Walden Abbey was a Benedictine monastery in

Saffron Walden Saffron Walden is a market town in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England, north of Bishop's Stortford, south of Cambridge and north of London. It retains a rural appearance and some buildings of the medieval period. The population was 15, ...

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 ...

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 ...

founded by

Geoffrey de Mandeville, 1st Earl of Essex Geoffrey de Mandeville II, 1st Earl of Essex (died September 1144) was a prominent figure during the reign of King Stephen of England. His biographer, the 19th-century historian J. H. Round, called him "the most perfect and typical presentment of ...

between 1136 and 1143. Originally a

priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of ...

, it was elevated to the status of an

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The con ...

in 1190. Soon after its founding, Earl Geoffrey was arrested by King Stephen. When released on surrender of his castles, the earl launched a rebellion that lasted over a year. When he was killed, he had also been

excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

and could not be buried at the priory. Walden suffered without a clear patron through the rest of Stephen's reign. Even when

Geoffrey de Mandeville, 2nd Earl of Essex Geoffrey de Mandeville, 2nd Earl of Essex (died 1166) was an English nobleman, the second son of Geoffrey de Mandeville, 1st Earl of Essex and Rohese de Vere, Countess of Essex. Life During or soon after his father's rebellion against King S ...

regained his father's title and lands under King Henry II, he did little to assist his father's foundation. Nonetheless, when he died in 1166, his body was taken to Walden Priory for burial despite a suggestion that his mother

Rohese de Vere, Countess of Essex Rohese de Vere, Countess of Essex (c. 1110 – 1170 or after) was a noblewoman in England in the Anglo-Norman and Angevin periods. Married twice, she and her second husband founded the Gilbertine monastery of Chicksands in Bedfordshire. Life A ...

, send her men to seize her son's body and have it buried in the monastery she had founded at

Chicksands Chicksands is a village in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England, and part of the civil parish of Campton and Chicksands, whose population in 2007 was estimated to be 2,510. By the 2011 census the figure was accurately place ...

. Walden's relations with Geoffrey's brother and heir

William de Mandeville, 3rd Earl of Essex William de Mandeville, 3rd Earl of Essex (1st Creation) (died 14 November 1189) was a loyal councillor of Henry II and Richard I of England. William was the second son of Geoffrey de Mandeville, 1st Earl of Essex and Rohese de Vere, Countess ...

were slightly better, although the member of the community who wrote the ''Book of the Foundation of Walden'' claimed that Countess Rohese turned him against Walden. On his death in 1189, the monastery was again left without a clear patron for a number of years. The earldom of Essex eventually passed to the husband of a distant cousin of earl William,

Geoffrey fitz Peter Geoffrey Fitz Peter, Earl of Essex (c. 1162–1213) was a prominent member of the government of England during the reigns of Richard I and John. The patronymic is sometimes rendered Fitz Piers, for he was the son of Piers de Lutegareshale (born ...

, along with the patronage of Walden and the Mandeville lands and titles. The monks quarreled with him, however. The abbey eventually came under the patronage of the

Duchy of Lancaster The Duchy of Lancaster is the private estate of the British sovereign as Duke of Lancaster. The principal purpose of the estate is to provide a source of independent income to the sovereign. The estate consists of a portfolio of lands, properti ...

in the later Middle Ages, and thus passed to the crown in 1399.K. Stöber, ''Late Medieval Monasteries and Their Patrons: England and Wales, c. 1300-1540,'' (Woodbridge, Suffolk: 2007), p. 38, n. 141. After the

dissolution Dissolution may refer to: Arts and entertainment Books * ''Dissolution'' (''Forgotten Realms'' novel), a 2002 fantasy novel by Richard Lee Byers * ''Dissolution'' (Sansom novel), a 2003 historical novel by C. J. Sansom Music * Dissolution, in mu ...

of Walden during the reign of Henry VIII, the abbey property was purchased by Sir Thomas Audley, who built his house

Audley End Audley End House is a largely early 17th-century country house outside Saffron Walden, Essex, England. It is a prodigy house, known as one of the finest Jacobean houses in England. Audley End is now one-third of its original size, but is st ...

there. The current Jacobean mansion was built for his grandson,

Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk, (24 August 156128 May 1626) of Audley End House in the parish of Saffron Walden in Essex, and of Suffolk House near Westminster, a member of the House of Howard, was the second son of Thomas Howard, 4th ...

, however.

Burials at the Abbey (some in the
Priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of ...
preceding)

Thomas Audley, 1st Baron Audley of Walden Thomas Audley, 1st Baron Audley of Walden KG, PC, KS (30 April 1544), was an English barrister and judge who served as Lord Chancellor of England from 1533 to 1544. Early life Audley was born in Earls Colne, Essex, the son of Geoffrey Au ...

Humphrey de Bohun, 3rd Earl of Hereford Humphrey (VI) de Bohun (c. 1249 – 31 December 1298), 3rd Earl of Hereford and 2nd Earl of Essex, was an English nobleman known primarily for his opposition to King Edward I over the ''Confirmatio Cartarum.''Fritze and Robison, (2002). ...

Joan de Bohun, Countess of Hereford Joan FitzAlan, Countess of Hereford, Countess of Essex and Countess of Northampton (1347 – 7 April 1419) was the wife of the 7th Earl of Hereford, 6th Earl of Essex and 2nd Earl of Northampton. She was the mother of Mary de Bohun, the first w ...

Elizabeth of Rhuddlan Elizabeth of Rhuddlan (7 August 1282 – 5 May 1316) was the eighth and youngest daughter of King Edward I of England and Queen Eleanor of Castile. Of all of her siblings, she was closest to her younger brother King Edward II, as they were only ...

, Countess of Hereford, daughter or

Edward I of England Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vas ...

Humphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford Humphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford, 6th Earl of Essex, 2nd Earl of Northampton, KG (March 25, 1342–January 16, 1373) was the son of William de Bohun, 1st Earl of Northampton, and Elizabeth de Badlesmere, and grandson of Humphrey de Bohun, ...

Theophilus Howard, 2nd Earl of Suffolk Theophilus Howard, 2nd Earl of Suffolk, (13 August 15843 June 1640) was an English nobleman and politician. Born at the family estate of Saffron Walden, he was the son of Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk, by his second wife, Catherine Kny ...

(in the Howard Vault) *

James Howard, 3rd Earl of Suffolk James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

(in the Howard Vault) *

William de Bohun, 1st Earl of Northampton William de Bohun, 1st Earl of Northampton, KG (c. 1312 – 16 September 1360) was an English nobleman and military commander. Lineage He was the fifth son of Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford and Elizabeth of Rhuddlan. He had a twin brot ...

Humphrey, 2nd Earl of Buckingham Humphrey, 2nd Earl of Buckingham (1381 – September 2, 1399) was an English peer and member of the House of Lords. He was Lord High Constable of England. His father, Thomas of Woodstock, was the youngest son of King Edward III and 1st cousin ...

Henry Howard, 6th Earl of Suffolk Henry Howard, 6th Earl of Suffolk, 1st Earl of Bindon PC (1670 – 19 September 1718) was an English nobleman, styled Lord Walden from 1691 to 1706. Lord Howard was born in London, the son of Henry Howard, 5th Earl of Suffolk. He was admitted to ...

, his wife, Auberie Anne Penelope O'Brien, and his second wife

Henrietta Henrietta may refer to: * Henrietta (given name), a feminine given name, derived from the male name Henry Places * Henrietta Island in the Arctic Ocean * Henrietta, Mauritius * Henrietta, Tasmania, a locality in Australia United States * Henrie ...

(in the Howard Vault) *

Charles Howard, 7th Earl of Suffolk Charles William Howard, 7th Earl of Suffolk, 2nd Earl of Bindon (9 May 1693 – 8 February 1722) was a British peer, styled Lord Chesterford from 1706 to 1709 and Lord Walden from 1709 to 1718. He was educated at Magdalene College, Cambridge. He s ...

and his wife, Arabella Astry Howard (in the Howard Vault) *

Charles Howard, 9th Earl of Suffolk Charles Howard, 9th Earl of Suffolk (1685 – 28 September 1733) was an English nobleman and politician, styled Hon. Charles Howard from 1691 to 1731. The third son of Henry Howard, 5th Earl of Suffolk, he was commissioned a captain in Echlin ...

(in the Howard Vault)

Burials at the Abbey (some in the
Priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of ...
preceding)

References

See also

Burials at the Abbey (some in the Priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of ... preceding)

References

See also

Burials at the Abbey (some in the
Priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of ...
preceding)