Holy Hill monastery, Breedon
Encyclopedia
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.
Originally founded as a monastery
in the 7th century, the church contains the largest collection, and some of the finest examples, of Anglo-Saxon sculptures
. It also contains a notable family pew and Renaissance
-era church monuments to the Shirley family, who bought the manor
of Breedon after it was surrendered to the Crown
in 1539 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries
. The largest of these monuments is for Sir George Shirley. It was made over 20 years before his death and includes a life-sized skeleton carved in alabaster
.
The church stands on the top of Breedon Hill, within the remains of an Iron Age
hill fort
called The Bulwarks. The hill is flanked to the south by the 400 houses of Breedon on the Hill village, and encroached on the east by Breedon Quarry. Breedon church is a nationally important building, with a Grade I listing for its exceptional architectural interest.
. The church was founded by Aethelred, third son of Penda (who ruled until 706) according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
. The land was given by Friduricus with the stipulation that Headda would be made the abbot
. Friduricus is a candidate for the four saints who are interred here, possibly in a now-buried crypt
.
Headda was to become a Bishop of Lichfield
and later, in 731, the monastery trained Tatwine to be its abbott, a position he held until 794. Tatwine was known for his rhyming riddles and for his later ascension to Archbishop of Canterbury
. The lands that supported the monastery were added to by King Aethelred. In 1066, the manor of Breedon was given by King William to the de Ferrers family, who were to become the Earls of Derby. In 1086, The Domesday Book records Breedon as being in the possession of Henry de Ferrers
.
The priory
was founded as an Augustinian
monastery in around 1120. It was established on the site of the earlier Saxon Benedictine
abbey
of Holy Hill Monastery. The priory was a cell of Nostell Priory
in Yorkshire
and there seems to have been between three to five canons
in residence at any one time. Gervase, a prior of Breedon, attempted to gain independence for the priory from Nostell, but failed and subsequently resigned in 1244.
In 1441 a visiting bishop found the monastery to be dilapidated and in debt. By 1535 there was no resident community at the priory, which was now occupied only by the prior. In 1539, during the Dissolution, Breedon Priory was surrendered to the Crown jointly with Nostell Priory and sold to Francis Shirley, head of the local manorial family, who were recusants
. After the Dissolution, the eastern part of the priory with the formerly central tower was retained for parish use. The nave
and other buildings were demolished.
The church was designated as a Grade I listed building in 1962, which recognizes it as a building of exceptional interest.
Around the church are many early carvings which are frequently included as stones in the interior walls. However they are wrapped in lead sheet as though they are not intended to be structural. The carvings are dated to the 9th century and include celtic pattens, lions, people, cocks and other birds that are pecking at vines.
.
The tomb of Sir Francis Shirley was repaired after 60 years by his great grandson, Thomas Shirley. The latter recorded that even after 60 years, Francis' body was well-preserved with only a black mark apparent on one of his toes but with no sign of rot. His body was re-wrapped in material and returned to his tomb.
Three substantial tombs were constructed to memorialize Sir George Shirley, his father John, and his grandfather Thomas. By far the largest monument dominating the inside of the church is that dedicated to Sir George Shirley. It was made over 20 years before Shirley died in 1622. It is dated 1598 and consists of three storeys. On the bottom storey is a realistic skeleton carved from alabaster and showing the mortality of those portrayed above. The inclusion of this cadaver in the design was unusual for the time.
The second storey is supported on six pillars and the space is divided into two arched spaces. To the right and facing right in prayer is Sir George Shirley with his two sons behind him. All three figures are dressed in brightly-painted period dress and the clothes include details in gold. In the left arch is his wife (d. 1595), daughter, and two babies. According to the Latin
inscription, Shirley's wife died aged 29 whilst giving birth.
The third storey, again supported by six more pillars, is a canopy made in stone and incorporating a large, central, carved coat of arms. The monument was constructed from large blocks of alabaster. It was rebuilt in the 19th century by the stonemason Thomas Allt, who added his signature to the work.
. The connection has been made by several historians and is uncontroversial, but not certain. Supporting evidence comes from a 12th-century list of the burial places of saints compiled at Peterborough
. This calls the Saint Hardulph to whom Breedon was dedicated "Hardulfus rex"—King Eardwulf—and states that he was buried at Breedon.
of North West Leicestershire
, the Diocese of Leicester
and the Province of Canterbury
. It is part of the Ashby and Breedon Team Ministry which comprises the following churches:
Church of England parish church
A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative region, known as a parish.-Parishes in England:...
of Breedon on the Hill
Breedon on the Hill
Breedon on the Hill is a village and civil parish about north of Ashby-de-la-Zouch in North West Leicestershire, England. The parish adjoins the Derbyshire county boundary and the village is only about south of the Derbyshire town of Melbourne. The 2001 Census recorded a parish population of 958...
, Leicestershire
Leicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
, England. The church has also been known as Breedon Priory and as the Holy Hill Monastery.
Originally founded as 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...
in the 7th century, the church contains the largest collection, and some of the finest examples, of Anglo-Saxon sculptures
Anglo-Saxon art
Anglo-Saxon art covers art produced within the Anglo-Saxon period of English history, beginning with the Migration period style that the Anglo-Saxons brought with them from the continent in the 5th century, and ending in 1066 with the Norman Conquest of a large Anglo-Saxon nation-state whose...
. It also contains a notable family pew and Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
-era church monuments to the Shirley family, who bought the manor
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 Breedon after it was surrendered to 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...
in 1539 during 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...
. The largest of these monuments is for Sir George Shirley. It was made over 20 years before his death and includes a life-sized skeleton carved in alabaster
Alabaster
Alabaster is a name applied to varieties of two distinct minerals, when used as a material: gypsum and calcite . The former is the alabaster of the present day; generally, the latter is the alabaster of the ancients...
.
The church stands on the top of Breedon Hill, within the remains of an Iron Age
British Iron Age
The British Iron Age is a conventional name used in the archaeology of Great Britain, referring to the prehistoric and protohistoric phases of the Iron-Age culture of the main island and the smaller islands, typically excluding prehistoric Ireland, and which had an independent Iron Age culture of...
hill fort
Hill fort
A hill fort is a type of earthworks used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze and Iron Ages. Some were used in the post-Roman period...
called The Bulwarks. The hill is flanked to the south by the 400 houses of Breedon on the Hill village, and encroached on the east by Breedon Quarry. Breedon church is a nationally important building, with a Grade I listing for its exceptional architectural interest.
History
The church was originally a monastery founded in about 676 on the site of The Bulwarks hill fort and a hermitageHermitage (religious retreat)
Although today's meaning is usually a place where a hermit lives in seclusion from the world, hermitage was more commonly used to mean a settlement where a person or a group of people lived religiously, in seclusion.-Western Christian Tradition:...
. The church was founded by Aethelred, third son of Penda (who ruled until 706) according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of annals in Old English chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the Chronicle was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alfred the Great...
. The land was given by Friduricus with the stipulation that Headda would be made the abbot
Abbot
The word abbot, meaning father, is a title given to the head of a monastery in various traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not actually the head of a monastery...
. Friduricus is a candidate for the four saints who are interred here, possibly in a now-buried crypt
Crypt
In architecture, a crypt is a stone chamber or vault beneath the floor of a burial vault possibly containing sarcophagi, coffins or relics....
.
Headda was to become a Bishop of Lichfield
Bishop of Lichfield
The Bishop of Lichfield is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Lichfield in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers 4,516 km² of the counties of Staffordshire, Shropshire, Warwickshire and West Midlands. The bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral Church of the Blessed...
and later, in 731, the monastery trained Tatwine to be its abbott, a position he held until 794. Tatwine was known for his rhyming riddles and for his later ascension to Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
. The lands that supported the monastery were added to by King Aethelred. In 1066, the manor of Breedon was given by King William to the de Ferrers family, who were to become the Earls of Derby. In 1086, The Domesday Book records Breedon as being in the possession of Henry de Ferrers
Henry de Ferrers
Henry de Ferrers was a Norman soldier from a noble family who took part in the conquest of England and is believed to have fought at the Battle of Hastings of 1066 and, in consequence, was rewarded with much land in the subdued nation.His elder brother William fell in the battle. William and Henri...
.
The 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...
was founded as an Augustinian
Augustinians
The term Augustinians, named after Saint Augustine of Hippo , applies to two separate and unrelated types of Catholic religious orders:...
monastery in around 1120. It was established on the site of the earlier Saxon Benedictine
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,...
of Holy Hill Monastery. The priory was a cell of Nostell Priory
Nostell Priory
Nostell Priory is a Palladian house located in Nostell, near Crofton close to Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, approached by the Doncaster road from Wakefield...
in Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
and there seems to have been between three to five canons
Canon (priest)
A canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....
in residence at any one time. Gervase, a prior of Breedon, attempted to gain independence for the priory from Nostell, but failed and subsequently resigned in 1244.
In 1441 a visiting bishop found the monastery to be dilapidated and in debt. By 1535 there was no resident community at the priory, which was now occupied only by the prior. In 1539, during the Dissolution, Breedon Priory was surrendered to the Crown jointly with Nostell Priory and sold to Francis Shirley, head of the local manorial family, who were recusants
Recusancy
In the history of England and Wales, the recusancy was the state of those who refused to attend Anglican services. The individuals were known as "recusants"...
. After the Dissolution, the eastern part of the priory with the formerly central tower was retained for parish use. The nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
and other buildings were demolished.
The church was designated as a Grade I listed building in 1962, which recognizes it as a building of exceptional interest.
Inside the church
Anglo-Saxon carvings
The church contains a series of important Saxon relief sculpture, some of which may be amongst the earliest to survive in England. These carvings came from the original Saxon abbey church. They are not the earliest finds as neolithic artefacts have also been found on the hill.Around the church are many early carvings which are frequently included as stones in the interior walls. However they are wrapped in lead sheet as though they are not intended to be structural. The carvings are dated to the 9th century and include celtic pattens, lions, people, cocks and other birds that are pecking at vines.
Shirley monuments
The church contains many 16th and 17th century tombs of the Shirley family which bought the monastery site. There are two substantial tomb chests carved from Chellaston alabaster. The oldest chest tomb is for Francis Shirley and his wife. Around the chest are carved mourners arranged in pairs. This tomb is dated 1571. The other, similar tomb is for John Shirley and his wife, and is dated 1585. Both of these tombs were made by Richard and Gabriel Royley of Burton upon TrentBurton upon Trent
Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a town straddling the River Trent in the east of Staffordshire, England. Its associated adjective is "Burtonian"....
.
The tomb of Sir Francis Shirley was repaired after 60 years by his great grandson, Thomas Shirley. The latter recorded that even after 60 years, Francis' body was well-preserved with only a black mark apparent on one of his toes but with no sign of rot. His body was re-wrapped in material and returned to his tomb.
Three substantial tombs were constructed to memorialize Sir George Shirley, his father John, and his grandfather Thomas. By far the largest monument dominating the inside of the church is that dedicated to Sir George Shirley. It was made over 20 years before Shirley died in 1622. It is dated 1598 and consists of three storeys. On the bottom storey is a realistic skeleton carved from alabaster and showing the mortality of those portrayed above. The inclusion of this cadaver in the design was unusual for the time.
The second storey is supported on six pillars and the space is divided into two arched spaces. To the right and facing right in prayer is Sir George Shirley with his two sons behind him. All three figures are dressed in brightly-painted period dress and the clothes include details in gold. In the left arch is his wife (d. 1595), daughter, and two babies. According to the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
inscription, Shirley's wife died aged 29 whilst giving birth.
The third storey, again supported by six more pillars, is a canopy made in stone and incorporating a large, central, carved coat of arms. The monument was constructed from large blocks of alabaster. It was rebuilt in the 19th century by the stonemason Thomas Allt, who added his signature to the work.
Pews
The Shirley family pew was carved in 1627. The rest of the box pews date from the 18th century. The Shirley family pew now sits to the left of the main monument in the north aisle. In the past this wooden structure was said to be in the main body of the church. It is appropriate that it is now in the vaulted north aisle, as this entire aisle was in the separate ownership of the Shirley family until the 1950s.St Hardulf
St Hardulf is thought to be Eardwulf of NorthumbriaEardwulf of Northumbria
Eardwulf was king of Northumbria from 796 to 806, when he was deposed and went into exile. He may have had a second reign from 808 until perhaps 811 or 830. Northumbria in the last years of the eighth century was the scene of dynastic strife between several noble families, and, in 790, the...
. The connection has been made by several historians and is uncontroversial, but not certain. Supporting evidence comes from a 12th-century list of the burial places of saints compiled at Peterborough
Peterborough
Peterborough is a cathedral city and unitary authority area in the East of England, with an estimated population of in June 2007. For ceremonial purposes it is in the county of Cambridgeshire. Situated north of London, the city stands on the River Nene which flows into the North Sea...
. This calls the Saint Hardulph to whom Breedon was dedicated "Hardulfus rex"—King Eardwulf—and states that he was buried at Breedon.
Church organisation
Breedon parish is in the DeaneryDeanery
A Deanery is an ecclesiastical entity in both the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residence of a Dean.- Catholic usage :...
of North West Leicestershire
North West Leicestershire
North West Leicestershire is a local government district in Leicestershire, England. Its main towns are Ashby-de-la-Zouch and Coalville.The district contains East Midlands Airport, which operates flights to the rest of Britain and to various places in Europe...
, the Diocese of Leicester
Diocese of Leicester
The Diocese of Leicester is a Church of England diocese based in Leicester and including the current county of Leicestershire. The cathedral is Leicester Cathedral, where the Bishop of Leicester has his seat....
and the Province of Canterbury
Province of Canterbury
The Province of Canterbury, also called the Southern Province, is one of two ecclesiastical provinces making up the Church of England...
. It is part of the Ashby and Breedon Team Ministry which comprises the following churches:
- St Mary the Virgin, Coleorton
- St John's Chapel, Coleorton
- St Matthew's Church, Worthington
- St Helen's Church, Ashby-de-la-ZouchSt Helen's Church, Ashby-de-la-ZouchSt. Helen's Church, Ashby-de-la-Zouch, is a parish church in the Church of England in Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire.-Description:The church is largely fourteenth century but was rebuilt in 1878 by James Piers St Aubyn with the addition of outer nave aisles...
- Holy Trinity, Ashby-de-la-ZouchHoly Trinity, Ashby-de-la-ZouchHoly Trinity, Ashby-de-la-Zouch, is a parish church in the Church of England in Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire.-Description:The church was built between 1838 and 1840 to designs by the Derby architect, Henry Isaac Stevens. The chancel was added in 1866 by James Piers St Aubyn.The church was...
- All Saints Church, Isley Walton