occupied by a village also called Kloster Zinna, today part of Jüterbog in Brandenburg, Germany, about 60 km (37 mi) south of Berlin. The village was established by Frederick II of Prussia as a village for weavers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thorpe, Surrey</span> Village in England

Thorpe is a village in northwest Surrey, England, around 20 miles (32 km) west of central London. It is in the Borough of Runnymede, between Egham, Virginia Water and Chertsey. It is adjacent to the M25, near the M3 — its ward covers 856 hectares (3.3 sq mi). Its traditional area with natural boundaries covers one square mile less. Thorpe is a former civil parish.

Frithuwald was a seventh-century Anglo-Saxon ruler in Surrey, and perhaps also in modern Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, who is known from two surviving charters. He was a sub-king ruling under King Wulfhere of Mercia. According to late hagiographical materials, he was a brother-in-law of Wulfhere. The monks of Saint Peter's Minster, Chertsey, revered Frithuwald, whom they considered the founder of their monastery, as a saint.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barking Abbey</span>

Barking Abbey is a former royal monastery located in Barking, in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. It has been described as having been "one of the most important nunneries in the country".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norton Priory</span> Historic site in Norton, Runcorn, Cheshire, England

Norton Priory is a historic site in Norton, Runcorn, Cheshire, England, comprising the remains of an abbey complex dating from the 12th to 16th centuries, and an 18th-century country house; it is now a museum. The remains are a scheduled ancient monument and are recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building. They are considered to be the most important monastic remains in Cheshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lewes Priory</span> Grade I listed ruins in the United Kingdom

Lewes Priory is a part-demolished medieval Cluniac priory in Lewes, East Sussex in the United Kingdom. The ruins have been designated a Grade I listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strata Marcella</span>

The Abbey of Strata Marcella was a medieval Cistercian monastery situated at Ystrad Marchell on the west bank of the River Severn near Welshpool, Powys, Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hyde Abbey</span> Medieval Benedictine monastery

Hyde Abbey was a medieval Benedictine monastery just outside the walls of Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was dissolved and demolished in 1538 following various acts passed under King Henry VIII to dissolve monasteries and abbeys. The Abbey was once known to have housed the remains of King Alfred the Great, his son, King Edward the Elder, and his wife, Ealhswith. Following its dissolution these remains were lost; however, excavations of the Abbey and the surrounding area continue.

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 course, a motorway and a fresh water treatment works on the island it creates, Laleham Burway to its east and north in turn. Its offtake from the Thames is at the apex of Penton Hook, Staines upon Thames below its lower weir close to the Chertsey-Thorpe boundary in the Borough of Runnymede. Its outfall is the weir pool of Chertsey Lock back into the Thames, visible from Chertsey Bridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keynsham Abbey</span>

Keynsham Abbey in Keynsham, Somerset, England, was a monastic abbey founded c. 1166 by William, Earl of Gloucester. The abbey was established as a house of Augustinian canons regular, and operated until the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prüfening dedicatory inscription</span> Inscription impressed on clay which was created in 1119

The Prüfening dedicatory inscription is a high medieval inscription impressed on clay which was created in 1119, over three hundred years before Johannes Gutenberg, by the typographic principle. The inscription plate belongs to the Prüfening Abbey, a former Benedictine monastery, in Regensburg, Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Medieval letter tile</span> One-letter ceramic tiles that were used in monasteries and churches of the late Middle Ages

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 image into soft clay, which was then baked hard, and they were used to form words by assembling single-letter tiles in the desired order.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ename</span> Place in Flemish Region, Belgium

Ename is a Belgian village in the Flemish province of East Flanders. It stands on the right side of the river Scheldt and it is part of the municipality of Oudenaarde. The territory was inhabited during Prehistoric and Roman times, and became a trade settlement during the 10th century. From the 11th century it was part of the domain of the Benedictine abbey of Saint Salvator, until its 1795 dissolution in the aftermath of the French Revolution. The remains of the Saint Salvator abbey are today part of a major heritage project in Flanders, established by the Province of East-Flanders. The Provincial Archaeological Museum of Ename displays the major finds that have been excavated on the abbey site. Today the village of Ename hosts the Museumnacht in July and the Feeste t' Ename with the traditional horse market that has been held for centuries during the celebrations of the patron hallow Saint Laurentius, on the 10th of August.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint-Maur Abbey</span> Former religious institution in France, now park with historic ruins

Saint-Maur Abbey, originally called the Abbaye des Fossés, is a former abbey now subsumed in the Saint-Maur-des-Fossés suburb of Paris, France. The remains and the domain of the abbey have been transformed into a pleasure park named Parc de l'abbaye. The former abbey building has been replaced by a square at the corner of Avenue de Condé and Rue de l'Abbaye. Some ruins remain, such as the Rabelais tower, the 19th century Bourières villa and the old fortifications. The remains of the abbey have been classified as historical monuments since June 13, 1988.

References

  1. Brekle 1997 , pp. 58–63
  2. Lehmann-Haupt 1940 , pp. 93–97
  3. Richard and Saladin; Combat Series; Chertsey tiles, British Museum page
  4. Lehmann-Haupt 1940 , p. 96f
  5. Brekle 1997 , pp. 61f.
  6. "Proceedings at Meetings of the Archaeological Institute". The Archaeological Journal. 19: 167–8. 1862.
  7. Chertsey Abbey Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine history.

Bibliography

Further reading