Owston Abbey

Last updated
Owston Abbey
St Andrew's Church, Owston.jpg
St Andrew's church, Owston, incorporates part of the former abbey.
Leicestershire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location within Leicestershire
Monastery information
Order Canons Regular
EstablishedBefore 1161
Disestablished1536
Dedicated toSt Andrew
Diocese Lincoln
People
Founder(s)Robert Grimbald
Site
Location Leicestershire, United Kingdom
Coordinates 52°39′50″N0°51′23″W / 52.663842°N 0.856526°W / 52.663842; -0.856526 Coordinates: 52°39′50″N0°51′23″W / 52.663842°N 0.856526°W / 52.663842; -0.856526
Visible remainsParts incorporated into the current St Andrew's Parish Church.

Owston Abbey was an Augustinian monastery in Owston, Leicestershire, England.

Contents

History

Owston Abbey was founded before 1161 by Robert Grimbald. [1] The abbey was endowed with the church and manor of Owston. By 1166 the abbey had also acquired the advowsons of the churches of Burrough, King's Norton and Slawston, in Leicestershire; Tickencote in Rutland; and North Witham in Lincolnshire. Around 1341 the abbey also gained the manor and church of Muston, Leicestershire, and was granted the manor of Normanton by Robert de Golville. [2]

Despite its endowment and rank, "Owston remained one of the smaller and poorer Augustinian houses". [2] When the abbey was visited by William Alnwick, Bishop of Lincoln, in 1440, the abbey was described as being in poverty. It had an annual income of only £40, but debts of 100 marks. [2]

In 1377 there were 17 canons at the abbey, and in 1440 there were 15. By 1534 the number had fallen again to 11 and by 1536 only 6 canons remained at the abbey. [1]

In 1534 the Abbot and 11 canons accepted King Henry VIII's royal supremacy over the church. In the Valor Ecclesiasticus of 1535 the abbey was recorded among the smaller religious houses, with an annual income of £161.14s. 2d. The abbey was dissolved with the smaller monasteries in 1536. All of the canons of the abbey wished to give up their monastic lives and the abbot was awarded an annual pension of £18. [2] By 1556 the abbey is described as being "ruined". [1]

The chancel and other fragments of the abbey church were incorporated into the present St Andrew's parish church on the site. A gatehouse at the south-west corner of the nave was demolished in the 18th century and remains of earthworks and foundations can be found to the south and south-west of the present church, along with several fish-ponds which have been environmentally investigated. The abbey's cloister is thought to have been to the south of the church, and some associated stonework exists below ground. [1]

The site is a scheduled monument [1] and St Andrew's church a Grade I listed building. [3]

Abbots of Owston Abbey

List of Abbots of Owston Abbey:

  • Odo, occurs in or before 1161.
  • Edward, occurs 1183-4.
  • Ralph, occurs 1202.
  • Richard, admitted 1236.
  • Peter of Leycestre, elected 1241, died 1264.
  • William of Flamstead, elected 1264, died 1268.
  • Ivo of Cosseby, elected 1268, resigned 1280.
  • John Chaumberleyn, elected 1280, resigned 1284.
  • Ivo of Cosseby, elected 1284, resigned 1286.
  • Robert of Lincoln, elected 1286, died 1289.
  • Ernald of Slawston, elected 1289, died 1298.
  • Richard of Bokesworth, elected 1298, died 1316.
  • Robert of Staunford, elected 1316, resigned 1322.
  • William of Braunston, elected 1322.
  • John of Kibbeworth, occurs 1344, died 1355.
  • William of Cottesmore, elected 1355, resigned 1401.
  • Robert of Nouesle, elected 1401, resigned 1421.
  • William Kilpesham, elected 1421, died 1467.
  • Robert Kirkeby, elected 1467, resigned 1481.
  • Henry Medban, elected 1481, occurs 1497.
  • John Belton, admitted 1504, resigned 1520.
  • John Slawston, last abbot, elected 1520. [2]

Related Research Articles

Bourne Abbey Church in Lincolnshire, United Kingdom

Bourne Abbey and the Parish Church of St. Peter and St. Paul is a scheduled Grade I church in Bourne, Lincolnshire, England. The building remains in parochial use, despite the 16th-century Dissolution, as the nave was used by the parish, probably from the time of the foundation of the abbey in 1138.

Villehardouin was a noble dynasty originating in Villehardouin, a former commune of the Aube department, now part of Val-d'Auzon, France. It is most notable as the ruling house of the Principality of Achaea, a Frankish crusader state in the Peloponnese peninsula of Greece, between 1209 and 1278, when possession passed to the angevin Kings of Naples.

The Abbot of Rievaulx was the head of the Cistercian monastic community of Rievaulx Abbey, founded in 1131 by Walter l'Espec in North Yorkshire, northern England. The Abbots of Rievaulx were amongst the most powerful Christian leaders in northern England until the dissolution of the monastery by Henry VIII of England in 1538.

St. Botolphs Priory

St. Botolph's Priory was a medieval house of Augustinian canons in Colchester, Essex, founded c. 1093. The priory had the distinction of being the first and leading Augustinian convent in England until its dissolution in 1536.

Missenden Abbey

Missenden Abbey was a former Arrouasian (Augustinian) monastery, founded in 1133 in Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom. The abbey was dissolved in 1538, and the abbey church demolished. In 1574 a house, also known as Missenden Abbey, was constructed on the site of the monastic cloisters, incorporating some of the monastic remains. The house was altered several times, gaining its current "Regency Gothic" style at the beginning of the 19th century. The house was "gutted" by fire in 1985 and subsequently rebuilt.

Church of St Mary and St Hardulph, Breedon on the Hill Church in England

The Priory Church of St Mary and St Hardulph is the Church of England parish church of Breedon on the Hill, Leicestershire, England. The church has also been known as Breedon Priory and as the Holy Hill Monastery.

Croxton Abbey

Croxton Abbey, near Croxton Kerrial, Leicestershire, was a Premonstratensian monastery founded by William I, Count of Boulogne.

Dunstable Priory Church in Dunstable, United Kingdom

The Priory Church of St Peter with its monastery was founded in 1132 by Henry I for Augustinian Canons in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, England. St Peter’s today is only the nave of what remains of an originally much larger Augustinian priory church. The monastic buildings consisted of a dormitory for the monks, an infirmary, stables, workshops, bakehouse, brewhouse and buttery. There was also a hostel for pilgrims and travellers, the remains of which is known today as Priory House. Opposite the Priory was one of the royal palaces belonging to Henry I, known as Kingsbury.

Garendon Abbey

Garendon Abbey was a Cistercian abbey located between Shepshed and Loughborough, in Leicestershire, United Kingdom.

Ulverscroft Priory

Ulverscroft Priory is a former hermitage and priory in Ulverscroft, Leicestershire.

Bradley Priory

Bradley Priory was an Augustinian priory in the parish of Nevill Holt, Leicestershire, England.

Charley Priory

Charley Priory was a small former priory in Leicestershire, England.

Kirby Bellars Priory Church in England

Kirby Bellars Priory was a small priory of Canons Regular of Saint Augustine in Leicestershire, England. It is now the Church of England Parish Church of Saint Peter's serving the village of Kirby Bellars.

Launde Priory

Launde Priory is a former Augustinian priory in Leicestershire, England. Its successor Launde Abbey is used as a conference and retreat centre by the Church of England dioceses of Leicester and Peterborough.

Sulby Abbey was a Premonstratensian house in Northamptonshire, England, founded in 1155 as daughter house of the Abbey of St. Mary and St. Martial in Newsham.

Leicester Abbey Former Augustinian monastery in Leicester, England

The Abbey of Saint Mary de Pratis, more commonly known as Leicester Abbey, was an Augustinian religious house in the city of Leicester, in the East Midlands of England. The abbey was founded in the 12th century by the Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester, and grew to become the wealthiest religious establishment within Leicestershire. Through patronage and donations the abbey gained the advowsons of countless churches throughout England, and acquired a considerable amount of land, and several manorial lordships. Leicester Abbey also maintained a cell at Cockerham Priory, in Lancashire. The Abbey's prosperity was boosted through the passage of special privileges by both the English Kings and the Pope. These included an exemption from sending representatives to parliament and from paying tithe on certain land and livestock. Despite its privileges and sizeable landed estates, from the late 14th century the abbey began to suffer financially and was forced to lease out its estates. The worsening financial situation was exacerbated throughout the 15th century and early 16th century by a series of incompetent, corrupt and extravagant abbots. By 1535 the abbey's considerable income was exceeded by even more considerable debts.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Historic England. "Owston Abbey (321103)". PastScape. Retrieved 2013-04-10.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Houses of Augustinian canons: The abbey of Owston, A History of the County of Leicestershire: Volume 2 (1954), pp. 21-23. Date accessed: 27 June 2013
  3. ↑ Historic England. "CHURCH OF ST ANDREW (1074871)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 10 September 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.