Cirencester Abbey or St Mary's Abbey, Cirencester in
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean.
The county town is the city of Gl ...
was founded as an
Augustinian monastery in 1117 on the site of an earlier church, the oldest-known Saxon church in England, which had itself been built on the site of a Roman structure. The church was greatly enlarged in the 14th century with addition of an
ambulatory to the east end. The abbot became
mitred 1416. The monastery was
suppressed in 1539 and presented to Roger Bassinge.
In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the abbey fostered the successful writers
Robert of Cricklade
Robert of Cricklade (–1174×79) was a medieval English writer and prior of St Frideswide's Priory in Oxford. He was a native of Cricklade and taught before becoming a cleric. He wrote several theological works as well as a lost biography of ...
and
Alexander Neckam
Alexander Neckam (8 September 115731 March 1217) was an English magnetician, poet, theologian, and writer. He was an abbot of Cirencester Abbey from 1213 until his death.
Early life
Born on 8 September 1157 in St Albans, Alexander shared his b ...
. They were supported in their work by other canons, including
Walter of Mileto
Walter may refer to:
People
* Walter (name), both a surname and a given name
* Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968)
* Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 1 ...
and Alexander's nephew
Geoffrey Brito.
Burials
*
Regenbald
*
Thomas Holland, 1st Duke of Surrey and wife Joan Stafford (daughter of
Hugh Stafford, 2nd Earl of Stafford)
Post dissolution
A house called
Abbey House was built on the site in the late 16th century, remodelled in the 1780s, and then demolished in 1964 to be replaced by a block of flats. The area that contained the nucleus of the monastery is now a public park, and only the Norman Arch, an original gateway to the abbey, and parts of the precinct wall remain above ground.
The impressive and substantial three-storey porch of the parish church was built as an administrative building of the abbey and after 1539 the upper levels were used for some time as the town hall.
Bibliography
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*
Victoria County History, Gloucestershire, Vol.2, 1907, pp.79-84, The Abbey of Cirencester* New, Anthony. ''A Guide to the Abbeys of England and Wales''. London: Constable. pp. 113–114.
* Platt, Colin. ''The Travellers Guide to Medieval England''. London: Secker & Warburg. pp. 110–112.
References
{{authority control
Monasteries in Gloucestershire
Augustinian monasteries in England
Religious organizations established in the 1110s
Christian monasteries established in the 12th century
Cirencester
1117 establishments in England
1539 disestablishments in England
Monasteries dissolved under the English Reformation