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| At the time of the ] (1086), the abbey held, as it had in ]'s time, the Wiltshire ] of ], ], 'Allentone', Choulston, and ], totalling twenty-seven ], plus the manor of Rabson in ]. In ] it held Ceveslane in ], ], and ] and the church of Letcombe Regis.<ref name=wvch/> | At the time of the ] (1086), the abbey held, as it had in ]'s time, the Wiltshire ] of ], ], 'Allentone', Choulston, and ], totalling twenty-seven ], plus the manor of Rabson in ]. In ] it held Ceveslane in ], ], and ] and the church of Letcombe Regis.<ref name=wvch/> | ||
| In 1177 |
In 1177 Ælfthryth's foundation was dissolved by ] and its buildings used for the foundation of a double ] of the ] order.<ref> at ] web site</ref><ref></ref> ], the princess held captive for most of her life, donated her body here, and later ] would donate a manor of Melksham to the abbey as well for the souls of her and her brother ], who was widely believed to be murdered by ]; ], queen of England, was buried in the abbey on 11 September 1291. It seems likely that the church of the abbey became the ], and this may explain why it was spared at the time of the ], when the priory and its other buildings were destroyed. The Amesbury estate was subsequently granted to ] by ].<ref>John Chandler & Peter Goodhugh, '' Amesbury: history and description of a south Wiltshire town'' (1989), p. 24</ref> | ||
| ==Present day== | ==Present day== | ||
Revision as of 12:38, 3 December 2011
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.
History
Ælfthryth founded two religious houses at about the same time, the other being at Wherwell 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.
Present day
The nearby mansion now called 'Amesbury Abbey' was not part of the nunnery. It has been attributed to Inigo Jones and is a Grade I listed building.
Notes
- ^ Houses of Benedictine nuns: Abbey, later priory, of Amesbury, in A History of the County of Wiltshire, vol. 3 (1956), pp. 242-259, accessed 7 January 2011
- Church Information at Wiltshire Council web site
- Catholic Encyclopaedia: Order and Abbey of Fontevrault
- John Chandler & Peter Goodhugh, Amesbury: history and description of a south Wiltshire town (1989), p. 24
- 51°10′28″N 1°47′08″W / 51.174493°N 1.785423°W / 51.174493; -1.785423
51°10′19″N 1°47′03″W / 51.171927°N 1.784286°W / 51.171927; -1.784286
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