Stratford Langthorne Abbey, or the Abbey of St Mary's, Stratford Langthorne was a Cistercian

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whi ...

founded in 1135 at Stratford Langthorne — then

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

but now Stratford in the London Borough of Newham. The Abbey, also known as West Ham Abbey as it lay in that parish, was one of the largest Cistercian abbeys in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, possessing of local land, controlling over 20 manors throughout Essex. The Abbey was self-sufficient for its needs and wealthy besides; some of this wealth came from the ecclesiastic mills grinding wheat for local bakers to supply bread to the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

. This later led to competition with the Guild of Bakers, who sought powers to levy a toll on loaves entering the City at

Whitechapel Whitechapel is a district in East London and the future administrative centre of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is a part of the East End of London, east of Charing Cross. Part of the historic county of Middlesex, the area formed ...

History

Foundation

In a charter dated 25 July 1135, William de Montfichet granted the monks all his lordship of (West) Ham, of meadow, two mills by the causeway of Stratford, his wood of Buckhurst and the tithe of his '' pannage''. The abbey was dedicated in honour of St Mary. The Abbey was a daughter house of

Savigny Abbey Savigny Abbey (''Abbaye de Savigny'') was a monastery near the village of Savigny-le-Vieux (Manche), in northern France. It was founded early in the 12th century. Initially it was the central house of the Congregation of Savigny, who were Benedi ...

, and in 1218 the General Chapter ruled that visiting members of the order could only spend three days at the Abbey's hospitality. The following year, the rule was relaxed and monks and lay brothers could remain longer, as long as they provided their own ale and wine; and oats and hay for their horses.''Cistercian Abbeys: Stratford Langthorne''
The Cistercians in Yorkshire (Sheffield University) accessed 20 April 2008 House Mill at Three Mills

The Abbey church expanded from a simple cruciform building, to one with an aisled presbytery,

ambulatory The ambulatory ( la, ambulatorium, ‘walking place’) is the covered passage around a cloister or the processional way around the east end of a cathedral or large church and behind the high altar. The first ambulatory was in France in the 11th ...

and side chapels by the 13th century. The religious house was surrounded by buildings for lay brothers and hospitality. There were also workshops for brewing, shearing, weaving and

tannery Tanning may refer to: *Tanning (leather), treating animal skins to produce leather *Sun tanning, using the sun to darken pale skin **Indoor tanning, the use of artificial light in place of the sun **Sunless tanning, application of a stain or dye t ...

with farm buildings to service the extensive holdings and mills on the

Bow Back Rivers Bow Back Rivers or Stratford Back Rivers is a complex of waterways between Bow and Stratford in east London, England, which connect the River Lea to the River Thames. Starting in the twelfth century, works were carried out to drain Stratford M ...

. Some of these were tidal mills, like those at

Three Mills The Three Mills are former working mills and an island of the same name on the River Lea. It is one of London’s oldest extant industrial centres. The mills lie in the London Borough of Newham, but despite lying on the Newham side of the Lea, ...

. These were owned by the Abbey, but the surviving mill was built much later. During the 13th century, the abbey acquired further grants of land in Essex and beyond, including the manor of Biggin in Chadwell St Mary. In 1267, for a time, the Abbey became the court of Henry III for the visitation of the Papal legates, and it was here that he made peace with the barons under the terms of the

Dictum of Kenilworth The Dictum of Kenilworth, issued on 31 October 1266, was a pronouncement designed to reconcile the rebels of the Second Barons' War with the royal government of England. After the baronial victory at the Battle of Lewes in 1264, Simon de Montfor ...

. Subsequent monarchs visited, and the Abbey came to be both a popular retreat for the nobility and their final resting place.''Stratford Langthorne Abbey''
John Laight (1999) accessed 30 April 2008 Severe flooding of the Thames in 1338 saw the monks decamp to their landholdings at

Great Burstead Great Burstead is an urban settlement in Essex, England - it is contiguous with the town of Billericay. History By tradition, the origins of the church, St Mary Magdalene, at Great Burstead are linked to Saint Cedd (d.664). Cedd, a missionary m ...

, and in 1381, the Abbey was invaded by the

Peasants' Revolt The Peasants' Revolt, also named Wat Tyler's Rebellion or the Great Rising, was a major uprising across large parts of England in 1381. The revolt had various causes, including the socio-economic and political tensions generated by the Blac ...

and its goods removed and charters burned. It also suffered flooding at the end of the 14th century, after which the Abbey was restored by Richard II. King Edward IV was entertained in 1467, and began an annual endowment of two casks of wine for the celebration of masses, in his honour. A small river port developed at Stratford, mentioned in the 15th century, to serve the needs of West Ham Abbey and the mills at Stratford. There is similar evidence in later centuries with specialist wharves for brick and timber, but by 1920 the dock was filled in and factories built on the site. From 1613, extraction of water for canals and the artificial New River, supplying fresh water to the city from Hertfordshire, had caused water levels to fall in the non-navigable channels, and traditional water milling to cease.''West Ham: Rivers, bridges, wharfs and docks'', A History of the County of Essex: Volume 6 (1973), pp. 57-61
accessed: 30 April 2006.

Dissolution

The Abbey existed until the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII in 1538. It was the fifth largest in England – as important as its sister Abbeys at Jervaulx, Rievaulx and

Fountains A fountain, from the Latin "fons" (genitive "fontis"), meaning source or Spring (hydrology), spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. ...

. At the dissolution the land was granted to Sir Peter Meautas and Johanna his wife "for their true and faithful service" and the monks were all pensioned. In 1177, a bridge was built at Bow, to replace a ford at

Old Ford Old Ford is an area in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets that is named after the natural ford which provided a crossing of the River Lea. History Administration and boundaries Historically, Old Ford was a cluster of houses and a mill, aroun ...

. Initially, local land and Abbey Mill were given to

Barking Abbey Barking Abbey is a former royal monastery located in Barking, in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. It has been described as having been "one of the most important nunneries in the country". Originally established in the 7th century, f ...

for the maintenance of the bridge, but these properties and the responsibility eventually passed to this Abbey. The Abbess of Barking and Abbot of West Ham argued about the obligation, a dispute that was settled in 1315. West Ham was to maintain the bridge and highway, but the Abbess would pay £200 annually in recompense. The Abbey's subsequent dissolution caused further lengthy litigation over maintenance of the bridge at Bow – with the successor landowners found responsible in 1691.''Houses of Cistercian monks: Abbey of Stratford Langthorne'', A History of the County of Essex: Volume 2 (1907), pp. 129-133
accessed: 30 April 2008. The matter was not finally resolved until 1834, with the formation of a Turnpike Trust. The Abbey was also responsible for maintenance of the sea wall around West Ham marsh; this led to further disputes with the nearby Priory of St Leonards at Bow, when, in 1339 the Abbot attempted to put the expense on the Prioress

Modern history

The Abbey lay between the Channelsea River and Marsh Lane (Manor Road). Nothing visible remains on the site, as local landowners took away much of the stone for their own buildings, and by 1840, the North Woolwich railway was built through the site, and factories and Stratford Wholesale Market were established on the remaining land. A stone window and a carving featuring skulls – thought to have been over the door to the charnel house – remain in All Saints West Ham Parish Church (dating from about 1180). The Great Gate of the abbey survived in Baker's Row until 1825. None of the abbey's buildings remain, but in the early 1990s archaeological investigations were carried out between 1993–94 on land cleared for the new Stratford Market Depot, part of the

Jubilee Line Extension The Jubilee Line Extension (JLE) is the extension of the London Underground Jubilee line from to through south and east London. An eastward extension of the line was first proposed in the 1970s. As part of the development of London Docklands, ...

. 647 burials were excavated from the Cistercian cemetery and reburied at Mount St. Bernard Abbey in Leicestershire. Excavation continues on the site as the remaining former factories are redeveloped. The latest, at Bakers Row, was in early 2008 and identified the former gatehouse of the Abbey - to the north east of the Abbey Church and defining the eastern edge of the precinct. This area, where former council stables were situated, is now protected from further development by

Scheduled Ancient Monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

status and a major community garden designed by artists Karen Guthrie and Nina Pope of the artists' collective Somewhere has been created on the site by the "Friends of Abbey Gardens". The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

of the Abbey can be seen over the doorway to the Old Court House, in Tramway Avenue (Stratford). The chevrons from this device, originally from the arms of the Mountfitchet family, together with an abbot's crozier were incorporated into the arms of the former

County Borough of West Ham West Ham was a local government district in the extreme south west of Essex from 1886 to 1965, forming part of the built-up area of London, although outside the County of London. It was immediately north of the River Thames and east of the Rive ...

in 1887. The same arms were adopted by the new London Borough of Newham in 1965. The Abbey is commemorated by two roads in the district, Abbey Lane and Abbey Road. In addition, Langthorne Street was formerly situated a little north of the Abbey site, running between Chapel Street and West Ham Lane. The street was devastated by enemy action during the Second World War, and the site subsequently disappeared beneath new development in the late 1960s. The Langthorne chevrons were also incorporated into the arms of the former

Municipal Borough of Leyton A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

, now part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest, because the abbey held considerable demesne lands there. Langthorne Road and the former Langthorne Hospital in

Leytonstone Leytonstone () is an area in east London, England, north-east of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest, a local authority district of Greater London. It adjoins Wanstead to the north-east, Forest Gate to the south-east, ...

commemorated the abbey's influence in the area.

Burials at the Abbey

The excavations recovered 647 burials from the church and the external cemetery to the north and north-east. Analysis of the skeletons indicated an overwhelmingly male cemetery population, as might be expected of a Cistercian monastery, but a few infants, children and women were present in all areas used for burial. Documented burials at the abbey include: *

John de Bohun, 5th Earl of Hereford John de Bohun, 5th Earl of Hereford (23 November 1306 – 20 January 1336) was born in St Clement's, Oxford to Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford and Elizabeth of Rhuddlan, a daughter of Edward I of England. After his father's death ...

Estates held

Manors held by the abbey include: *

, Essex. * The manor of Biggin in Chadwell St Mary

References

External links

The history of Stratford Langthorne Abbey Cisterian Abbeys: Stratford Langthorne Ongoing excavations near Abbey Road Discovery of the Abbey's "Great Gate" in February 2008
{{Authority control Religion in the London Borough of Newham Monasteries in London Former buildings and structures in the London Borough of Newham Cistercian monasteries in England Stratford, London 1135 establishments in England Christian monasteries established in the 12th century 1538 disestablishments in England Monasteries dissolved under the English Reformation