Bedford Abbey was a short-lived

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

, recorded in 10th-century England. Bedford Priory, perhaps representing the same institution two centuries later, was an Augustinian

priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. They were created by the Catholic Church. Priories may be monastic houses of monks or nuns (such as the Benedictines, the Cistercians, or t ...

that within two decades of its foundation moved to nearby Newnham. Bedford Abbey existed in the 10th-century, staffed with Benedictine monks when

Oscytel Oscytel (or Oskytel or Oscetel; died 971) was a medieval Bishop of Dorchester and Archbishop of York. Early life Oscytel was probably of Danish ancestry.Duckett ''Alfred the Great'' p. 127''Oscytel, Oskytel'' is the anglicized version of the ...

Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers the ...

, died in 971. The archbishop was buried in the abbey, after his body was taken there by its abbot,

Thurcytel Thurcytel (or Thurkytel) (died 28 June 975?) was abbot of Crowland and perhaps also of Bedford Abbey. Thurcytel of Crowland is known from the unreliable history of Crowland Abbey attributed to Pseudo-Ingulf, an account full of anachronisms inclu ...

(who later moved to

Crowland Abbey Crowland Abbey (historically often spelled Croyland Abbey; Latin: ) is a Church of England parish church, formerly part of a Benedictine abbey church, in Crowland in the English county of Lincolnshire. It is a Grade I listed building. Histor ...

). Thurcytel is the only known abbot of the monastery. Its history after this is obscure, and may have evolved into St Paul's Church in Bedford, which became an Augustinian priory c. 1166. Around 1180, the priory moved to Newnham (see

Newnham Priory Newnham Priory was a priory in Newnham, Bedford, Bedfordshire, England. History Foundation The Augustinian priory of Newnham was not actually built until some time after the accession of Henry II, but it may fairly claim to be the most ancien ...

References

10th-century establishments in England Anglo-Saxon monastic houses Benedictine monasteries in England Augustinian monasteries in England Monasteries in Bedfordshire Christian monasteries established in the 10th century Buildings and structures in Bedford {{England-church-stub