Tewkesbury Abbey
Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin | |
---|---|
St Mary the Virgin | |
Administration | |
Province | Canterbury |
Diocese | Gloucester |
Parish | Tewkesbury |
Clergy | |
Vicar(s) | Revd Canon Nick Davies |
Laity | |
Organist/Director of music | Carleton Etherington |
Organist(s) | Simon Bell |
Churchwarden(s) | Paul Charman, Nancy Oakes |
The Abbey Church of St Mary the Virgin, Tewkesbury, commonly known as Tewkesbury Abbey, is located in the town of
Tewkesbury had been a centre for worship since the 7th century. A priory was established there in the 10th century. The present building was started in the early 12th century. It was unsuccessfully used as a sanctuary in the Wars of the Roses. After the dissolution of the monasteries, Tewkesbury Abbey became the parish church for the town. George Gilbert Scott led the restoration of the building in the late 19th century. The church and churchyard within the abbey precincts include tombs and memorials to many of the aristocracy of the area.
Services have been
History
The Chronicle of Tewkesbury records that the first Christian worship was brought to the area by Theoc, a missionary from
In the 10th century the religious foundation at Tewkesbury became a
Robert Fitzhamon was wounded at Falaise in Normandy in 1105 and died two years later, but his son-in-law, Robert FitzRoy, the natural son of Henry I who was made Earl of Gloucester, continued to fund the building work. The abbey's greatest single later patron was Lady Eleanor le Despenser, last of the De Clare heirs of FitzRoy.[7] In the High Middle Ages, Tewkesbury became one of the richest abbeys of England.
After the Battle of Tewkesbury in the Wars of the Roses on 4 May 1471, some of the defeated Lancastrians sought sanctuary in the abbey.[8] The victorious Yorkists, led by King Edward IV, forced their way into the abbey; the resulting bloodshed caused the building to be closed for a month until it could be purified and re-consecrated.
At the
The bells merited their own free-standing belltower, an unusual feature in English sites. After the dissolution, the bell-tower was used as the gaol for the borough until it was demolished in the late 18th century.[11]
The central stone tower was originally topped with a wooden spire, which collapsed in 1559 and was never rebuilt. Restoration undertaken in the late 19th century under Sir George Gilbert Scott was reopened on 23 September 1879.[12] Work continued under the direction of his son John Oldrid Scott until 1910 and included the rood screen of 1892.[13]
Flood waters from the nearby River Severn reached inside the abbey during severe floods in 1760, and again on 23 July 2007.[14]
Construction time-line
- 23 October 1121 – the choir consecrated
- 1150 – tower and nave completed
- 1178 – large fire necessitated some rebuilding
- ~1235 – Chapel of St Nicholas built
- ~1300 – Chapel of St. James built
- 1321–1335 – choir rebuilt with radiating chantry chapels
- 1349–59 – tower and nave vaults rebuilt; the lierne vaults of the nave replacing wooden roofing
- 1400–1410 – cloisters rebuilt
- 1438 – Chapel of Isabel (Countess of Warwick) built
- 1471 – Battle of Tewkesbury; bloodshed within church so great that it is closed for purification
The building
The church itself is one of the finest
Notable monuments
Notable
- 1107 – when the abbey's founder Robert Fitzhamon died in 1107, he was buried in the chapter house while his son-in-law Robert FitzRoy, Earl of Gloucester (an illegitimate son of King Henry I), continued building the abbey
- 1375 – Lord of the Manorof Tewkesbury, is remembered today chiefly for the effigy on his monument, which shows him in full colour kneeling on top of the canopy of his chantry, facing toward the high altar
- 1395 – Robert Fitzhamon's remains were moved into a new chapel built as his tomb
- 1471 – a brass plate on the floor in the centre of the sanctuary marks the grave of Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales, the son of King Henry VI and end of the Lancastrian line, who was killed in the Battle of Tewkesbury – the only Prince of Wales ever to die in battle. He was aged only 17 at his death.
- 1478 – the bones of George, Duke of Clarence (brother of Edward IV and Richard III), and his wife Isabel (daughter of "Warwick, the Kingmaker") are housed behind a glass window in a wall of their inaccessible burial vaultbehind the high altar
- 1539 – the cadaver monument which Abbot Wakeman had erected for himself is only a cenotaphbecause he was not buried there
- Also buried in the abbey are several members of the Despenser, Henry de Beauchamp, 1st Duke of Warwick, and his wife, Cecily Neville, Duchess of Warwick, sister of "Warwick, the Kingmaker".
Other burials
- Brictric, a late-Saxon thegn
- John Courtenay, 15th Earl of Devon, (c. 1435 – 4 May 1471)
- Edmund Beaufort (died 1471)
- John Beaufort, Marquess of Dorset
- Richard de Clare, 3rd Earl of Hertford
- Maud (or Matilda) de Burgh (c. 1288–1320), his wife
- Isabel Marshal, her heart
- John Courtenay, 7th Earl of Devon
- Henry Beauchamp, 1st Duke of Warwick
- Guy de Bryan, 1st Baron Bryan
- Eleanor de Clare
- Thomas le Despenser, 1st Earl of Gloucester
- Gilbert de Clare, 5th Earl of Gloucester
- Richard de Clare, 6th Earl of Gloucester
- Gilbert de Clare, 7th Earl of Gloucester
- Gilbert de Clare, 8th Earl of Gloucester
- Amice FitzWilliam, 4th Countess of Gloucester (c. 1160–1220)
- Elizabeth de Burghersh, 3rd Baroness Burghersh
- Hugh le Despenser, 1st Earl of Winchester
- Hugh Despenser the Younger
- Richard de Beauchamp, 1st Earl of Worcester, (c.1394 – 18 March 1421/1422)
- Isabel le Despenser, Countess of Worcester
- Richard le Despenser, 4th Baron Burghersh
- Isabel le Despenser, Countess of Arundel
- William la Zouche, 3rd Baron Zouche (c. 1355 – 4 May 1396)
- Elizabeth le Despenser
- Hugh le Despencer, Baron le Despencer (1338)
- Elizabeth Montague (d.1359), his wife
- Samuel Jones (academy tutor)
The three organs
- The abbey's 17th-century National Pipe Organ Register.[19]
- In the north transept is the stupendous Grove Organ, built by the short-lived partnership of Michell & Thynne in 1885: [2].
- The third organ in the abbey is the Elliott chamber organ of 1812, mounted on a movable platform: [3].
List of organists
- James Cleavely, 1737–1767
- James Edward Chandler, 1767–1798
- Nathaniel Chandler, 1798–1847
- Nathaniel Chandler White, 1847–1857
- Thomas Vale, 1857
- Jabez Jones, 1857–1858[20]
- Mr. Caseley, 1858
- R.M. Ellis, 1858–1861
- Edward Gillman, 1861–1867
- John Thorniloe Horniblow, 1867–1878
- Henry Rogers, 1878–1880[21]
- Daniel Hemmingway, 1881–1891[22]
- Samuel Bath, 1891–1900[23]
- Alfred W. V. Vine, 1900–1910
- Capt. Percy Baker, 1910–1943[24]
- Revd. Claude William Parnell, 1916–1918 (deputising for Percy Baker)
- Michael Stockwin Howard, 1943–1944[25]
- Huskisson Stubington, 1944–1966
- Michael Peterson, 1966–1985[26]
- John Belcher, 1985–1996 (formerly organist of St Asaph Cathedral)[27]
- Carleton Etherington, 1996–present
List of assistant organists
The bells
The bells at the abbey were overhauled in 1962 and the ring is now made up of twelve bells, cast by John Taylor & Co of Loughborough.[30] A semitone bell[30][31] (Flat 6th) and extra treble[32] were also cast by Taylor of Loughborough in 1991 and 2020 respectively, making a total of 14 available for change ringing.
The Old Clock Bells are the old 6th (Abraham Rudhall II, 1725), the old 7th (Abraham Rudhall I, 1696), the old 8th (Abraham Rudhall I, 1696) and the old 11th (Abraham Rudhall I, 1717).
The abbey bells are rung from 09:30am to 10:30am every Sunday. They are also rung on certain Sundays before
Churchyard
The churchyard contains war graves of two World War II Royal Air Force personnel.[33]
Abbey precincts
The
Abbots
- Gerald of Avranches (1102[36]–1109).[37][38] Previously served as Abbot of Cranborne, when Tewkesbury was a dependent cell. Gerald was made Abbot when the abbey was transferred to Tewkesbury by William Rufus and Robert Fitz Haimon. He also previously served as chaplain to Hugh, Earl of Chester[39]
- Robert (1109–1123)[37]
- Benedict (1124–1137) Previously served as Prior of Tewkesbury[37]
- Roger (1137–1161)[37]
- Fromund (1162–1178)[37]
- Robert (1182–1183)[37][38]
- Peter de Leia, Bishop of St Davids held the priory for three years (1183–1186)[37]
- Alan of Tewkesbury, (1186–1202).[40] His tomb is in the south ambulatory of the choir
- Walter (1202–1213). Previously served as the Sacrist at Tewkesbury[37]
- Hugh or Henry (1212–1215). Previously served as Prior of Tewkesbury[37]
- Peter of Worcester (1216–1232)[41]
- Robert (1232–1254). Previously served as Prior of Tewkesbury.[41] A tomb thought to be his is in the south ambulatory
- Thomas de Stoke or Stokes (1255–1276). Previously served as Prior of St James' Priory, Bristol[38][41]
- Richard of Norton (1276–1282)[38][41]
- Thomas of Kempsey, Kemeseye, or Kemes (1282–1328)[38][41]
- John de Cotes (1330–1347). Previously served as Prior of Tewkesbury[41][42]
- Thomas de Leghe (1347–1361)[38][41]
- Thomas de Chesterton (1361–1389)[43]
- Thomas Parker (1389–1420)[43]
- William de Bristol, or de Bristow (1425–1442)[43]
- John de Abingdon (1444–1452)[43]
- John Galeys, Gales, or Galys (1452–1468)[43]
- John Streynesham, or Streynsham (1468–1480)[43]
- Richard Cheltenham, or Cheltynham (1480–1509)[43]
- Henry Beely, Beauley, Beley, or Beoly (1509–1534)[43]
- John Wyche alias John Wakeman (1534–1540). Last Abbot before the surrender of the monastery on 9 January 1540. Appointed Bishop of Gloucester in September 1541[44]
Choirs
The abbey possesses, in effect, two choirs. The Abbey Choir sings at Sunday services, with children (boys and girls) and adults in the morning, and adults in the evening. Tewkesbury Abbey Schola Cantorum is a professional choir of men, boys and girls based at Dean Close Preparatory School and sings at weekday Evensongs as well as occasional masses and concerts. The Abbey School Tewkesbury, which educated, trained and provided choristers to sing the service of Evensong from its foundation in 1973 by Miles Amherst, closed in 2006; the choir was then re-housed at Dean Close School, Cheltenham, and renamed the Tewkesbury Abbey Schola Cantorum.
Worship
For the most part,
References
- ^ Otherwise: Gules, a cross engrailed or
- ^ a b Dugdale, William (1693). Monasticon Anglicanum, or, The history of the ancient abbies, and other monasteries, hospitals, cathedral and collegiate churches in England and Wales. With divers French, Irish, and Scotch monasteries formerly relating to England. Translated by Wright, James. London: Sam Keble and Hon Rhodes. pp. 15. Archived from the original on 21 March 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
- ^ "The priories of Cranborne and Horton". British History Online. Archived from the original on 18 August 2011. Retrieved 20 February 2010.
- ^ Page, William. "'Houses of Benedictine monks: The priories of Cranbourne and Horton', in A History of the County of Dorset: Volume 2". British History Online. Victoria County History. Archived from the original on 18 June 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
- ^ Page, William. "Houses of Benedictine monks: The abbey of Tewkesbury in A History of the County of Gloucester: Volume 2". British History Online. Victoria County History. Archived from the original on 11 September 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
- ^ "The misericords and history of Tewkesbury Abbey". Misericords. Archived from the original on 22 December 2019. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
- JSTOR 44946944.
- ^ "Battle of Tewkesbury (1471)". Battlefields of Britain Trust. Archived from the original on 29 August 2019. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
- ^ This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: "Wakeman, John". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
- ^ "The Bells of Tewkesbury Abbey". Tewksbury History Society. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
- ^ "The borough of Tewkesbury: Churches Pages 154-165 A History of the County of Gloucester: Volume 8". British History Online. Victoria County History. Archived from the original on 9 December 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
- ^ "Religious Intelligence". The Cornishman. No. 64. 2 October 1879. p. 8.
- ^ David Verey and Alan Brooks. The Buildings of England Gloucestershire 2: The Vale and the Forest of Dean. Yale University Press. pp. 712–730.
- ^ "Tewkesbury Abbey, Gloucestershire". UK Southwest. Archived from the original on 4 July 2017. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
- JSTOR 3050367.
- ^ David Verey and Alan Brooks. The Buildings of England Gloucestershire 2: The Vale and the Forest of Dean. Yale University Press. p. 713.
- ^ "Row on row". Church Monuments Society. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
- JSTOR 965479. (accessed via JSTOR, subscription required)
- ^ "The National Pipe Organ Register - NPOR". www.npor.org.uk.
- ^ The Ecclesiologist, Stevenson, 1855
- ^ Kelly's Directory of Gloucestershire, 1879, p. 766
- ^ Kelly's Directory of Gloucestershire, 1885, p. 600
- ^ Kelly's Directory of Gloucestershire, 1897, p.328
- ^ Who's who in Music; first post-War edition, 1949–50. Shaw Publishing
- ^ "Obituary of Michael Howard". The Independent. London. 17 January 2002. Retrieved 20 February 2010.
- ^ "Michael Peterson, organist". London: BBC. 8 October 2006. Retrieved 20 February 2010.
- ISBN 0-19-816175-1
- ^ Who's who in Music. Shaw Publishing Ltd. First Post War Edition. 1949–50
- ^ family archive Chorleys of Tewkesbury
- ^ a b c Bagley, David. "Tewkesbury Abbey Bells". www.bagleybells.co.uk. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
- ^ "History of Tewkesbury Abbey Abbey website". Archived from the original on 11 January 2017. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
- ^ "Tewkesbury Abbey - John Taylor & Co". Archived from the original on 16 April 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
- ^ "CWGC Cemetery Report, details from casualty record". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 8 February 2013.
- ^ "ABBEY LAWN TRUST, registered charity no. 201845". Charity Commission for England and Wales.
- ^ "Abbey Lawn Trust". Archived from the original on 13 March 2007. Retrieved 4 March 2006..
- ^ Laurd, Henry (1869). ""Annales de Theokesberia" in Annales Monastici". London.
MCII: Hic primum in novum monasterium ingressi sumus (1102 A.D.: This was the first year we entered the new monastery)
- ^ a b c d e f g h i David Knowles, et al, The Heads of Religious Houses, England and Wales: Volume 1, 940-1216, revised edition (Cambridge, U.K.: 2001) pp. 73, 255-256.
- ^ a b c d e f William Page, Victoria County History of Gloucester, Volume II (London: 1907) pp. 62-65.
- ^ Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Online (ODNB), "Robert Fitz Haimon" by Judith A. Green.
- ^ ODNB, "Alan of Tewkesbury" by A. J. Duggan.
- ^ a b c d e f g David M. Smith, and Vera London, eds. The Heads of Religious Houses, England and Wales: Volume II, 1216-1377, (London: 2001) pp. 73-74.
- ^ Bennett, James (1830). "The History of Tewkesbury". London. p. 118.
- ^ a b c d e f g h David M. Smith, ed. The Heads of Religious Houses, England and Wales: Volume III, 1377-1540, (Cambridge, U.K.: 2008) pp. 73-74.
- ^ [1] Archived 24 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine John Le Neve, et al., Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1541-1857: Volume 8, Bristol, Gloucester, Oxford and Peterborough Dioceses (London: 1996) p. 40.
- ^ Note: Photography is permitted in the Abbey but requires purchase of a day permit. Photography is not permitted, however, during services or within the sanctuary of the altar and is not permitted for publication or commercial gain without written permission of the vicar or churchwardens. See: "Discover Tewkesbury Abbey" pamphlet and Tewkesbury Abbey Camera/Video Permit
- Morris, Richard K. & Shoesmith, Ron (editors) (2003) Tewkesbury Abbey: history, art and architecture. Almeley: Logaston Press ISBN 1-904396-03-8