DOCSLIB.ORG

Dame Elizabeth Shelley, Last Abbess of St

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Dame Elizabeth Shelley, Last Abbess of St Dame Elizabeth Shelley, Last Abbess of St. Mary's Abbey, Winchester by JOHN PAUL I HE important Benedictine nunnery of St Mary, the Nuns' minster or Nunnaminster, was founded by Alfred the Great's wife, Eahlswith, at the end of the 9th century on Ta site near the centre of Winchester.1 Alfred's son, Edward the Elder, completed the building, and after Alfred's death, Eahlswith spent the rest of her days in the new abbey. She may even have been appointed as abbess, but according to Leland, the antiquary, it was Edburga, Edward's daughter, who became the first abbess. Nunnaminster was the earliest of three important religious houses for women to be established in Hampshire. With the creation of the large, house of Romsey in about 907 and that of Wherwell in approximately 986, the establishment of Nunnaminster exemplified the predilection of early royal founders for the spread of monastic life as a religious and civilis­ ing influence in the kingdom of Wessex. In the century after its foundation, the nunnery seems to have been stricken by poverty, a misfortune which was to recur in its career, but which was not peculiar to its own long history. Rather than the fact of Nunnaminster's poverty, however, it was Bishop Ethelwold's desire of introducing stricter discipline in religi­ ous life which prompted him almost to re-found and re-endow the nunnery in 963. Ethelwold had been a monk at Glastonbury with Dunstan and it was through Dunstan's influence that he was eventually made Bishop of Winchester.2 Acutely aware of the deterioration of English monastic life, which fell much below the monastic standards of the influential abbeys of Northern France and Flanders, it was the new Bishop who resolved upon an improvement of the religious and moral status of the monks in his large and important diocese. Acting generally with considerable severity, his thorough measures achieved their object; and not only was Nunnaminster re-founded, but also the Old Minster (forerunner of the Cathedral Priory) was re-constituted as a Benedictine monastic community, the lax seculars being turned out or, at least, those among them dismissed who declined to accept the monastic habit. Like all religious houses, St Mary's had its varied difficulties and changes of fortune in the succeeding centuries. During the civil war in Stephen's reign the abbey was burnt with many other churches in the ancient capital by Henry of Blois, Bishop of Winchester. Records of its later history are rather meagre, but there is evidence that poverty continued to be an embarrassment to the community, and we find that there is a complaint to the Pope about it in 1343 and again in 1346. The effect of the Great Pestilence and that of the cattle plague which followed was serious, since they resulted in much reduced rents from Nunnaminster's lands, the unproductiveness of which was caused by scarce and expensive labour. All this formed the subject of a further appeal to the Pope in 1352 for the appropriation of the church of Gretford in Lincolnshire—an appeal which succeeded, for Gretford was still among the nunnery's properties mentioned at the Suppression Commissioners' visitation in 1536.3 1. Carpenter Turner, B, Churches of_ Mediaeval Winchester (Winchester, 1957), p. 37. The remaining early historical facts are based on details in V.C.H. 2, p. 116 and p. 122 et seq. 2. D.N.B.: Ethelwold. 3. V.C.H., p. 123; P.R.O. E315/400 £. 24 et seq. 6o DAME ELIZABETH SHELLEY St Mary's, associated with the royal house in its earliest days, may, in the members of its community, have been distinguished by a note of gentle breeding throughout its long life. This distinction was, to some extent, possibly derived from the Crown's exercise of the right of nominating a nun to the abbey at each coronation. It certainly seems to have been found there during the convent's last years and, significantly, among a large number of aristocratic children being educated there, were two girls of Plantagenet origin. The community was not small in size, since in 1536 it numbered 26 nuns and 13 lay sisters, but, probably on account of the considerable amount of education which the convent under­ took, the household itself was a large one. An important feature of the nunnery was the presence of as many as five chaplains, who did not, of course, form part of the monastic -community.4 These chaplains may have been necessary to assist the Abbess or her subordinate officers in 'managing the community's temporal affairs.5 One acted as confessor, and all probably lived in common in the convent. Nunnaminster, although an influential house, was only of moderate wealth. The Valor of 1535 gives the annual value as £245, with a net yearly value of £179, but, as will later be explained, these figures were a considerable understatement. At the time of the intended suppression in 1536 the value of the lands and possessions was given as some £330, and the value of the woods, which seem to have constituted a considerable proportion of the total real property, was as much as £231.6 Besides the church of Gretford in Lincolnshire, the convent owned some seven manors— Erchefountt (which included 'a great wood of oaks' of 100 acres) and All Cannings in Wilt­ shire, andfive in Hampshire, ...of which the most valuable was possibly Froyie. Froyle had long been associated with the wool trade and for centuries the productiveness pf the old native textile industry of Hampshire had been nourished by the wool which came .from.the flocks of sheep reared extensively on the Downsi The sheep industry was of con- : siderable significance in the county as early as the 13th centiiry, and we learn that the fleeces rpf sheep from Froyle in 1241 reached a total of 837.8 'Large wool' was a special feature of the fleeces, and the Abbess of St Mary's obtained from the flocks five weys valued at the fairly tonsiderable sum of £8 6s. 8d. in the tenth year of her rule, about the middle of the 13th century.9 When, in later years, the enclosure movement gained impetus and the manor of Froyle possibly became involved in it, the value of the wool produced would have been con­ siderably enhanced. Nunnaminster with its church and associated buildings was no doubt a worthy external 'memorial to its royal founders and patrons, the church itself being probably more exquisite and majestic than the elegantly symmetrical abbey of Romsey, still today in a fine condition of preservation. The Commissioners of 1536 described the convent as being in a 'very good state of reparation, standing nigh the middle of the city and of a great and large compass'.10 The neighbourhood was filled 'with many poor households which have their only living of the said monastery. And have no demesnes whereby they may make any provision, but live only by their hands, making their provision in the markets'. These 'poor households' must 4. E315/400, f. 24 et seq. 5. V.C.H. 2, p. 122. 6. E315/400, f. 24 et seq. 7. V.C.H. 5, p. 475. 8. Ibid. 9. Ibid. 10. E315/400 f. 24 et seq. 6l HAMPSHIRE FIELD CLUB PROCEEDINGS have found the fair of St Giles on St Giles' Hill overlooking the city a source of profit for their wares and labours. The Fair, which originated in a grant from William Rufus and became one of the great fairs of the country, was at first prescribed for the vigil, feast and morrow of St Giles, but its subsequent normal term of sixteen days could be extended on occasions by specific grants to as much as 24 days.11 'Overspill', so to say, of people from the Fair must have sometimes proved a source of irritation, and perhaps of trouble, to the cloistered nuns, since Nunnaminster was situated not far from the scene of business and gaiety. Nothing remains of the abbey church. That it was of surpassing splendour is clear from the testimony of Camden, writing at the beginning of the 17th century. There were, he says, many noble buildings in the city of Winchester, but 'time has destroyed them, though I cannot but take notice of the nunnery, founded by Aelfwide [sic], wife to King Alfred, it having been so noble a pile (as the ruins of it still show)'.12 Had Winchester not been a city of so many churches, Nunnaminster might, like her sister of Romsey, have been spared to serve as a noble parish church after the Dissolution, but it went the way of so many abbeys. A simple plaque on the wall of a building overlooking pleasant, trim gardens bears witness to the fact that there was once lived on the spot a hallowed life of piety and peace. Although destruction at St Mary's was more complete than at many other religious houses, it is possible to form some idea of the extent of the abbey buildings and of the precincts from evidence in contemporary documents. The Abbess's lodging stretched from the church, which was, presumably, orientated, to the frater north and south, with associated 'houses of offices', such as the buttery, pantry, kitchen and larder.13 Other abbatial buildings were the gatehouse, the barn, the baking and brewing houses, with 'the garner next to them', the stable and the mill.14 The abbey mill, a substantial possession, considered useful at the time to the Crown, was preserved and is still in existence, whilst at the south-eastern end of the High Street side of the precinct there was another mill, the Posterne Mill of the abbey of Wintney.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Hyde Abbey: a Typical Benedictine Monastery of the 12Th Century
    Hyde Abbey: A Typical Benedictine Monastery of the 12th Century The translation of the bones of King Alfred to Hyde Abbey in 1110 Plan of Hyde Abbey overlaid on to today’s street plan Hyde Abbey was and early stopping off In purely architectural accommodation for exceptional in its age point on the pilgrims’ terms, however, Hyde visitors and other offices. because it had the honour way from Winchester to Abbey would have been Consequently the abbey and responsibility of Canterbury. The royal very typical of Benedictine church built by Henry looking after the remains graves were set before the abbeys of the Norman I in Reading in the of King Alfred the Great High Altar while the side era. By the 12th century 1120s – inspired one can and his family. It also chapels might well have what might be regarded reasonably imagine by acquired a number of hosted the relics. Pilgrims as a standard pattern had Hyde Abbey – was very relics, notably those of St. would have processed emerged in the design much along the same lines Josse (also known as St. around the side aisles to of these abbey churches as Hyde in its layout. Judoc). This made it in absorb the holiness which along with their associated later years, an important emanated from them. cloisters, dormitories, Wherwell Abbey Romsey Abbey Hyde Abbey Winchester Cathedral Comparative length of Hyde Abbey and other contemporary abbeys and churches Capital example on display at St. Bartholomew, Hyde Building Materials Decoration Because of the Cathedral, stone was Artistically, the plain Today the Priory Church predominance of chalk necessary.
    [Show full text]
  • Brotherhood and Confraternity at Canterbury Cathedral Priory in the Fifteenth Century: the Evidence of John Stone’S Chronicle
    Archaeologia Cantiana Vol. 128 2008 BROTHERHOOD AND CONFRATERNITY AT CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL PRIORY IN THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY: THE EVIDENCE OF JOHN STONE’S CHRONICLE MERIEL CONNOR Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, Manuscript 417 is better known as the ‘Chronicle of John Stone, Monk of Christ Church, Canterbury, 1415- 1471’. The preface of the manuscript declares it to be the ‘book of brother John Stone, a monk of Christ Church Canterbury, which was composed as a result of his great work in the year 1467 in his fiftieth year as a monk’.1 In 1906, W.G. Searle published a Latin edition of this manuscript, and since that time, Searle’s text has allowed easy access to this fascinating primary source for historians of Christ Church Priory in the fifteenth- century and monastic historians in general.2 Indeed, because the text has been so readily accessible in its printed Latin form, the tendency has been to extract items of interest to a particular scholar and, until recently, little attention has been given to the original manuscript or to the composition of the work as a whole.3 Stone describes himself as the compiler of ‘these chronicles’,4 but his work does not attempt to relate the history of Christ Church Priory from its foundation, as do more traditional monastic chronicles. The surviving manuscript (a fifteenth-century copy of a fifteenth-century original) is somewhere between an annal (a list of years with notices of events recorded alongside) and a selective history of events. It focuses principally on the internal life of the priory: the celebration of the liturgy; rituals and ceremonies; the election and enthronement of archbishops; the duties of their suffragans; and even the weather.
    [Show full text]
  • A Press Release from Hyde900
    A PRESS RELEASE FROM HYDE900 Additional previously unknown building on the site of Hyde Abbey found during extension works in King Alfred Terrace King Alfred Terrace, already the area which yielded the important discovery during the 2017 -18 Hyde900 Community digs of stones from the Norman arches of the original abbey cloister (now on display at the recently reopened City museum), has now provided evidence of another important building adjacent to the cloisters. Local resident and owner of the garden yielding the arch fragments, Chris Prior, spotted interesting stonework and tiles in a skip outside a house at the top end of his road. Invited to see where the debris had come from, Chris uncovered traces of a flint faced foundations of a wall close to preparatory work on an extension to the house. Further investigation yielded the foundations of a wall, over one metre wide, which was in exact alignment with the cloister buildings. Dr John Crook, Architectural Consultant and advisor to the Hyde900 digs, commented ”The random finds located in the garden soils bore witness to the Abbey’s long development. There was at least one fragment of Quarr stone from the Isle of Wight, probably from one of the earliest abbey buildings in around 1110; a thirteenth-century half-shaft with fillet moulding, typical of the 1250s, and brick and glazed tiles, probably of Tudor date and from buildings destroyed by Henry VIII in 1538.” Dr Crook considered the discovery of the wall was particularly exciting. “In its materials and construction technique it is similar to a wall discovered further along King Alfred Terrace in 2018-19, which has been dated to the early fourteenth century and is thought to be part of a rebuilding of the monks’ refectory (dining room).
    [Show full text]
  • 1 the New Monasticon Hibernicum and Inquiry Into
    THE NEW MONASTICON HIBERNICUM AND INQUIRY INTO THE EARLY CHRISTIAN AND MEDIEVAL CHURCH IN IRELAND Launched in October 2003 under the auspices of the Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences, the ‘Monasticon Hibernicum’ project is based in the Department of Old and Middle Irish at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth, Co. Kildare. Central to the project is a database of the native Early Christian and Medieval (5th to 12th centuries AD) ecclesiastical foundations of Ireland - managed by research fellows Ailbhe MacShamhráin and Aidan Breen, under the general direction of Kim McCone, professor of Old and Middle Irish. A longer-term goal is to produce a dictionary of the Early Christian churches, cathedrals, monasteries, convents and hermitages of Ireland for which historical, archaeological or placename evidence survives. The title of the project pays tribute to Mervyn Archdall’s Monasticon Hibernicum; but what is envisaged here goes beyond revision of such antiquarian classics.1 The comprehensive character of this new Monasticon (the database already features a number of sites which are indicated solely by historical, or by archaeological, or placename evidence), along with its structure and referencing, will make for more than a general reference book. It is envisaged as a research-tool to further inquiry in the fields of history (helping to illuminate, for example, ecclesiastico-political relationships, pre-reform church organisation, the dissemination of saints’ cults and gender-politics in the Irish church) and settlement studies - as illustrated below with reference to some of the Leinster data. The first phase of the project, carried out during the academic year 2003-04, has focused on the ecclesiastical province of Dublin – which includes the dioceses of Dublin itself, Glendalough, Ferns, Kildare, Leighlin and Ossory.
    [Show full text]
  • English Monks Suppression of the Monasteries
    ENGLISH MONKS and the SUPPRESSION OF THE MONASTERIES ENGLISH MONKS and the SUPPRESSION OF THE MONASTERIES by GEOFFREY BAS KER VILLE M.A. (I) JONA THAN CAPE THIRTY BEDFORD SQUARE LONDON FIRST PUBLISHED I937 JONATHAN CAPE LTD. JO BEDFORD SQUARE, LONDON AND 91 WELLINGTON STREET WEST, TORONTO PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN IN THE CITY OF OXFORD AT THE ALDEN PRESS PAPER MADE BY JOHN DICKINSON & CO. LTD. BOUND BY A. W. BAIN & CO. LTD. CONTENTS PREFACE 7 INTRODUCTION 9 I MONASTIC DUTIES AND ACTIVITIES I 9 II LAY INTERFERENCE IN MONASTIC AFFAIRS 45 III ECCLESIASTICAL INTERFERENCE IN MONASTIC AFFAIRS 72 IV PRECEDENTS FOR SUPPRESSION I 308- I 534 96 V THE ROYAL VISITATION OF THE MONASTERIES 1535 120 VI SUPPRESSION OF THE SMALLER MONASTERIES AND THE PILGRIMAGE OF GRACE 1536-1537 144 VII FROM THE PILGRIMAGE OF GRACE TO THE FINAL SUPPRESSION 153 7- I 540 169 VIII NUNS 205 IX THE FRIARS 2 2 7 X THE FATE OF THE DISPOSSESSED RELIGIOUS 246 EPILOGUE 273 APPENDIX 293 INDEX 301 5 PREFACE THE four hundredth anniversary of the suppression of the English monasteries would seem a fit occasion on which to attempt a summary of the latest views on a thorny subject. This book cannot be expected to please everybody, and it makes no attempt to conciliate those who prefer sentiment to truth, or who allow their reading of historical events to be distorted by present-day controversies, whether ecclesiastical or political. In that respect it tries to live up to the dictum of Samuel Butler that 'he excels most who hits the golden mean most exactly in the middle'.
    [Show full text]
  • £ Zr PLAN of HTCHFIELD ABBEY
    HANT8 FIELD CLUB, 1896. PLAN OF HTCHFIELD ABBEY £ \t \J,\.J zr THchfidd Abbey 1231 -1S58 A A Ne»& 15 Choir e.. SKur-e> f™, IfiTFloor UmMfercte T3"eaby*I£ry j» DoovWtgr cDJD. TVrmsepK winrChcrode <f BuildindK Exietfho* 1761 - 82 <*~ c« E Cloiater Kh. Cetrder?>*U1 ^ F S»criotfy Cr CJ-tetnfer House H CdilEMUcIor^ (Canon. DanMywfr t.C,H) I Reredarler(?) R.rf«dotry, Tbmbft «y ATobrife SiulSry C?) lOAIlar of S^PfeJer M KaKheavC?) n Allar I?) N Gdlarere? Building Adeem 12 PoeaTian, of Udamay John. dyidonarilcarve 1ft dlebr from DorTer "Rodter a* Ceovdevfer 14 Early dowtvfcy 16 HkABCk^s. «Jcfvn. de CcmJoe 15' Doarwtjy IS" T^rjpervdicuba* Refectory Tiler de. >Vyrilan. William de*lVti]lop Tnnf nf T r T ' ¥ f T x r BT. •.'.•' " •••" . '.« •' •« • •;*.-. .- •- ••: . • - „, • 317 TITCHFIELD ABBEY AND PLACE HOUSE. BY THE REV. G. W. MINNS, LL.B., F.S.A. Titchfield lies between Southampton and Portsmouth, about two'miles from the shores of the Solent, and is the largest civil parish in Hampshire, 17,500 acres in extent. 'Few country towns have a history more varied or of greater interest. The Meonwara occupied the valley which extends from the mouth of the Meon or Titchfield River, two miles below the town, northward as far as East Meon. The discovery of flint weapons and implements shows that the site of Titchfield was occupied long before the Roman invasion, and its river served as a means of, com- munication with the inhabitants of the valley. In Domesday Book Ticefelle, i.e., the manor of Titchfield, is described as a berewick or village belonging to Meonstoke and held by the King, as it had been in the time of Edward the Confessor.
    [Show full text]
  • CITY WALK (Approximately 1 Mile of Level Walking, Generally Suitable for in 1863, John Mellor Excavated the Site a T E I Y E River Park S R R T H R Bus Stop the Great
    Newbury/Oxford (A34) Coach Park Basingstoke (A33) K C ING A R LFRED PLACE A E N N Hyde AD P W O W P A OSE LD R L R A Abbey Hyde IRFIE R Gate FA O Y NE C Abbey N H T Alfred’s Final Journey RT T 33 Garden P Long stay parking R P T ATE H O H E YD YDE G W E C E H R L A O SE R P King Alfred O Short stay parking N P T 34 A S D D D O E R KIN G A D V LFRED Park and ride CITY WALK (Approximately 1 mile of level walking, generally suitable for In 1863, John Mellor excavated the site A T E I Y E River Park S R R T H R bus stop the Great 33 O Salisbury/Stockbridge (B3049) C Leisure Centre R KB R O R T A wheelchairs, allow about 1 hour). of Hyde Abbey and claimed to have ID O VICTORI SIL A C C G H C A E P E RD I STER PL Coach drop-off/ E A tour of King Alfred’s Winchester RO D V found King Alfred’s bones. Few records A EN pick-up Winchester D A H RLINGTO C Railway Station ION N PLACE Skatepark T King Alfred ruled Wessex From St Maurice’s Covert, cross Market Lane towards the H G I T ILL R A O E T IV Toilets were kept and considerable doubts R S R T S D from 871 until his death Cathedral Green.
    [Show full text]
  • 162912442.Pdf
    Emily Mitchell Patronage and Politics at Barking Abbey, c. 950 - c. 1200 Abstract This thesis is a study of the Benedictine abbey of Barking in Essex from the tenth to the twelfth centuries. It is based on a wide range of published and unpublished documentary sources, and on hagiographie texts written at the abbey. It juxtaposes the literary and documentary sources in a new way to show that both are essential for a full understanding of events, and neither can be fully appreciated in isolation. It also deliberately crosses the political boundary of 1066, with the intention of demonstrating that political events were not the most significant determinant of the recipients of benefactors’ religious patronage. It also uses the longer chronological scale to show that patterns of patronage from the Anglo-Saxon era were frequently inherited by the incoming Normans along with their landholdings. Through a detailed discussion of two sets of unpublished charters (Essex Record Office MSS D/DP/Tl and Hatfield, Hatfield House MS Ilford Hospital 1/6) 1 offer new dates and interpretations of several events in the abbey’s history, and identify the abbey’s benefactors from the late tenth century to 1200. As Part III shows, it has been possible to trace patterns of patronage which were passed down through several generations, crossing the political divide of 1066. Royal patronage is shown to have been of great significance to the abbey, and successive kings exploited their power of advowson in different ways according to the political atmosphere o f England. The literary sources are discussed in a separate section, but with full reference to the historical narrative.
    [Show full text]
  • The Cult of St Æthelwold and Its Context, C. 984 - C
    The Cult of St Æthelwold and its Context, c. 984 - c. 1400 Rebecca Browett Institute of Historical Research School of Advanced Study, University of London A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of Ph.D in History September 2016 1 Declaration This thesis is submitted to the University of London in support of my application for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. I, Rebecca Browett, hereby confirm that the work presented in this thesis is my own, carried out during the course of my studies. The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without the consent of the author. Signed: Date: 2 Abstract This thesis documents the cult of St Æthelwold, a tenth-century bishop of Winchester, from its inception (c. 984) until the late Middle Ages. During his life, Æthelwold was an authoritative figure who reformed monasteries in southern England. Those communities subsequently venerated him as a saint and this thesis examines his cult at those centres. In particular, it studies how his cult enabled monasteries to forge their identities and to protect their rights from avaricious bishops. It analyses the changing levels of veneration accorded to Æthelwold over a five hundred year period and compares this with other well-known saints’ cults. It uses diverse evidence from hagiographies, chronicles, chartularies, poems, church dedications, wall paintings, and architecture. Very few studies have attempted to chart the development of an early English saint's cult over such a long time period, and my multidisciplinary approach, using history, art, and literary studies, offers insight into the changing role of native saints in the English church and society over the course of the Middle Ages.
    [Show full text]
  • “Æthelthryth”: Shaping a Religious Woman in Tenth-Century Winchester" (2019)
    University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Doctoral Dissertations Dissertations and Theses August 2019 “ÆTHELTHRYTH”: SHAPING A RELIGIOUS WOMAN IN TENTH- CENTURY WINCHESTER Victoria Kent Worth University of Massachusetts Amherst Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_2 Part of the Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons, History Commons, History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology Commons, Literature in English, British Isles Commons, Medieval Studies Commons, Other English Language and Literature Commons, and the Religion Commons Recommended Citation Worth, Victoria Kent, "“ÆTHELTHRYTH”: SHAPING A RELIGIOUS WOMAN IN TENTH-CENTURY WINCHESTER" (2019). Doctoral Dissertations. 1664. https://doi.org/10.7275/13999469 https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_2/1664 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Dissertations and Theses at ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]. “ÆTHELTHRYTH”: SHAPING A RELIGIOUS WOMAN IN TENTH-CENTURY WINCHESTER A Dissertation Presented By VICTORIA KENT WORTH Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts Amherst in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY May 2019 Department of English © Copyright by Victoria Kent Worth 2019 All Rights Reserved “ÆTHELTHRYTH”: SHAPING
    [Show full text]
  • Laymen and Monasteries in Hampshire, 1530-1558
    LAYMEN AND MONASTERIES IN HAMPSHIRE, 1530-1558 By JOSEPH KENNEDY PROLOGUE: THE HAMPSHIRE MONASTIC SCENE (Fig. 27) ALTOGETHER, there were 15 houses of monks, canons and nuns in sixteenth century Hampshire.1 No less than five of these dated from pre-Norman times, tracing back to the Wessex Kingdom. Of these, three were in or near to Winchester, namely the Benedictine Priory of St. Swithun, the Benedictine Abbey of Hyde and the Benedictine Abbey (for nuns) of St. Mary's; the other two were Benedictine nunneries, Romsey Abbey and Wherwell Abbey, both in the valley of the Test. The Cistercians had four houses in Hampshire, three for men and one for women. The monks were at Quarr, near Ryde in the Isle of Wight, and at Beaulieu and Netley on both sides of Southampton Water; the nuns were at Hartley Wintney in north-east Hampshire, with lands draining into the Thames valley. There were five houses of Augustinian canons, all priories dating from the twelfth century. Three of these had sites adjacent to the south coast, at Christchurch, St. Denys (Southampton), and Southwick, near Portsmouth. The other two were in river valley settings, at Breamore on the Hampshire Avon and at Mottisfont on the Test. Finally, there was a Premonstratensian Abbey at Titchfield in the lower Meon valley. This abbey, like the Cistercian abbeys, had been founded in the high age of monastic foundations which fell roughly between the beginning of the twelfth century and the middle of the thirteenth. The rule at Titchfield was similar to that of Citeaux in many respects but it laid more stress upon apostolic activity as against the Cistercian tendency to seclusion.
    [Show full text]
  • Saint Ethelwold by R.N.Quick 1963 (PDF)
    WINCHESTER CATHEDRAL RECORD Deprived of both his sees, he lived in ascetic retirement at Winchester for nearly two more years, certainly under sur- veillance, and possibly within the walls of the Conqueror's palace : he died in February 1072, and was buried in the Old Minster from which his bones were translated to lie, as Rudborne tells us, on the south side of the altar of the Norman church. They had yet, as Milner and Canon Vaughan believe, one more journey to go. In 1797 " certain gentlemen of distinguished talents and learning officer, s in the West York regiment of Militia, being desirous of investigating the antiquities of this city more attentively and minutely than is usually done by strangers ", obtained permissio nfrom the Dean and Chapter to examine the chests on Fox's choir screen, and in his report on their discoveries a certain Mr. Henry Howard of Corby Castle records that among the inscriptions on the third and fourth chests he found the name of Stigand. Today no trace of that name survives, but we must no forget t that for nearly five centuries no one could enter our Cathedral without being splendidly reminded of it. As he looked westward up the nave, his eyes would be arrested by the great stone screen that then shut off the choir, and would surely be focused on its crowning glory, " a prodigous large crucifix with the attendant images of the Blessed Virgin and Saint John the Evangelist composed entirely of gold and silver "— the last bequest of our last Saxon bishop.
    [Show full text]