Sawley Abbey
Sawley Abbey | |
---|---|
Location | Sawley, Lancashire |
Coordinates | 53°54′48″N 2°20′30″W / 53.9134°N 2.3418°W |
Listed Building – Grade I | |
Official name | Sawley Abbey Ruins |
Designated | 16 November 1954 |
Official name | Sawley Cistercian abbey and associated earthworks |
Designated | 8 February 1915 |
Sawley Abbey was an abbey of
The abbey is a
, are open to the public. Although not an extensive ruin, there are boards on the site that give information regarding the history of the abbey and its former inhabitants.History
Created as a daughter-house of Newminster Abbey, itself a daughter of Fountains Abbey. The chief sponsor of the new abbey was William de Percy II, the son of Alan de Percy, feudal baron of Topcliffe, whose family had controlled the land in this part of Craven since Domesday.[3]
In the mid-1140s, Swain, son of Swain, agreed to sell his lease on the site of the new abbey to Abbot Robert of Newminster, also adding a gift of land and wood at Swanside where a fountain (spring) dedicated to St Andrew is mentioned. Percy granted additional lands in the local area for the maintenance of the brethren at Dudland in Gisburn and Ellenthorpe in Paythorne, also confirming gifts from a tenant at Rimington and his steward at Ilkley. Shortly after he augmented this grant, adding Crooks House in Bracewell and Brogden and Stainton in Bank Newton.[4][5]
Percy had funded the construction of several wooden buildings, and Abbot Benedict along with twelve monks and ten
William's younger daughter
In 1296, the move of the
Despite being a relatively poor establishment, a scholarly tradition developed at the abbey. The abbot from 1224 to 1233,
Dissolution
With an annual revenue below £200 (the equivalent of £125,000 as of 2024[a]), Sawley was included in the initial group of monasteries ordered to be suppressed by King Henry VIII in 1536, during the dissolution of the monasteries. As a wave of uprisings spread across the country that would become known as the Pilgrimage of Grace, on 12 October, supported by the rebels, the monks returned to the empty abbey. They petitioned Sir Thomas Percy for aid, and received it from Sir Stephen Hamerton and Nicholas Tempest, who were able to persuade the Abbot of Whalley to support the cause. When news arrived that the Earl of Derby had been ordered to attack Sawley, the rebels were able to muster sufficient men to block the earl's advance from Preston at the end of the month. Robert Aske sent word of the results of his negotiation with the Duke of Norfolk at Doncaster and both sides disbanded without battle. The period of relative calm that followed was broken by Bigod's rebellion in January 1537, and it soon became clear that any hope of saving the abbey was lost. When the Duke of Norfolk arrived on 9 February, he found the abbey deserted. The monks had surrendered the building to Sir Richard Tempest, who then turned it over to Sir Arthur Darcy, who took the abbot prisoner.[8][9]
Although all agree that the last abbot was executed as punishment for his actions, there is disagreement as to both the place of execution and the identity of the office-holder. Thomas Bolton had been abbot for almost 10 years at the start of 1536. Many sources assert that Bolton was replaced by William Trafford just before the dissolution,[10][2] and some that Trafford was executed in Lancaster on 10 March 1537 alongside John Paslew, the last Abbot of Whalley.[6] It is possible that Bolton was executed and the addition of William Trafford to the list of abbots was an error made by John Stevens in the early 18th century and uncritically repeated by some authors ever since.[9] Sirs Thomas Percy and Stephen Hamerton, Nicholas Tempest, and Robert Aske were among those tried in London and sent to the gallows at Tyburn in late May and early June.[8]
Post-dissolution
By 1561 the abbey site was among the former monastic lands owned by Henry Darcy, the son of Sir Arthur Darcy.
Sawley manor had come into the possession of James Hay when he was created Lord Hay of Sawley in 1615, and it passed on to his son. Around 1753, Fulke Grenville sold Sawley to the Weddell family of Newby Hall who were in possession at the start of the 18th century.[3] Thomas de Grey, 2nd Earl de Grey was the site's owner in 1848. By this time much of the abbey's remains were hidden beneath mounds of rubbish and soil. Earl de Grey had much of the site cleared under the direction of J. R. Walbran, assisted by local unemployed men. They revealed the floor of the church and chapter house, uncovering six gravestones. The house must also have been demolished around this time,[b] and the wall that encloses the site today must have been constructed some time after.[5][3]
At the roadside 100 metres (330 ft) north of the church is an archway containing a considerable quantity of decorated medieval stonework. It was reconstructed in 1962 from stone taken from a nearby demolished gateway, one of two constructed over the road around 1848 for Earl de Grey, using stones removed from the abbey site.[2][16]
Ownership followed the de Gray Earldom to George Robinson, 1st Marquess of Ripon, who was in possession by 1878. In 1934, the Sawley estate was purchased by J. E. Fattorini of Bradford for £81,285 (the equivalent of £6,139,000 as of 2024[a]).[3] In 1951 the area of the monastery passed into the guardianship of the Secretary of State.[2]
In March 2009, Sawley Abbey was featured in the first episode of series 3 of the TV series The Tudors.
Layout
The core of the abbey consisted of a four-sided complex built around a courtyard measuring 37 by 28 metres (121 by 92 ft), known as the cloister.[2] The entire abbey site was in an enclosed religious precinct covering 16.2 hectares (40 acres) and surrounded by a ditch and earthen bank, possibly topped with a stone wall. The entrances to the precinct seem to have been located near the south-east and north-west corners, where gatehouses were presumably located. The inner court appears to have been located on the south and east sides of the cloister, with the outer court on west and north sides.[3]
The church was aligned east-west and formed the northern range of the cloister. The transept is 38 by 12 metres (125 by 40 ft) and both the north and south sides have three chapels along the eastern wall. On the northern side the is an exterior doorway and on the southern an entrance to the night stairs, which provided access from the monks' quarters. The original nave measured approximately 40 metres (130 ft) in length and a narrow chapel was added along its north side in the 14th century. It was shortened around the turn of the 16th century to become a mere 9.1 by 12.2 metres (30 by 40 ft), with the chancel lengthened and widened to 35 by 19 metres (116 by 62 ft), at around the same time. The most visible remains today are the ruins of the church, which still retains walls standing up to 8 metres (26 ft) high.[17][2]
The east range consisted of two floors with the monks'
The calefactory (warming house), refectory and kitchen formed the south range. The warming house had a fireplace against the west wall and an external yard adjoining it to the south possibly used as a firewood store. Located next to the day stair, it may have had a second floor used to store muniments. The refectory was 9.3 by 30.8 metres (31 by 101 ft), extending well south of the other buildings in the range. The kitchen was 12.25 by 8.80 metres (40.2 by 28.9 ft) also with an external yard.[3]
The west range was originally housed the
Surrounding the abbey except on the west are many earthworks indicating the sites of structures such as the infirmary, infirmarer's house (keeper of the infirmary), bakery, and brewery along with other buildings, enclosures, gardens, stock pens, and watercourses. The abbey
Books
Only three books thought to have been in the abbey's library are known to still exist, with two of those now at
The abbey's
Burials
- William de Percy, 6th Baron Percy and wife Ellen de Balliol (daughter of Ingram de Balliol).
- Henry de Percy, 7th Baron Percy (1228–1272) and wife Eleanor de Warenne Percy (daughter of John de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey).
- Robert de Cliderhou, Parson of Wigan.[17][5]
- William de Remmyngton.[17][5]
See also
- Grade I listed buildings in Lancashire
- Listed buildings in Sawley, Lancashire
- List of English Heritage properties
- List of monastic houses in Lancashire
- Scheduled monuments in Lancashire
Notes
- ^ a b UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
- ^ A sizeable building is marked on the six inch Ordnance Survey map surveyed in 1847,[11] but is not mentioned by Harland in 1853.
References
- ^ Historic England. "Sawley Abbey (1072099)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Historic England. "Sawley Cistercian abbey and associated earthworks (1015492)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
- ^ S2CID 191609293.
- ^ Charles Travis Clay; William Farrer, eds. (2013). Early Yorkshire Charters: Volume 11, The Percy Fee. Cambridge University Press. pp. 26–28.
- ^ a b c d John Harland, ed. (1853). Historical account of the Cistercian Abbey of Salley. J Russell Smith, London. pp. 56–57. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
- ^ a b c William Page, ed. (1974). 'Houses of Cistercian monks: Sawley', in A History of the County of York: Volume 3. Victoria County History / British History Online. pp. 156–158. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
- ^ ISBN 9781108058797
- ^ a b Altazin, Keith (2011). The northern clergy and the Pilgrimage of Grace (PhD). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. pp. 178, 218–221, 295–297. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
- ^ ISBN 9780521295680. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
- ^ OCLC 504073084, retrieved 23 January 2022
- ^ a b "OS 6 inch Yorkshire Sheet 182". maps.nls.uk. National Library of Scotland. 1850. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
- ^ Historic England. "Church of All Hallows, Great Mitton (1163432)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
- ^ Historic England. "Little Mearley Hall, Mearley (1164780)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
- ^ Historic England. "Middop Hall and farm building adjoining at right angles, Middop (1164818)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
- ^ Historic England. "Southport Farmhouse (1165453)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
- ^ Blyth, Ray (2018). "Sawley, West Riding, Roman Arches". Fabulous Follies and Landscape Curiosities. Ray Blyth. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
- ^ a b c Grainge, William (1855). The Castles and Abbeys of Yorkshire. J. Sampson. pp. 179–181.
- ^ Historic England. "Abbey Cottage, Sawley (1165356)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
- JSTOR 41154587.
- JSTOR 1151331.
- ^ "cartulary". discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk. The National Archives. Retrieved 8 February 2022.