Amesbury Abbey
Encyclopedia
Amesbury Abbey, also known as the Abbey of St Mary and St Melor, was a Benedictine
abbey
at Amesbury
in Wiltshire
, founded by Queen Ælfthryth in about the year 979 on what may have been the site of an earlier monastery
.
The foundation was dissolved in 1177.
in Hampshire
. Her motive was long believed to be contrition for the murder of Edward the Martyr
, making the date of 979 given by the Melrose chronicle
appropriate. However, she is now considered not to have been personally responsible for the murder.
Amesbury was already a sacred place in Pagan times, and there are legends that a monastery
existed there before the Danish invasions. There may have been an existing cult of St Melor
which led Ælfthryth to choose Amesbury. Melor, the son of a leader of Cornouaille
and a boy-martyr, was buried at Lanmeur
and venerated in Brittany
, but a later tradition claims that some of his relics were brought to Amesbury and sold to the abbess. Edward was another boy-martyr. However, the 12th-century life of St Melor says the nunnery at Amesbury was founded before Melor's relics arrived.
At the time of the Domesday Book
(1086), the abbey held, as it had in King Edward
's time, the Wiltshire manors
of Bulford
, Boscombe
, 'Allentone', Choulston, and Maddington
, totalling twenty-seven hides
, plus the manor of Rabson in Winterbourne Bassett
. In Berkshire
it held Ceveslane in Challow, Fawley
, and Kintbury
and the church of Letcombe Regis.
In 1177, Ælfthryth's foundation was dissolved by Henry II
and its buildings used for the foundation of a double priory
of the Fontevrault order. Eleanor of Brittany, the princess held captive for most of her life, donated her body here, and later King Henry III
would donate a manor of Melksham to the abbey as well for the souls of her and her brother Arthur
, who was widely believed to be murdered by King John
; Eleanor of Provence
, queen of England, was buried in the abbey on 11 September 1291. It seems likely that the church of the abbey became the parish church
, and this may explain why it was spared at the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries
, when the priory and its other buildings were destroyed. The Amesbury estate was subsequently granted to Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford
by the Crown
.
and is a Grade I listed building.
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
abbey
Abbey
An abbey is a Catholic monastery or convent, under the authority of an Abbot or an Abbess, who serves as the spiritual father or mother of the community.The term can also refer to an establishment which has long ceased to function as an abbey,...
at Amesbury
Amesbury
Amesbury is a town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It is most famous for the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge which is in its parish, and for the discovery of the Amesbury Archer—dubbed the King of Stonehenge in the press—in 2002...
in Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
, founded by Queen Ælfthryth in about the year 979 on what may have been the site of an earlier monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
.
The foundation was dissolved in 1177.
History
Ælfthryth founded two religious houses at about the same time, the other being at WherwellWherwell
Wherwell is a village on the River Test in Hampshire, England. The name may derive from its bubbling springs resulting in the Middle Ages place name “Hwerwyl” noted in AD 955, possibly meaning “kettle springs” or “cauldron springs.” Pronunciation of the name has ranged from “Hurrell” to “Wer-rel”...
in Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
. Her motive was long believed to be contrition for the murder of Edward the Martyr
Edward the Martyr
Edward the Martyr was king of the English from 975 until he was murdered in 978. Edward was the eldest son of King Edgar, but not his father's acknowledged heir...
, making the date of 979 given by the Melrose chronicle
Chronicle of Melrose
The Chronicle of Melrose is a medieval chronicle from the Cottonian Manuscript, Faustina B. ix within the British Museum. It was written by unknown authors, though evidence in the writing shows that it most likely was written by the monks at Melrose Abbey. The chronicle begins on the year 735 and...
appropriate. However, she is now considered not to have been personally responsible for the murder.
Amesbury was already a sacred place in Pagan times, and there are legends that a monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
existed there before the Danish invasions. There may have been an existing cult of St Melor
Melor
Melor was a Breton saint who, in England, was venerated particularly in Wiltshire where he was titular of Amesbury Abbey, which claimed his relics.-Identity:Melor had a popular cult in Brittany, but his story has been obfuscated by a number of biographers who confused...
which led Ælfthryth to choose Amesbury. Melor, the son of a leader of Cornouaille
Cornouaille
Cornouaille is a historic region in Brittany, in northwest France. The name is identical to the French name for the Duchy of Cornwall, since the area was settled by migrant princes from Cornwall...
and a boy-martyr, was buried at Lanmeur
Lanmeur
Lanmeur is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France.A hamlet in the commune called Kerouac has been established as the source of the name of the American writer Jack Kerouac. A street in Lanmeur has been named rue Jack Kerouac, and in March 2010 a first Jack...
and venerated in Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
, but a later tradition claims that some of his relics were brought to Amesbury and sold to the abbess. Edward was another boy-martyr. However, the 12th-century life of St Melor says the nunnery at Amesbury was founded before Melor's relics arrived.
At the time of the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
(1086), the abbey held, as it had in King Edward
Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor also known as St. Edward the Confessor , son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy, was one of the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England and is usually regarded as the last king of the House of Wessex, ruling from 1042 to 1066....
's time, the Wiltshire manors
Manorialism
Manorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...
of Bulford
Bulford
Bulford is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, close to Salisbury Plain. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 4,698.The name is derived from the Old English bulut ieg ford meaning 'ragged robin island ford'....
, Boscombe
Boscombe
Boscombe is a suburb of Bournemouth. Located to the east of Bournemouth town centre and west of Southbourne, It developed rapidly from a small village as a seaside resort alongside Bournemouth after the first Boscombe pier was built in 1888...
, 'Allentone', Choulston, and Maddington
Maddington, Wiltshire
Maddington is a small settlement and former civil parish in Wiltshire, England. Its nearest town is Amesbury, six miles away to the south east. Since 1934 Maddington has been part of Shrewton....
, totalling twenty-seven hides
Hide (unit)
The hide was originally an amount of land sufficient to support a household, but later in Anglo-Saxon England became a unit used in assessing land for liability to "geld", or land tax. The geld would be collected at a stated rate per hide...
, plus the manor of Rabson in Winterbourne Bassett
Winterbourne Bassett
Winterbourne Bassett is a village and civil parish in the English county of Wiltshire.-Local government:Although a civil parish Winterbourne Bassett does not have a parish council in its own right, it shares one with Broad Hinton - see Broad Hinton and Winterbourne Bassett...
. In Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
it held Ceveslane in Challow, Fawley
Fawley
Fawley is a place name that is used more than once in the United Kingdom. In each case, the origins of the name are different:* Fawley, Berkshire * South Fawley, sometimes called Little Fawley...
, and Kintbury
Kintbury
Kintbury is a village and civil parish in West Berkshire, England, between the towns of Newbury and Hungerford.-Amenities:In Kintbury there is the Church of England parish church of Saint Mary, Church of England primary school, post office, corner shop, and a butcher...
and the church of Letcombe Regis.
In 1177, Ælfthryth's foundation was dissolved by Henry II
Henry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
and its buildings used for the foundation of a double priory
Priory
A priory is a house of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or religious sisters , or monasteries of monks or nuns .The Benedictines and their offshoots , the Premonstratensians, and the...
of the Fontevrault order. Eleanor of Brittany, the princess held captive for most of her life, donated her body here, and later King Henry III
Henry III of England
Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...
would donate a manor of Melksham to the abbey as well for the souls of her and her brother Arthur
Arthur I, Duke of Brittany
Arthur I was Duke of Brittany between 1194 and 1202. He was the posthumous son of Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany and Constance, Duchess of Brittany...
, who was widely believed to be murdered by King John
John of England
John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...
; Eleanor of Provence
Eleanor of Provence
Eleanor of Provence was Queen consort of England as the spouse of King Henry III of England from 1236 until his death in 1272....
, queen of England, was buried in the abbey on 11 September 1291. It seems likely that the church of the abbey became the parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
, and this may explain why it was spared at the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
, when the priory and its other buildings were destroyed. The Amesbury estate was subsequently granted to Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford
Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford
Sir Edward Seymour, 1st Baron Beauchamp of Hache and 1st Earl of Hertford, KG was the son of Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, by his second wife Anne Stanhope....
by the Crown
The Crown
The Crown is a corporation sole that in the Commonwealth realms and any provincial or state sub-divisions thereof represents the legal embodiment of governance, whether executive, legislative, or judicial...
.
Present day
The nearby mansion now called 'Amesbury Abbey' was not part of the nunnery. It has been attributed to Inigo JonesInigo Jones
Inigo Jones is the first significant British architect of the modern period, and the first to bring Italianate Renaissance architecture to England...
and is a Grade I listed building.