Turvey Abbey

Last updated

Turvey Abbey
Turvey Abbey, front of main building - geograph.org.uk - 1199802.jpg
Monastery information
Full namePriory of Our Lady of Peace
Order Benedictine
Established1980
Site
Location Turvey, Bedfordshire, England
Coordinates 52°09′42″N0°37′06″W / 52.16163°N 0.6182°W / 52.16163; -0.6182 Coordinates: 52°09′42″N0°37′06″W / 52.16163°N 0.6182°W / 52.16163; -0.6182
Turvey Abbey interior Turvey Abbey, chapel interior - geograph.org.uk - 1199808.jpg
Turvey Abbey interior

Turvey Abbey is located in the village of Turvey in the English county of Bedfordshire. It is dated 1605 on the north facade and 1608 on the south facade. The building is stone, with a tile roof. [1] A dovecote, which no longer belongs to the Abbey, is a Grade II listed building. [2]

Contents

Current usage

It now belongs to the "Priory of Our Lady of Peace", a Benedictine order of nuns. It is a Roman Catholic community living according to the Rule of Saint Benedict and affiliated to the Olivetan family of Benedictines. The Abbey is not open to the public, but the community welcomes guests. [3]

The "Monastery of Christ our Saviour", while adjacent, is not part of Turvey Abbey.

History

The original part of Turvey Abbey was built in 1603. According to the English Heritage Register it may incorporate a building even earlier than this. [4]

The tenants who lived in the house for the longest period during this time were the Brands. Thomas Brand (died 1694) and his wife Margaret (died 1718) moved to the house in about 1670. They were Catholic recusants and are mentioned in numerous records. [5]

William Laurence and Sarah Steward were married in 1750 in Bedford. [6] They had six children one of whom (Thomas Laurence) was a churchwarden. William died in 1766 when all of his children were very young. In his will he made provision for his family. [7]

In 1786 the Mordant family sold their land in Turvey. [8] In the advertisement Sarah Laurence is mentioned as the tenant for the farm with "The Abbey". It was bought by Charles Higgins, a very wealthy merchant from London. He used it as his country house and allowed Sarah to continue living in it by dividing the building and the garden into two parts. [9] He also made some major repairs to the property at this time. When he died in 1792 the house was inherited. [10]

John Higgins (1768-1846) had a strong passion for "The Abbey". Even before he inherited it he made visits to Turvey to see it. He describes these in his memoirs. He said:

"In the 1781 Turvey Abbey was first seen by the writer of this memoir on his way to Bedford. The place caught his attention and exited considerable interest but he got no further account of it than that it was a farm and was called the Abbey.
About three years afterwards he was invited with some friends by the steward (employed by the Mordaunts) to a days fishing. Whilst they were taking refreshing draughts of punch in the garden of the Fishes Public House (now the Three Fyshes) he ran up the street to take a view of the old house and examined as much as he thought he might be permitted to do of the outside of the building." [11]

He made a sketch of the front and back of the house at this time which he included in his memoirs. [12]

In about 1801 John made some additions to the house. He built a new coach house with a clock (now called Brand House) and added balustrading and two mullioned windows brought from Easton Maudit. Later he built a walled garden and a Gothic summer house. [13]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Chambers (architect)</span> Scottish-Swedish architect

Sir William Chambers was a Swedish-Scottish architect, based in London. Among his best-known works are Somerset House, and the pagoda at Kew. Chambers was a founder member of the Royal Academy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woburn Abbey</span> Stately home in Bedfordshire, England

Woburn Abbey, occupying the east of the village of Woburn, Bedfordshire, England, is a country house, the family seat of the Duke of Bedford. Although it is still a family home to the current duke, it is open on specified days to visitors, along with the diverse estate surrounding it, including the historic landscape gardens and deer park, as well as more recently added attractions including Woburn Safari Park, a miniature railway and a garden/visitor centre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford</span> English royal minister

John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford was an English royal minister in the Tudor era. He served variously as Lord High Admiral and Lord Privy Seal. Among the lands and property he was given by Henry VIII after the Dissolution of the Monasteries, were the Abbey and town of Tavistock, and the area that is now Covent Garden. Russell is the ancestor of all subsequent Earls and Dukes of Bedford and Earls Russell, including John Russell, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and philosopher Bertrand Russell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olivetans</span> Catholic monastic order

The Olivetans, formally known as the Order of Our Lady of Mount Olivet, are a monastic order. They were founded in 1313 and recognised in 1344. They use the Rule of Saint Benedict and are a member of the Benedictine Confederation, where they are also known as the Olivetan Congregation, but are distinguished from the Benedictines in their white habit and centralized organisation. They use the post-nominals 'OSB Oliv'.

Beadlow Priory was a monastic foundation established between 1140 and 1146 by Robert D'Albini for a community of Benedictine monks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Turvey, Bedfordshire</span> Human settlement in England

Turvey is a village and civil parish on the River Great Ouse in the Borough of Bedford, Bedfordshire, England, about 7 miles (11 km) west of Bedford town centre. The village is on the A428 road between Bedford and Northampton, close to the border with Buckinghamshire. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 1,225.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abingdon Abbey</span> Benedictine monastery also known as St Marys Abbey located in Abingdon

Abingdon Abbey was a Benedictine monastery located in the centre of Abingdon-on-Thames beside the River Thames.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chenies Manor House</span> Grade I listed building in Chenies, Buckinghamshire

Chenies Manor House in the parish of Chenies in Buckinghamshire, England, is a Tudor Grade I listed building once known as Chenies Palace, although it was never a royal seat nor the seat of a bishop. It was held by the Cheney family since 1180 and passed by marriage successively to the Semark and Sapcote families and thence in 1526 to the Russell family, Earls of Bedford, later Dukes of Bedford, by whom it was held for several centuries. Although the Russells soon abandoned Chenies as its main seat in favour of Woburn Abbey in Bedfordshire, Chenies parish church remains the site of the private "Bedford Chapel", the mausoleum still in use by that family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elstow</span> Human settlement in England

Elstow is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Bedford, Bedfordshire, England, about 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Bedford town centre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tavistock Abbey</span> Ruined Benedictine abbey in Devon, England

Tavistock Abbey, also known as the Abbey of Saint Mary and Saint Rumon, is a ruined Benedictine abbey in Tavistock, Devon. Nothing remains of the abbey except the refectory, two gateways and a porch. The abbey church, dedicated to Our Lady and St Rumon, was destroyed by Danish raiders in 997 and rebuilt under Lyfing, the second abbot. The church was further rebuilt in 1285 and the greater part of the abbey between 1457 and 1458.

Amesbury Abbey was a Benedictine abbey of women at Amesbury in Wiltshire, England, founded by Queen Ælfthryth in about the year 979 on what may have been the site of an earlier monastery. The abbey was dissolved in 1177 by Henry II, who founded in its place a house of the Order of Fontevraud, known as Amesbury Priory.

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

Lamspringe Abbey is a former religious house of the English Benedictines in exile, at Lamspringe near Hildesheim in Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Higgins Art Gallery & Museum</span> Art Gallery & Museum in Bedfordshire, England

The Higgins Art Gallery & Museum is the principal art gallery and museum in Bedford, Bedfordshire, England, run by Bedford Borough Council and the trustees of the Cecil Higgins Collection.

John Mordaunt, 1st Baron Mordaunt was an English politician and peer.

Grovebury Priory, also known as La Grave or Grava was a priory in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, England. It was established in 1164 and disestablished in 1414.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Turvey railway station</span> Former railway station in England

Turvey was a railway station on the Bedford to Northampton Line which served the village of Turvey from 1872 to 1962.

Charles Longuet Higgins (1806–1885) was an English landowner, physician and benefactor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Turvey House and Gardens</span>

Turvey House and Gardens are a country house, gardens and parkland, situated by the village of Turvey in Bedfordshire, England. The gardens and parkland are listed Grade II in Historic England's Register of Parks and Gardens. and the house is a Grade I listed building. The house is a venue for weddings, events and location shoots.

References

  1. ↑ "Parishes: Turvey | British History Online".
  2. ↑ "Dovecote at Turvey Abbey, Turvey, Bedford".
  3. ↑ "Turvey Abbey".
  4. ↑ English Heritage Register, "Turvey Abbey". Online reference
  5. ↑ Estcourt, E. E. 1885 "The English Catholic nonjurors of 1715", p. 3 Online reference
  6. ↑ England, Select Marriages, 1538-1973, Film Number 823782.
  7. ↑ Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills, William Laurence, Turvey, 19 March 1766.
  8. ↑ Turvey History websit "The Purchase of Turvey" Online reference
  9. ↑ Higgins, John 1830 "Turvey Abbey Scrap Books", p. 58. Online reference
  10. ↑ Turvey History website. Online reference
  11. ↑ Higgins, John 1830 "Turvey Abbey Scrap Books". p. 57-8. Online reference
  12. ↑ Higgins, John 1830 "Turvey Abbey Scrap Books". p. 57 and 58. Online reference
  13. ↑ Maynard, John, 1994, "A Brief History of Turvey Abbey". p. 9. Online reference
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.