Pershore Abbey
Pershore Abbey | ||
---|---|---|
Abbey Church of Holy Cross with Saint Edburgha | ||
Church of the Holy Cross | ||
Style Romanesque, Gothic | | |
Administration | ||
Province | Canterbury | |
Diocese | Worcester | |
Parish | Pershore | |
Clergy | ||
Vicar(s) | Claire Lording |
Pershore Abbey, at Pershore in Worcestershire, was an Anglo-Saxon abbey and is now an Anglican parish church, the Church of the Holy Cross.
History
Foundation
The foundation of the minster at Pershore is alluded to in a spurious charter of King
In the 9th century, Pershore comes to light again as a minster under the patronage of
Refoundation
In the reign of King Edgar (959-975), Pershore reappears as one of the abbeys to be re-established (or restored) under the programme of
The refoundation is what lies behind an exceptionally elaborate charter for Pershore, dated 972, in which King Edgar is presented as granting new lands and privileges as well as confirming old ones, such as the one granted by Coenwulf.[7] The authenticity of this document, however, has been questioned. Simon Keynes in 1980 showed that it belongs to the so-called Orthodoxorum group of charters, so named after the initial word of their proem, which he concluded were forgeries based on a charter of Æthelred II's reign.[11] Since then, Susan Kelly and John Hudson have vindicated the status of some of these charters, including the one for Pershore, which is written in square minuscule characteristic of some of Edgar's charters.[12] More recently, Peter Stokes has brought to light a variant copy of the charter and suggests that two different versions may have been produced around the same time, somewhere between 972 and 1066. A possible scenario is that they were produced to make up for the loss of the original charter(s), perhaps shortly after the fire which is reported to have destroyed the abbey in c. 1002 (see below).[13]
The 12th-century historian
Whatever high-level patronage the foundation may have received, it was not enough to sustain its fortunes for very long. Precisely what happened to Pershore in the later 10th century is poorly documented, but some sources seem to hint that it went into decline during the succession crisis which emerged in the wake of King Edgar's death.
"Second" refoundation
Pershore suffered worse misfortune when, according to Leland, it was destroyed by fire and subsequently deserted by the monks,[19][20] probably in the year 1002.[21] The monastic archives were largely lost in the event, as no original record from before that date survives today.[21] Pershore, however, found a generous patron in the wealthy nobleman Odda of Deerhurst (d. 1056), who restored many of its lands and granted new ones. It has been suggested[who?] that he was a kinsman of the ealdorman Æthelweard. The earliest extant record from the archive of Pershore, a charter of 1014 by which King Æthelred granted Mathon (Herefordshire) to ealdorman Leofwine, may testify to Odda's restorations of lands to the house.[21][22] The monastery was active again by the 1020s, as its abbot Brihtheah was promoted bishop of Worcester in 1033.[21] Odda's brother Ælfric was buried at Pershore in 1053, joined three years later by Odda himself.[21]
In Odda's lifetime the total landed assets of Pershore grew to 300 hides, but after the loss of its benefactor in 1056 about two-thirds were seized and given to Edward the Confessor's new foundation at Westminster.[21] The original single sheet which preserves the fullest version of King Edgar's refoundation charter (though it need not be authentic) is marked by a number of textual alterations and erasures. Some of these changes may suggest a response to the abbey's proprietary struggles.[13]
From the early 12th century there is evidence that Pershore Abbey claimed possession of some of the relics of Saint
Later Middle Ages
The main building was begun in about 1100. In the fourteenth century it benefited greatly from the generosity of
Pershore Abbey church was partly demolished after the reformation when it was surrendered to the King's Commissioners in 1540; only the tower, choir, and south transept remain.[30] The abbey church remained in use as a parish church. When the north transept collapsed in 1686, a wall was built in its place. Further alterations were carried out, including a restoration by George Gilbert Scott in 1862–64. Scott removed the belfry floor and opened up the lantern tower, exposing the internal tracery which he thought the best in England after that at Lincoln Cathedral. The tower pinnacles were added in 1871.[31] In 1913, two western flying buttresses
Current structure and features
The church as it now stands represents only a small portion of the original building. It is a Grade I listed building.[32] Repairs in 1994 stabilised the south transept, strengthened its roof and repointed the tower and pinnacles. An underfloor heating system was also installed.
Bells
Pershore Abbey has a ring of eight bells, of which six were cast by the younger Abraham Rudhall in 1729. The treble was cast in 1814 by Thomas Mears of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry. The cracked 4th (also 1729 by Rudhall) was recast by J. Barwell & Sons of Birmingham[33][34] with "moderate success"[35] in 1897, the same year they were rehung. The largest bell (the tenor) is estimated to weigh 25½ cwt (2856 lbs.) and sounds the note D.[36]
The ringing room, devised as part of Gilbert Scott's 1862-64 restorations, is a metal 'cage' suspended high above the chancel crossing; it is accessed by means of two stone spiral staircases, a walkway through the roof, a squeeze through a narrow passage and a see-through iron staircase.
The bells have the following inscriptions (in capital letters).[36][37]
- 1. (Treble) "Joseph Martin and Thomas Evans churchwardens 1814"
- 2. "Peace and good neighbourhood"
- 3. "Abr Rudhall of Gloucester cast all of us"
- 4. "Barwell Founder Birmingham. Prosperity to the Church of England 1729 Recast 1897"[38]
- 5. "Prosperity to all our benefactors A R 1729"
- 6. "Walter Marriott and Edmund Gale churchwardens A R 1729"
- 7. "Richard Roberts Esq John Yeend and Thomas Ashfield Gent[leme]n trustees A R 1729"
- 8. (Tenor) "I to the Church the living call: And to the grave do summon all"
Font
In about 1840 the abbey was given a new
Abbots
Name | In office | Comments |
---|---|---|
Foldbriht | c. 970 – 988 | [40] |
Brihtheah (Brihteah) | ? – 1033 | Nephew of Wulfstan I, Archbishop of York; went on to become bishop of Worcester (1033–8)[40] |
Ælfric | ? | fl. 1046 x 1050.[40] |
Edmund | 1058–1085 | d. 1085.[40] |
Thurstan | 1085–1087 | Master of Gloucester.[40] |
Hugh | ? | Died before 1113.[40] |
Guy | ? – 1102 ? – 1136/7 | Deposed in 1102, but later restored to office.[40] |
William | 1138 – ? | Master of Eye.[40] |
Thomas | ? | Appears in 1143 x 1145 and following suspension, again in 1145 x 1150.[40] |
Reginald | ? – 1174 | First known appearance in 1155.[40] |
Simon | 1175–1198 | [40] |
Master Anselm | 1198–1203 | Master of Reading, d. 1203.[40] |
Gervase | 1204–1234 | d. 1234.[40][41] |
Roger de Rudeby (Rudby) | 1234–1251 | Chamberlain of Pershore.[41] |
Elerius | 1251–1264 | Prior of Cogges.[41] |
Henry of Bidford | 1264 – ? | Master of Pershore.[41] |
Henry de Caldewelle | 1274–1290 | Master of Pershore.[41] |
William de Leghe | 1290–1307 | Cellarer of Pershore.[41] |
William of Harvington | 1307–1340 | Master of Pershore, etc.[41] |
Thomas of Pirton (Pyriton) | 1340–1349 | Cellarer of Pershore.[41] |
Peter of Pendock | 1349–1363 | Master of Pershore.[41] |
Peter (de) Bradewey(e) | 1363–1379 | Master of Pershore.[41] |
Thomas de Upton | 1379 | Elected 1379.[20] |
William de Newenton | 1413 | [20] |
Edmund Hert | 1456–1479 | [20] |
Robert Stanwey | 1479 | [20] |
John Pibleton | 1497 | [20] |
William Compton | 1504–1526 | [20] |
John Stonywell | 1526–1539 x 40 | Surrendered the abbey[20] |
Organ
The earliest record of an organ in Pershore abbey is from the parish magazine for June 1825 which stated that the parishioners had started a voluntary subscription fund for the erection of an organ.[42] This organ was built by Mr. Russell of London and opened by the organist Charles Clarke of Worcester Cathedral on 1 November 1826.[43] This organ is thought to have functioned for 47 years when it was sold to Sedgley Parish Church. In 1864 it is recorded that during a restoration of the church, it was reconstructed by Nicholson of Malvern and moved to the north-east chapel.[44]
A new three manual organ was built by Nicholson of Malvern and opened on 18 April 1873.[45] The Nicholson was restored twice by J. W. Walker & Sons Ltd, in 1940[46] and 1971.[47] This was replaced by a Bradford electronic organ.
A new pipe organ, costing around £850,000, was commissioned from the Fratelli Ruffatti workshop in Italy and installed in 2023.[48]
Past organists and masters of music include Charles Tovey (1832-1868[49]), William Hancox (1868[50]-1869), Charles Henry Ogle (1869-1896), Edred Martin Chaundy (1898–1899, formerly of Enniskillen Parish Church, afterwards Holy Trinity Church, Stroud and Armagh Cathedral), Frank Alfred Charles Mason (1900–1949[51]), Peter Bruce Waddington (1949-1951), Rodney Clifford Baldwyn (1951[52]–1981), Ian Gerrard (1993–2003), Sheila Joynes (2003–2004), Mike Pegg (2004–2005), David Barclay (2005–2007) and Alex Crawford (2007–2008). In 2009, Mike Pegg resumed his former duties.
Grounds
The buried foundations of the other monastic buildings, which lie to the southwest of the church, were identified in an archaeological excavation in 1929.[53]
At the Dissolution, these buildings and the abbey grounds were acquired by John Richardson. The buildings were demolished and the grounds passed through various owners. Abbey House was later built on the site,
See also
Gallery
-
Pershore Abbey from the west
-
Western path to Pershore Abbey
-
North aisle, NE window, byFranz Mayer & Co., 1898
-
Abbey sculpture in the grounds
-
South transept
Notes
- Cranborne Abbey (Dorset), of which Tewkesbury was a dependency.[16][17] The account, which places his floruit in the time of King Æthelred and Dunstan, is recorded in a late chronicle of that house, written in the 15th century, but may very well be based on older sources.[16][17] This Æthelweard is to be identified with the Æthelweard Mæw whose activities, including the foundation of Cranborne, are attested in sources closer to his day.[16] Historian Jayakumar suggests that he may be the chronicler Æthelweard, ealdorman of the western shires, as both were royal kinsmen and in the Tewkesbury Chronicle, Cranborne is said to have been founded in suo dominio.[17] Ann Williams, however, prefers to see them as separate persons.[16]
Citations
- ^ a b c d e Sims-Williams, Religion and literature, pp. 94-6.
- ^ S 70
- ^ S 209
- ^ a b S 1782[permanent dead link]
- ^ Finberg, Early charters, pp. 153-66.
- ^ John Leland, Collectanea, ed. Hearne, pp. 240-1.
- ^ a b S 786
- ^ Byrhtferth, Life of Oswald, p. 494 (ch. 8).
- ^ Byrhtferth, Life of Oswald, pp. 494-5 (ch. 9).
- ^ Hudson, Historia Ecclesie Abbendonensis, p. cciii.
- ^ Keynes, The diplomas of King Æthelred 'the Unready' 978-1016, pp. 98-100
- ^ Hudson, Historia Ecclesie Abbendonensis, pp. cxcix-cciv
- ^ a b Stokes, "King Edgar's charter for Pershore, 972", pp. 72-3.
- ^ a b William of Malmesbury, Gesta pontificum IV, ch. 162, ed. and tr, Winterbottom and Thomson
- ^ a b Ridyard, The royal saints of Anglo-Saxon England
- ^ a b c d e Williams, World before Domesday, pp. 11-3.
- ^ a b c Jayakumar, "Reform and retribution", p. 347.
- ^ a b c d Williams, "Princeps Merciorum gentis", pp. 167-8
- ^ a b "Oswaldus primum instituit Canonicos seculares apud Persore. Postea fuit ibidem chorus monachorum.Rursus Canonici inducti.Postea monachi per Edgarum. Elferus abstulit prædia monachis.Odda comes ejus filius restituit.Monasterium conflagravit & à monachis desertum est.Monachi Westmonasterienses prædia usurpabant.Wada comes attulit reliqias S. Eadburgae, & per Oswaldum episcopum Fulbrightus abbas inductus.Olney, alias Alney, about Deorhirst in Glocester-shire. Deorhurst yet remainith in Glocestre-shire as a Celle to Twekesbiri." John Leland, Itinerarium, ed. Hearne, vol. 5, p. 2.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Willis-Bund and Page, The Victoria History of the County of Worcester, vol. 2, pp. 127-136.
- ^ a b c d e f Williams, "Odda, earl (d. 1056)"
- ^ S 932.
- . This is an 1843 edition of original MSS in the British Museum (see also Front cover). See also "Mouse, n. 2". Oxford English Dictionary. Vol. X (online 2nd ed.). 1989. Retrieved 7 March 2019., which cites this passage as Lett. Suppress. Monast. (Camden) 133.
- ^ Lit. 'Conferences with the fathers of Scetis in the desert'), written in around 420, usually translated as Conferences with the Desert Fathers.)
- St. Benedict; Verheyen,Boniface (trans) (1949) [c540]. "Chapter XLII: That No One Speak after Compline". The Holy Rule of St. Benedict. Retrieved 8 March 2019.)
{{cite book}}
:|website=
ignored (help - Lives of the Fathers, or other edifying books which were then read aloud by one of their number.
- ^ "Lent", Catholic Encyclopedia. Retrieved 9 March 2019
- Benedictine monasteries, such as Pershore, of reading extracts from John Cassian's Collationes patrum in Scetica eremo[24] in the hours between the evening meal following Vespers, and before Compline. This was according to Chapter 42 of the Rule of Saint Benedict written in the 6th century. All meals were to be eaten in daylight.[25][26] By the 9th century the strict rules about fasting had become more relaxed, and the term 'collation' became more generally associated with the indulgence of a light meal, especially on fast days.[27]
- ^ Since collation took place in the evening before Compline, and Matins finished at dawn (see Canonical hours), it appears the monks were drinking all night long.
- ^ "Geograph:: Pershore Abbey (C) Philip Halling". www.geograph.org.uk. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
- ISBN 1-872-665-22-5, pp.11-13
- ^ Historic England. "Abbey Church of Holy Cross with Saint Edburgha (1387027)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
- ^ "Mr. James Barwell – Obituary Notice". Birmingham Weekly Mercury. Hosted at Jewellery Quarter Heritage. 2 April 1892. Archived from the original on 8 March 2019. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ Barwell advertisement from 1897
- ^ Andrews, Francis Baugh (1901). The Benedictine abbey of SS. Mary, Peter, and Paul at Pershore, Worcestershire. Birmingham and Pershore: Midland Educational Co. : Fearnside & Martin. p. 18n.
- ^ a b "Pershore Bells and the Pershore Abbey Society of Bell Ringers". Archived from the original on 5 August 2017. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
- ^ a b Andrews 1901, p. 18.
- ^ The original inscription read simply "Prosperity to the Church of England" [37]
- ISBN 1-872-665-22-5, p16
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Knowles, Brooke and London (2001), The heads of religious houses: England & Wales, I. 940–1216, pp. 58-9.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Smith and London (2001), The heads of religious houses: England & Wales, II. 1216–1377, pp. 56-7.
- ^ "The Earliest Record". Evesham Standard & West Midland Observer. England. 4 May 1940. Retrieved 24 May 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "The organ recently erected in Pershore Abbey Church…". John Bull. England. 5 November 1826. Retrieved 24 May 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Restoration of Pershore Abbey Church". Worcestershire Chronicle. England. 8 June 1864. Retrieved 24 May 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Pershore. New Organ". Worcester Journal. England. 19 April 1873. Retrieved 24 May 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Pershore Abbey's New Organ". Gloucestershire Echo. England. 17 May 1940. Retrieved 24 May 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.
- ^ "Pershore Abbey is Open Again". Pershore Abbey. 12 May 2023. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
- ^ "Deaths". Worcester Journal. England. 18 January 1868. Retrieved 24 May 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Pershore". Bromsgrove & Droitwich Messenger. England. 6 October 1951. Retrieved 24 May 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Forty-Eight Years Organist". Tewkesbury Register. England. 27 November 1948. Retrieved 24 May 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Pershore. New Organist". Tewkesbury Register. England. 6 October 1951. Retrieved 24 May 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ Historic England. "Pershore Abbey (site of) (1005303)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
- ^ Willis-Bund and Page, The Victoria History of the County of Worcester, vol. 4, pp. 155–163.
- ^ Dunstan (2009), p. 22.
- ^ Dunstan (2009), p. 49.
- ^ Dunstan (2009), p. 73.
- ^ Dunstan (2009), p. 69.
References
Secondary sources
- Dunstan, Petà (2009). The Labour of Obedience: The Benedictines of Pershore, Nashdom and Elmore - a History. Norwich: Canterbury Press. ISBN 978-1-85311-974-3.
- Finberg, H. P. R. (1972) [1961]. The Early Charters of the West Midlands (2nd ed.). Leicester: Leicester UP.
- Hudson, John, ed. (2002–2007). Historia Ecclesie Abbendonensis: The History of the Church of Abingdon. 2 vols: 1 (2007) and 2 (2002). Oxford: OUP.
- Jayakumar, S. (2009). "Reform and Retribution: The 'Anti-Monastic Reaction' in the Reign of Edward the Martyr". In S. Baxter; et al. (eds.). Early Medieval Studies in Honour of Patrick Wormald. Farnham.
{{cite encyclopedia}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Keynes, Simon (1980). The Diplomas of King Æthelred 'the Unready' 978-1016. Cambridge.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Knowles, David; C. N. L. Brooke; Vera C. M. London, eds. (2001). The Heads of Religious Houses: England & Wales, I. 940–1216 (2nd ed.). Cambridge: CUP.
- Ridyard, S.J. The Royal Saints of Anglo-Saxon England. A Study of West Saxon and East Anglian Cults. Studies in Medieval Life and Thought 4. Cambridge, 2008.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location (link) - Sims-Williams, Patrick (1990). Religion and Literature in Western England, 600-800. Cambridge Studies in Anglo-Saxon England 3. Cambridge.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Smith, David M.; Vera C. M. London, eds. (2001). The Heads of Religious Houses: England & Wales, II. 1216–1377. Cambridge: CUP.
- Williams, Ann (2004). "Odda, earl (d. 1056)". required.)
- Stokes, Peter A. (2008). "King Edgar's Charter for Pershore (AD 972)" (PDF). Anglo-Saxon England. 37: 31–78. S2CID 159592800.
- .
- Williams, A. (2008). The World Before Domesday: The English Aristocracy 900-1066. London.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Willis-Bund, J. W.; William Page, eds. (1971) [1906]. The Victoria History of the County of Worcester. Vol. 2. pp. 127–136. Retrieved 6 May 2010.
- Willis-Bund, J. W.; William Page, eds. (1971) [1924]. The Victoria History of the County of Worcester. Vol. 4. pp. 155–163. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
Primary sources
- Anglo-Saxon charters: S 70, 209, 1782, 786; S 1143, S 1144, S 1145, S 1146.
- Byrhtferth, Life of St Oswald, ed. J. Raine (1879). Historians of the Church of York and its Archbishops. Rolls Series 71. 3 vols. Vol. 1. London. pp. 399–475.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - John Leland, Collectanea, ed. T. Hearne (1774). Joannis Lelandi Antiquarii De Rebus Britannicis Collectanea. 6 volumes (3rd ed.). London.
- John Leland, Itinerarium, ed. T. Hearne (1744). The Itinerary of John Leland the Antiquary. 9 vols: vol. 5 (2nd ed.). Printed at the Theater for J. Fletcher and J . Pote.
- Domesday Book: Great Domesday, f. 174v–175r
- Gesta pontificum Anglorum, ed. and tr. Michael Winterbottom & Rodney M. Thomson (2007). Gesta Pontificum Anglorum: The History of the English Bishops. Oxford: OUP.