Shrewsbury Abbey - Shropshire Site Map
History Page
The Abbey, which is
dedicated to St. Peter and
St. Peter wrote;
"Come to Him, to the Living Stone, rejected by men but in God's sight chosen and precious; and like living stones, be yourselves built into a spiritual house..."
Here, history and faith come together in a building combining spiritual significance and architectural significance. We welcome worshipper, pilgrim and tourist alike to this very special place.
THE ABBEY OF
Most of the numerous monastic foundations made
in the early years of the Norman settlement were dependencies of
Cluny or of some Norman abbey; only a handful were independent
Benedictine houses from the time of foundation. (fn. 5) One was the
Conqueror's own foundation of Battle Abbey; two others,
Thus less than twenty years after its
foundation, and before all the gifts had taken effect, the abbey was
deprived of the protection of its founders. Encroachments on the
property began and holders of life-leases tried to make them
hereditary. Siward, the Saxon founder of St. Peter's church, had
surrendered all his claims in return for a life-grant of Cheney
Longville, (fn. 24) but his son Aldred refused to relinquish the
property until he had been paid £15; (fn. 25) the son of a canon of
Morville tried to retain his father's prebend; though Richard de
Belmeis (I), tenant of Betton Abbots, surrendered this estate on his
death-bed (1127), his heirs tried for thirty years to retain it.
(fn. 26) The abbey of Séez produced conflicting claims to property
in Billingsley and probably also to rights of jurisdiction. (fn. 27)
Some years passed before Henry I took effective action to protect
Shrewsbury Abbey. He had issued some charters early in his reign: a
grant of timber from the royal forests for the monastic buildings,
(fn. 28) a confirmation of the freedom from toll granted by William
II, (fn. 29) and a grant or confirmation of a threeday fair; (fn.
30) but his most important charters date from the time of Abbot
Godfrey. In 1121 he issued a writ securing Godfrey in all the
possessions that Fulchred had held (fn. 31) and in the same year he
granted a general charter of confirmation. (fn. 32) He also granted
the monopoly of multure in the town. (fn. 33) Local magnates
continued their support: Hamo Peverel and his wife Sibyl gave
Crudgington, Kynnersley, and Sleap, while lands in Loughton
(Chetton), Wollerton (Hodnet), Norton in Hales, Pimley (Shrewsbury
St. Mary), Booley (Stanton upon Hine Heath), Wigwig (Much Wenlock),
and Winsley (Westbury) came from the Corbets, Fulk the sheriff, and
others. (fn. 34) King Stephen granted a charter of confirmation (fn.
35) and the Empress Maud gave Aston in
The abbey's estates, centred as they were on
the churches and demesnes of Earl Roger and his men, were scattered
throughout all Shropshire except the south-west, where Roger's
territorial influence was weak; the only isolated property near this
region, Siward's former manor of Cheney Longville, was exchanged
before 1135 with Henry de Say for the manor of Brompton in
Berrington near Shrewsbury. (fn. 41) Until at least 1291 manorial
demesnes were retained in the principal groups of estates (fn. 42)
and probably served as centres for the collection of rents from the
outlying properties. Nearest to the abbey, with its fields in Abbey
Foregate and Monkmoor, were the estates at Emstrey, Betton Abbots,
Brompton, and Boreton in Condover, south-east of
In the absence of records other than charters,
methods of estate administration can only be surmised by comparison
with similar houses.
The 13th-century charters show that the monks
took an active part in enlarging their holdings in and around
The assessment of 1291 (fn. 61) and incomplete
minsters' accounts for parts of the estate in 1334, (fn. 62) 1355,
and 1361 (fn. 63) indicate a sharp fall in demesne farming in the
early 14th century. Twenty-one carucates in demesne were recorded on
the
In 1536-9 the bulk of the original endowment
was still in the hands of the monks. Some Staffordshire and
Lancashire properties were alienated at an early date (fn. 66) and a
few properties were surrendered to newer foundations: in 1410 the
advowson of Tong was sold to endow the new college there, (fn. 67)
and in 1449 the revenues of Isleham and Tadlow (Cambs.) were granted
to the Crown for the foundation of St. Nicholas (later King's)
College, Cambridge. (fn. 68) In 1536 the total profits were assessed
at £532 4s. 10d. and expenses of £97 19s. 5½d. were allowed:
twothirds of the revenue was derived from temporalities and
one-third from spiritualities. (fn. 69)
Revenues had been allocated to special purposes
from the first. Tithes were frequently assigned to the building of
the church, (fn. 70) the maintenance of the fabric, (fn. 71) the
support of the poor, (fn. 72) or the needs of the monks: (fn. 73) an
attempt, perhaps, to preserve the canonical division of such
revenues. (fn. 74) In the 13th century revenues might be assigned to
specific offices, including the almonry, the guardian of the works,
or the kitchen of the monks, and several obedientiaries acquired
revenues of their own. (fn. 75) The almoner received rents in
From the early 13th century, when a substantial
legacy came from Henry of Norton, (fn. 81) the chapel of St. Mary
was an important recipient of gifts and purchases. (fn. 82) It stood
east of the high altar and contained the tomb of Earl Roger: (fn.
83) mass was often said there for visiting bishops, abbots, and
other great persons. (fn. 84) A monk-warden was appointed; William
of Norton, probably a brother of Henry of Norton, being the first
known. (fn. 85) A chantry was established in 1343-4 for Ralph,
Bishop of Bath and Wells, out of the revenues of Boreton. (fn. 86)
In 1414 new property was acquired to endow a chantry for John Burley
of Broncroft, to be served by a monk and chaplain in the chapel of
St. Katherine. (fn. 87) The abbey had had a special devotion for St.
Winifred from the time that her relics were brought from Basingwerk,
c. 1138, and placed in the church. (fn. 88) Her cult increased in
the 14th century and a new shrine was built in the time of Abbot
Nicholas Stevens. At this time a group of monks and servants of the
abbey forcibly carried off the bones of her confessor St. Beuno from
Rhewl near Chirk and enclosed them in a shrine in the wall of the
church, beneath two statues of St. Winifred and St. Beuno; the abbey
was fined for the felony but kept the relics. (fn. 89) Henry V, who
had planned to establish a chantry for one chaplain in honour of St.
Winifred, died before he could carry out his intention, but in 1463
Abbot Thomas Mynde secured the appropriation of the church of Great
Ness to support a monk chaplain to celebrate at the altar of St.
Winifred for the souls of King Henry and his heirs. (fn. 90) The
same abbot established a perpetual guild to maintain the chantry in
1487, allocating more monastic property, including the pastures of
Gay Meadow and 'Le Connynger'. (fn. 91)
The abbey had only one dependent priory, the
tiny cell established in Morville church at the instigation of the
Bishop of Hereford for the provision of hospitality. (fn. 92) A
number of other parish churches were appropriated for special
purposes: (fn. 93) Baschurch between 1188 and 1198 for the needs of
guests, pilgrims, and the poor; a portion of the tithes of
Wellington in 1232, (fn. 94) in part to maintain hospitality;
Condover 1312-15 to augment the monks' pittance. (fn. 95)
Wrockwardine church was appropriated in 1333 to support two monks
studying theology at a university (fn. 96) but, when its revenues
were diminished by wars and other troubles and the abbey had several
times been fined by the Benedictine general chapter for not having
monks in the schools, (fn. 97) the obligation was reduced to the
support of one monk scholar. (fn. 98) The
The external history of the abbey is mainly
concerned with its relations with the Crown and the growing town of
After the disputed election of 1250, however,
when the two claimants, Adam, sacrist of
During vacancies the king had custody of the
temporalities of the abbey, unless the prior and convent had fined
for the custody, and he invariably retained the advowsons of
churches at these times. (fn. 120) From the beginning of the 14th
century retired royal servants were regularly despatched to the
abbey as corrodiaries. (fn. 121) From 1333, in spite of protests
from the abbey, the king successfully asserted his right as founder
and patron to send a clerk, on the creation of each new abbot, to
receive a pension until he could be beneficed. (fn. 122) Abbots were
frequently employed on secular business, taking the assize of arms,
(fn. 123) serving on embassies, (fn. 124) surveying
Most of the free gifts that came to the abbey
in the later Middle Ages were from local men, often tenants on its
estates, or burgesses of
There were always close personal ties between
townsmen and the abbey: men like Robert Schitte, who in the early
13th century gave shops to support his anniversary, (fn. 144) or the
burgess Hugh Fitz Hamon (d. 1252), who was the brother of both
Nicholas Fitz Hamon, reeve of the Foregate, and Richard Fitz Hamon,
prior of Shrewsbury Abbey (1244-58). (fn. 145) On the eve of the
Dissolution Thomas Mytton, bailiff of Shrewsbury and one of the
first members of the guild of St. Winifred, (fn. 146) may have been
a kinsman of Richard Mytton, steward of the liberty of the Foregate;
(fn. 147) both John Gittins of Shrewsbury, draper, and Richard
Gittins of Shrewsbury, merchant of the Staple of Calais, received
pensions and liveries in kind for many years. (fn. 148) The guild of
St. Winifred brought together monks and burgesses in a common
fraternity, and mutual interests at times drew abbey and town
together: in June 1389 the bailiffs and commonalty of
The abbey found other benefactors and servants
among the local gentry and the tenants of its estates. Stephen of
Stanley (fn. 152) and Adam of Bispham, (fn. 153) who surrendered
their estates in return for life corrodies, were tenants of the
abbey, and John of Prestcott, reeve of the Foregate, came from the
abbey's estate at Prescott in Baschurch: (fn. 154) they are
representative of the 'guests of the house' and manorial servants of
the 13th century. Of the local gentry the Charltons of Apley later
became prominent as protectors and estate managers: John Charlton,
lord of Powys, had intervened to secure the appropriation of
Condover church in 1312, (fn. 155) and in the early 16th century
four of the family were active as stewards, bailiffs, and
rent-collectors, drawing pensions and liveries on the abbey's
estates: Sir William Charlton of Apley, his son Thomas, and Richard
and Francis Charlton. (fn. 156) Sir William's cousin John Salter
acted in the abbey's interests before the Council of the Marches
(fn. 157) and Richard Salter, steward of the abbey under the chief
steward George, Earl of Shrewsbury, (fn. 158) may have been another
cousin. There were less intimate ties with the Kynastons, two of
whom owed their positions as bailiff and steward of Baschurch to
recent court influence, (fn. 159) while William Poyner, gentleman,
and John Poyner held office in the manor of Hernes. (fn. 160)
Smaller men too were rising in the abbey's service: Thomas Gery,
rent collector of the Foregate, probably came from a yeoman family
on the abbey's estate at Astley Abbots. (fn. 161)
In the later Middle Ages the community numbered
from twelve to eighteen monks, one of whom was normally absent as
Prior of Morville, and each of the senior monks held several
offices. (fn. 162) The abbot received papal licence in 1251 to wear
the ring (fn. 163) and in 1397 to use the mitre, ring, and other
pontifical insignia. (fn. 164) Few records of the monastic life
survive, the archives and library alike having been lost. A list
made in 1697 of the manuscripts of Henry Langley, descendant of the
original purchaser of the abbey site, may consist largely or wholly
of books from its library. If so there was a good collection of
historical writings in addition to the standard works of the fathers
and lives of saints normal in any Benedictine house. (fn. 165) The
only work to survive from the pen of a Shrewsbury monk is the Life
of St. Winifred by Robert, prior and later Abbot of Shrewsbury,
written about 1140, (fn. 166) but the early monks from Séez and Earl
Roger's household were certainly learned men, and after the
maintenance of one or two monks in the Oxford schools became
statutory in the 13th century the abbey produced a number of
scholars. Thomas de Calton, Prior of Shrewsbury, was regent at
Early-14th-century visitations showed fairly
sound discipline in the abbey. Bishop Northburgh's principal
complaints, c. 1324, were that too many monks were absent from the
refectory, that novices were allowed to leave the cloister before
they had been fully instructed in the Rule, and that obedientiaries
did not render account. (fn. 174) In 1354 the bishop found all well,
except that the buildings on many manors needed repair through the
evils of the times, not the fault of the monks, and that the monks
were neglecting their newly-acquired 'haye' of Lythwood. (fn. 175)
Later difficulties increased. War and the partial breakdown of
justice led to repeated outbreaks of violence, in which the monks
were sometimes the aggressors. (fn. 176) Serious dissensions in the
community called for the intervention of the bishop in 1394 (fn.
177) and the visitors of the Benedictine provincial chapter in 1426.
(fn. 178) The visitation records of the period 1518-25 (fn. 179)
show that under Abbot Richard Baker Shrewsbury was not an orderly or
united house: many debts were not paid, no proper accounts were
rendered, and many of the buildings were in a serious state of
dilapidation; lands were being leased without the consent of the
chapter, the previous abbot having given a substantial holding free
of rent to his sister Joan and her husband; (fn. 180) the infirmary
was in ruins and the subprior, Thomas Butler, was accused of
carrying off the glass for the windows of his chamber; the dormitory
was unlit and in bad repair; the revenues of the warden of St.
Katharine's chapel were inadequate for his obligations. There seems
to have been little or no improvement under Baker's successor Thomas
Butler, for similar allegations were made in a savage attack on the
abbot by Thomas Madockes of London in 1536: there was no infirmary;
the roof above the high altar was collapsing so that rain dripped
into the choir; masses were neglected and no scholars kept at
Oxford; the abbot was pulling down his houses and selling off the
timber and tiles. (fn. 181) These charges may have been exaggerated,
for an earlier statement by one of the monks that
When the abbey was dissolved on 24 January 1540
a pension of £80 was assigned to the abbot and £87 6s. 8d. to the 17
monks. (fn. 182) The abbey was considered as one of the seats of a
possible new bishopric, and the burgesses proposed that it might be
kept as a residence for royal visitors or erected into a college or
free school, (fn. 183) but finally it suffered the fate of the other
A partial reconstruction of the abbey's plan
can be made with the help of 17th- and 18th-century drawings. (fn.
186) The ten-acre site was bounded on the south and west by the Rea
or Meole Brook, just before its junction with the Severn, and on the
north and east by a high embattled wall, considerable parts of which
were still standing in the early 19th century. From the north
transept to the western tower the wall was lower where it bounded
the street. The gatehouse stood near the tower, appearing in Buck's
view, published in 1731, as a building of two or more stories with
square or octagonal turrets, and gave access to the outer court.
Buck's view shows a long two-storey range of chambers with small
irregular windows on the north side, facing the street; they may
have included the almonry. Some 70 yards south-west of the church,
near the river, was a detached block of buildings, possibly the
infirmary, of which some walls still remain. Two gable-ends, traces
of round-arched windows, and a number of rough Norman arches were
clearly visible when Blakeway described the abbey in the 1820s. The
main cloister, which lay south of the church, bounded the east side
of the outer court, one side measuring 84 feet long and 12 feet
broad. Buckler's drawings show the west cloister range, a long
buttressed building of red stone with an upper floor which may have
been the monks' dormitory: it was destroyed c. 1836 when the main
road was driven through the site of the cloister. The frater, on the
south side, had already disappeared, apart from a handsome
early-14th-century pulpit which still survives. It is an octagonal
structure of grey stone originally incorporated in the south wall of
the frater, three of its sides projecting externally as an oriel
window and three internally as a refectory pulpit. It was approached
by steps in the thickness of the wall. As the wall itself, of which
only part of the base remains, is of red sandstone, it is possible
that the pulpit was a later insertion. Each of the six exposed sides
consists of a narrow arched opening with moulded jambs and a trefoil
head, the whole being surmounted by a vaulted roof. The internal
projection is the more elaborately treated. It rests on a moulded
corbel and within the three arches the sides of the pulpit are
carved with ogee-headed panels containing representations of the
Annunciation, St. Peter with St. Paul, and St. Winifred with St.
Beuno. The central boss of the vault represents the Crucifixion.
There is no trace of the chapter-house, which was presumably in the
eastern range of the cloister. South of the refectory were other
buildings, one of which had a high gable: the abbot's lodging and a
guest hall were probably situated there.
The church (fn. 187) itself suffered severely
from neglect after the Reformation. Its original dimensions have
been roughly calculated from the lead on the roof: it may have
measured 302 feet internally from west to east, including the west
tower and the Lady Chapel, which was 61 feet less than Wenlock and a
modest length for a church of its importance. Only the nave, side
aisles, porch, and west tower were preserved as the parochial church
of the Holy Cross, and after the removal of the lead even this part
suffered decay, so that the roof fell in. The Norman clerestory was
still in existence in the 17th century but it was later taken down
and the roof was rebuilt immediately above the triforium. Much early
Norman work survives in the church, notably the short thick piers in
the eastern half of the nave and the remnants of the original
transepts. Considerable rebuilding at the west end took place in the
14th century. Sandford's description of the lost heraldic glass
shows that the great west window was glazed c. 1388 in the time of
Abbot Nicholas Stevens, who may also have been responsible for other
14thcentury alterations. Fragments of a stone screen of about the
same date suggest that the chapel of St. Winifred stood on the north
side of the nave, below the pointed arch of the arcade which faces
the north porch. Stones with three sculptured figures, representing
St. John the Baptist, St. Winifred, and St. Beuno, were found in a
garden and have been restored to their original position in the
screen. The present chancel and clerestory, as well as much other
work in the church, date from two major restorations in the later
19th century.
In 1540 the abbey had two chimes, each of five
bells, one in the western and one in the central tower. The largest
bell, weighing 34 cwt. and known as St. Winifred's bell, was in use
until it cracked in 1730 and was then melted down.
Abbots of
Fulchred, appointed c. 1087, (fn. 188) died
1119 (?). (fn. 189)
Godfrey, elected before 1121, (fn. 190) died
1128. (fn. 191)
Herbert, elected 1128, (fn. 192) , deposed
1138. (fn. 193)
Ranulf, elected 1138 (?), occurs until c. 1147.
(fn. 194)
Robert, occurs 1150 × 9, (fn. 195) died 1168.
(fn. 196)
Adam, occurs 1168 × 73, (fn. 197) deposed 1175.
(fn. 198)
Ralph, elected 1175, (fn. 199) occurs 1186 ×
90. (fn. 200)
Hugh de Lacy, occurs between 1190 and c. 1220.
(fn. 201)
Walter, elected 1221, (fn. 202) died or
resigned 1223. (fn. 203)
Henry, elected 1223, died or resigned 1244.
(fn. 204)
Adam, elected 1244, resigned 1250. (fn. 205)
William, elected 1250, election quashed by the
pope, 1251. (fn. 206)
Henry, provided 1251, resigned 1258. (fn. 207)
Thomas, elected 1259, died 1266. (fn. 208)
William of Upton, elected 1266, resigned 1271.
(fn. 209)
Luke of Wenlock, elected 1272, resigned 1279.
(fn. 210)
John of Drayton, elected 1279, died 1292. (fn.
211)
William of Muckley, elected 1292, died 1333.
(fn. 212)
Adam of Cleobury, elected 1333, died 1355. (fn.
213)
Henry de Alston, elected 1355, died 1361. (fn.
214)
Nicholas Stevens, elected 1361, died 1399. (fn.
215)
Thomas Prestbury alias
John Hampton, elected 1426, died 1433. (fn.
218)
Thomas Ludlow, elected 1433, died 1459. (fn.
219)
Thomas Mynde, elected 1460, died 1498. (fn.
220)
Richard Lye, elected 1498, (fn. 221) died 1512.
(fn. 222)
Richard Baker alias
Thomas Butler, elected 1529, surrendered 1540.
(fn. 224)
There is no complete impression of any common
seal of the abbey. (fn. 225) A fragment, showing part of a standing
figure in a chasuble, is attached to a deed of 1376. (fn. 226)
An impression of the abbey's pointed oval seal
ad causas is attached to a deed of 1530. (fn. 227) It measures 3 × 2
in. and shows the standing figure of St. Peter, mitred and holding a
key. Legend, lombardic:
SIGILLUM ABBATIS ET CONVENTUS SALOPISBURIE AD
CAUSAS
List of abbreviations
1 Ordericus Vitalis,
Historia Ecclesiastica, ed. A. Le Prévost (Paris, 1838-55), ii. 416.
2 The Vita Wulfstani of William of Malmesbury
[ed. R. R. Darlington] (Camd. Soc. 3rd ser. xl), 26-7, 92.
3 Ordericus Vitalis, Hist. Eccl. ii. 415-22.
4 In the abbey's charters 1087 was reckoned the
year of foundation: N.L.W., Shrews. Cart. nos. 34, 35. Orderic says
that Fulchred became abbot in the reign of William Rufus: Hist.
Eccl. ii. 421.
5 Cf. Knowles, Monastic Order, 128-9.
6 Ordericus Vitalis, Hist. Eccl. ii. 419.
7 Ibid. 422. In the 13th century Earl Roger's
tomb was in the Lady Chapel, east of the chancel, which was almost
certainly not built at the time of his death in 1094. His first
burial place was possibly in the chancel, between the high altar and
the parochial altar in the nave.
8 Eyton, ix. 29.
9 Ordericus Vitalis, Hist. Eccl. ii. 421-2.
10 V.C.H. Salop. i. 311-2, 315, 316, 318, 319,
320. The values of Hodnet, Baschurch, and Great Ness churches are
not stated.
11 N.L.W., Shrews. Cart. no. 35. The
authenticity and dates of the charters are fully discussed by Mrs.
U. Rees in her forthcoming edition of the cartulary.
12 Eyton, vi. 181–2.
13 See p. 29.
14 e.g. Baschurch: Eyton, x. 130–1.
15 Ordericus Vitalis, Hist. Eccl. ii. 422.
16 William of Malmesbury, De Gestis Pontificum
(Rolls Ser.), 306.
17 N.L.W., Shrews. Cart. no. 4.
18 Ibid. no. 368.
19 Eyton, x. 107–8.
20 Ibid. 122–3.
21 N.L.W., Shrews. Cart. nos. 79, 93.
22 Ibid. nos. 85, 311–16, 371, 371b.
23 Eyton, x. 131.
24 Owen and Blakeway, Hist. Shrews. ii. 20;
N.L.W., Shrews. Cart. nos. 1, 34, 35.
25 N.L.W., Shrews. Cart. no. 1.
26 Ibid. no. 294; V.C.H. Salop. viii. 19.
27 Several early-12th-century charters of
Shrewsbury Abbey contain an exaggerated assertion of total
independence from the date of foundation; cf. a reputed foundation
charter probably forged in the early 12th century: N.L.W., Shrews.
Cart. no. 1; Owen and Blakeway, Hist. Shrews. ii. 20–23.
28 N.L.W., Shrews. Cart. no. 49.
29 Ibid. no. 39.
30 Ibid. no. 36. The monks claimed to have held
the fair from the time of Earl Roger but Henry II referred to it as
a grant of Henry I.
31 N.L.W., Shrews. Cart. no. 43c.
32 Ibid. no. 35.
33 Ibid. no. 42.
34 Ibid. nos. 35, 276; V.C.H. Salop. viii. 314.
35 Reg. Regum Anglo-Normannorum, iii. 302.
36 Ibid.; N.L.W., Shrews. Cart. no. 50.
37 N.L.W., Shrews. Cart. no. 53; V.C.H. Staffs.
iv. 107.
38 N.L.W., Shrews. Cart. no. 285.
39 Ibid. no. 286; V.C.H. Salop. viii. 213–14.
40 N.L.W., Shrews. Cart. nos. 36, 315, 323.
41 Ibid. no. 47d.
42 Tax. Eccl. (Rec. Com.), 163, 260. Lists of
the
43 See Knowles, Monastic Order, 437, 442–3;
E.H.R. xx. 279–83.
44 N.L.W., Shrews. Cart. no. 1. In one case,
where Rainald son of Elieth gave up a hide at Stoke upon Tern which
his father had held at farm, the abbot paid him £40 10s.
45 These properties are omitted from Stephen's
confirmation of 1138 × 39: N.L.W., Shrews. Cart. no. 276.
46 Ibid. no. 337.
47 Eyton, vi. 183–4.
48 Rot. Hund. (Rec. Com.), ii. 75, 76; Eyton,
x. 122–3.
49 Eyton, vi. 174–9; V.C.H. Salop, viii. 40.
50 N.L.W., Shrews. Cart. no. 270; Valor Eccl.
(Rec. Com.), iii. 190.
51 N.L.W., Shrews. Cart. no. 36.
52 Ibid. nos. 165–269 passim, 409, 411, 419,
422–3, 441.
53 B. M. Hargrave MS. 313, f. 54.
54 S.C. 6/Hen. VIII/3010 m. 48.
55 N.L.W., Shrews. Cart. no. 93b.
56 Ibid. no. 108.
57 Ibid. no. 8.
58 Ibid. nos. 88–97, 138–48, 152, 282, 387–91b,
398.
59 Ibid. no. 51.
60 Eyton, x. 133.
61 Tax. Eccl. (Rec. Com.), 163, 260.
62 S.C. 11/967/16.
63 B. M. Add. MS. 6165, pp. 81–83, 89.
64 What follows is based on the abbey's rentals
(Owen and Blakeway, Hist. Shrews. ii. 508–9; L.R. 2/184 ff. 182
sqq.) and the ministers' accounts of 1539–40 (S.C. 6/Hen VIII/3010
mm. 48–68).
65 Select Cases in Star Chamber (Seld. Soc.
xvi), 182–3.
66
67 Eyton, ii. 250–1;
68
69 Valor Eccl. (Rec. Com.), iii. 189–91.
70 N.L.W., Shrews. Cart. nos. 3, 289, 301, 325,
331, 382.
71 Ibid. nos. 123, 358.
72 Ibid. no. 276.
73 Ibid. no. 327.
74 G. Constable, Monastic Tithes from their
Origins to the Twelfth Century (1964), 56.
75 Cf. Owen and Blakeway, Hist. Shrews. ii.
93–8.
76 N.L.W., Shrews. Cart. nos. 163, 210b, 416.
77 Ibid. nos. 251–69.
78 Ibid. nos. 181–204, 293, 330, 345, 381 and
passim.
79 One of the earliest allocations was William
FitzAlan's grant of a mark to provide wine for masses on his
anniversary: N.L.W., Shrews. Cart. no. 83.
80 The abbey bought property for 100 marks from
Nicholas de Pinzun, c. 1245, and divided it between the kitchen,
fabric, chantry, altar of St. Mary, infirmary, guesthouse,
refectory, and almonry: N.L.W., Shrews. Cart. no. 163.
81 N.L.W., Shrews. Cart. no. 142.
82 Ibid. nos. 208–50, 414–42 and passim.
83 Ibid. no. 239.
84 Ibid. no. 209.
85 Ibid. nos. 209, 221.
86
87 Ibid. 1413–16, 258.
88 Owen and Blakeway, Hist. Shrews. ii. 33–42.
89 B. M. Hargrave MS. 313, ff. 52v.–53.
90
91
92 See p. 30. For an apparent attempt to
subject Sandwell Priory to the abbey see V.C.H. Staffs. iii. 218.
93 N.L.W., Shrews. Cart. no. 71.
94 Eyton, ix. 50–51.
95 N.L.W., Shrews. Cart. no. 520;
96
97 W. A. Pantin, Chapters of the English Black
Monks (Camd. Soc. 3rd ser. xlvii), 90; (liv), 176.
98
99 Magnum Registrum Album (S.H.C. 1924), 30.
100 N.L.W., Shrews. Cart. nos. 328, 329, 330.
101
102 Eyton, iv. 154–5.
103 N.L.W., Shrews. Cart. nos. 356, 359–64.
104 Ordericus Vitalis, Hist. Eccl. iv. 430.
105 Gervase of
106 The Chronicle of John of
107 Gervase of
108 Pat. R. 1216–25, 297.
109
110
111 Ibid. 72.
112 Ibid. 94; Close R. 1247–51, 437–8.
113 Ann. Mon. (Rolls Ser.), i. 145.
114 Close R. 1247–51, 565.
115 Ibid. 1256–9, 87, 88, 149, 154.
116 Ibid. 289, 314–15.
117
118 Pantin, Chapters of the English Black Monks
(Camd. Soc. 3rd ser. xlv), 83.
119
120 Ibid.
121
122 Ibid. 1333–7, 119; ibid. 1354–60, 225; Owen
and Blakeway, Hist. Shrews. ii. 105.
123 Close R. 1227–31, 400.
124 Ibid. 1264–8, 375; and see above.
125
126
127 Ibid. 1381–5, 260.
128 Close R. 1259–61, 499; 1261–4, 379; 1264–8,
85.
129 N.L.W., Shrews. Cart. no. 381.
130
131 B. M. Hargrave MS. 313. Notes relating to
the history of the abbey up to the end of the 14th century have been
added to the manuscript.
132 Owen and Blakeway, Hist. Shrews. i. 140–2;
Tout, Chapters, ii. 75.
133 Cf. Select Cases in the Court of King's
Bench (Seld. Soc. lvii), pp. lxxvi–lxxvii.
134 Owen and Blakeway, Hist. Shrews. ii. 120.
135 Neither the Parliament Roll nor the
Chronicle of Adam of Usk, who was present, states precisely where
the parliament was held.
136 E.g. Close R. 1231–4, 356; 1234–7, 139;
1237–42, 325; 1256–9, 30;
137 N.L.W., Shrews. Cart. no. 54.
138
139
140 N.L.W., Shrews. Cart. no. 160; T.S.A.S. 2nd
ser. vi. 341–57.
141 N.L.W., Shrews. Cart. nos. 276, 277, 386.
142 Select Cases in Star Chamber (Seld. Soc.
xvi), pp. cxxxix–cxlii, 178–208.
143 Req. 2/9/107; C 1/224/77; C 1/259/34; C
1/281/4.
144 N.L.W., Shrews. Cart. no. 197.
145 Ibid. nos. 163, 257b; cf. T.S.A.S. 2nd ser.
viii. 33.
146 Owen and Blakeway, Hist. Shrews. ii. 125.
147 Valor Eccl. (Rec. Com.), iii. 191.
148 E 315/94 p. 170; C 1/54/315.
149
150 L. & P. Hen. VIII, xvii, p. 166.
151 Owen and Blakeway, Hist. Shrews. ii. 135.
152 Ibid. 100–1; N.L.W., Shrews. Cart. no. 141.
153 N.L.W., Shrews. Cart. nos. 178, 402b.
154 Ibid. no. 132.
155
156 S.C. 6/Hen. VIII/3010 mm. 48–68.
157 L. & P. Hen. VIII, xii(1), p. 328.
158 Valor Eccl. (Rec. Com.), iii. 191.
159 Ibid.; L. & P. Hen. VIII, viii, p. 216.
160 Valor Eccl. (Rec. Com.), iii. 191; E 315/94
pp. 24–24b, 204b–205.
161 L.R. 2/184 ff. 184, 185.
162 Cf. Owen and Blakeway, Hist. Shrews. ii.
122.
163
164 Ibid. iv. 20.
165 Owen and Blakeway, Hist. Shrews. ii. 96.
166 Acta Sanctorum, 3 Nov. i. 708–26.
167 Pantin, Chapters of the English Black Monks
(Camd. Soc. 3rd ser. liv), 318.
168
169
170
171 Owen and Blakeway, Hist. Shrews. i. 191.
172
173
174 L.J.R.O., B/a 1/3, f. 37; Owen and
Blakeway, Hist. Shrews. ii. 116.
175 L.J.R.O., B/a 1/3, f. 135; Owen and
Blakeway, Hist. Shrews. ii. 120.
176
177 L.J.R.O., B/a 1/6, f. 131v.
178 Pantin, Chapters of the English Black Monks
(Camd. Soc. 3rd ser. xlvii), 166, 175.
179 L.J.R.O., B/v 1/1, pt. 1, pp. 30–32, 79–80;
pt. 2, pp. 36, 56.
180 Cat. Anct. D. v, A 11470.
181 L. & P. Hen. VIII, x, p. 60.
182 Ibid. xv, p. 553. Abbot Thomas Butler did
not become Vicar of Much Wenlock, as has been claimed: T.S.A.S. [1st
ser.] vi. 93; the bishop's register shows that another Thomas Butler
had been inducted as vicar in 1524: Reg. C. Bothe (C. & Y.S.), 337.
183 Owen and Blakeway, Hist. Shrews. ii. 136.
184 Phillips, Hist. Shrews. (1779), 81; L. & P.
Hen. VIII, xxi(1), p. 689.
185 Owen and Blakeway, Hist. Shrews. ii. 136.
186 Description of abbey remains based on Owen
and Blakeway, Hist. Shrews. ii. 47–92 and frontispiece; Phillips,
Hist. Shrews. (1779), view of abbey from the west facing p. 73; B.
M. Hargrave MS. 313. See also above, frontispiece.
187 The church architecture is reserved for
fuller treatment in another volume. The present description is based
on Owen and Blakeway, Hist. Shrews. ii. 51–83; Cranage, ii. 867–92;
Pevsner,
188 Ordericus Vitalis, Hist. Eccl. ii. 421.
189 Fulchred probably died on 15 Mar. 1119, the
date given in MS. G of the Worcester Chronicle: Chron. of John of
Worcester, ed. Weaver, 28 n. Eyton has argued an earlier date on the
grounds that Godfrey and Reinhelm, Bishop of Hereford (d. 1115),
witnessed the same charter (Eyton, iii. 232–3), but this charter
records two assemblies with two different sets of witnesses. Godfrey
and Reinhelm need not have been present on the same occasion and the
date of the second may have been after 1119. Ordericus Vitalis
states that Godfrey (d. 1128) died not long after his election:
Hist. Eccl. iv. 430.
190 N.L.W., Shrews. Cart. no. 43c.
191 Chron. of John of
192 Ordericus Vitalis, Hist. Eccl. iv. 430;
Gervase of Canterbury, Opera (Rolls Ser.), ii. 381.
193 Chron. of John of
194 Eyton, v. 170; vii. 353.
195 N.L.W., Shrews. Cart. no. 376.
196 Ann. Mon. (Rolls Ser.), i. 50.
197 N.L.W., Shrews. Cart. no. 343.
198 Ann. Mon. (Rolls Ser.), i. 51.
199 Gervase of
200 N.L.W., Shrews. Cart. no. 351b.
201 Ibid. no. 150c, and p. 352; D. Knowles, C.
N. L. Brooke, and Vera M. London, Heads of Religious Houses . . .
940–1216, 71.
202 Ann. Mon. (Rolls Ser.), i. 65.
203 Pat. R. 1216–25, 381.
204 Ibid. 382;
205
206 Ibid. 1247–58, 72;
207
208 Ibid. 1258–66, 7–8, 600.
209 Ibid. 625; 1266–72, 612.
210 Ibid. 1266–72, 617; 1272–81, 296.
211 Ibid. 1272–81, 299; 1281–92, 492.
212 Ibid. 1281–92, 496; 1330–4, 424.
213 Ibid. 1330–4, 437; 1354–8, 274.
214 Ibid. 1354–8, 272; 1361–4, 85.
215 Ibid. 1361–4, 104; 1396–9, 591.
216 Ibid. 1396–9, 592.
217 L.J.R.O., B/a 1/9, f. 98.
218 Ibid.;
219
220
221 L.J.R.O., B/a 1/13 f. 223v.;
222
223 L. & P. Hen. VIII, i (1), p. 551; iv (3),
p. 2272.
224 Ibid. iv (3), p. 2591; xv, p. 553.
225 For a 19th-century description of two
damaged abbot's seals see Owen and Blakeway, Hist. Shrews. ii.
132–3.
226 S.P.L., Deeds 3672.
227 S.R.O. 840,
From: 'Houses of Benedictine monks: Abbey of
Shrewsbury', A History of the
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