Newsham Abbey
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Newsham Abbey was an abbey in Newsham, a small hamlet north of
Brocklesby Brocklesby is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the West Lindsey Non-metropolitan district, district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated south of Habrough, south-west of Immingham, it is located close to the borde ...
village in
Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...
, England, and one of nine within the historical county. Founded by Peter of Gousla in 1143, Newsham was a daughter house of the Abbey of Licques, near Calais, and the first
Premonstratensian The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their habit), is a religious order of canons regular in the Catholic Chur ...
house established in England.


History

Founded in 1143, the Abbey of St Mary and St Martial at Newsham (or Newhouse) was the first
Premonstratensian The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their habit), is a religious order of canons regular in the Catholic Chur ...
house established in England.Geudens, Francis Martin. "Abbey of Newhouse." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 10. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 22 January 2019


Foundation

It was founded by Peter of Gousla, who held in Newsham one
knight's fee In feudal Anglo-Norman England and Ireland, a knight's fee was a unit measure of land deemed sufficient to support a knight. It would not only provide sustenance for himself, his family, and servants, but also the means to furnish himself and h ...
of Ralf de Bayeux, with the consent of his lord. It was populated with a colony from Liegues Abbey, near
Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a French port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Calais is the largest city in Pas-de-Calais. The population of the city proper is 67,544; that of the urban area is 144,6 ...
, France, then under the rule of Abbot Henry. On their arrival in England the White Canons were hospitably received by William, Earl of Lincoln, who confirmed the donations made to Gelro, the first Abbot of Newhouse, by Peter of Goxhill, by Ralph de Halton, and Geoffrey de Tours. William de Romara,
earl of Lincoln Earl of Lincoln is a title that has been created eight times in the peerage of England, most recently in 1572. The Hereditary peerage, earldom was held as a subsidiary title by the Duke of Newcastle, Dukes of Newcastle-under-Lyne, from 1768 to 1 ...
, and Elias d'Albini were also benefactors of the monastery. Bishop
Alexander of Lincoln Alexander of Lincoln (died February 1148) was a medieval English Bishop of Lincoln, a member of an important administrative and ecclesiastical family. He was the nephew of Roger of Salisbury, a Bishop of Salisbury and Chancellor of England und ...
and his successor, Robert de Chesney, issued confirmation charters and took the new monastery into their protection. The abbey was a daughter house of the abbey of Lisques, near
Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a French port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Calais is the largest city in Pas-de-Calais. The population of the city proper is 67,544; that of the urban area is 144,6 ...
, and was parent of eleven others, including Barlings, Tupholme, and Newbo. In 1385 the canons complained of poverty and heavy burdens of hospitality, and recent storms had almost reduced the monastic buildings to ruins. In 1472 the abbot was censured for not providing an abbot for the daughterhouse of
Alnwick Alnwick ( ) is a market town in Northumberland, England, of which it is the traditional county town. The population at the 2011 Census was 8,116. The town is south of Berwick-upon-Tweed and the Scottish border, inland from the North Sea ...
.


Abbots

The names of twenty-six abbots of Newsham are known, the last being Thomas Harpham, who was abbot from 1534 to the suppression of the abbey by
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...
. * Gerlo, (fn. 33) first abbot, 1143–60 * Amblardus, (fn. 34) occurs 1177 * David, (fn. 35) occurs 1177-83 * Gervase (fn. 36) * Adam, (fn. 37) occurs 1199 * Lambert, (fn. 38) occurs 1200-03 * Walter (fn. 39) * Geoffrey, (fn. 40) occurs 1219 * Osbert, (fn. 41) occurs 1226-30 * Thomas, (fn. 42) occurs 1242-75 * John de Cave, (fn. 43) occurs 1278-94 * Thomas de Hedon, (fn. 44) elected 1296, occurs to 1310 * Ralf, (fn. 45) occurs 1327 * Alan, (fn. 46) elected 1334, occurs to 1354 * Robert of Thornton, (fn. 47) elected 1355 * William of Teleby, (fn. 48) occurs 1377-83 * Hugh, (fn. 49) occurs 1395-1419 * Henry of Limber, (fn. 50) elected 1420, occurs to 1435 * Robert, (fn. 51) occurs 1446-62 * Thomas Ashton, (fn. 52) occurs 1475, resigned 1478 * John Swift, (fn. 53) elected 1478, resigned 1497 * William Sawndalle, (fn. 54) elected 1497, occurs to 1503 * Thomas, (fn. 55) resigned after 1503 * John Max, (fn. 56) occurs 1518 * Christopher Lord, (fn. 57) occurs 1522 and 1529, died 1534 * Thomas Doncaster or Harpham, (fn. 58) last abbot, elected 1534


Spread of the Order

Beyond
Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...
, Newhouse had an important role, in time becoming the mother-house of eleven of the
Premonstratensian The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their habit), is a religious order of canons regular in the Catholic Chur ...
houses throughout England. Between 1147 and 1200 some 100 canons left Newsham to colonise new houses in England. The following list gives in alphabetical order the names and dates of foundations of the Premonstratensian (Norbertine) abbeys, made from the Abbey of Newhouse and existing in England at the time of the Reformation: *
Alnwick Abbey Alnwick Abbey was founded as a Premonstratensian monastery in 1147 by Eustace fitz John near Alnwick, England, as a daughter house of Newhouse Abbey in Lincolnshire. It was dissolved in 1535, refounded in 1536 and finally suppressed in 1539. ...
, Northumberland, this was the first foundation made from Newhouse (1147); * Barlings Abbey, near Lincoln (1154); * Beeleigh Abbey (Bileigh Abbey, once Maldon Abbey), near
Maldon, Essex Maldon (, locally ) is a town and civil parish on the Blackwater Estuary in Essex, England. It is the seat of the Maldon District and starting point of the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation. It is known for Maldon Sea Salt which is produced i ...
(1180); * Coverham Abbey, North Yorkshire (originally established at Swainby, 1190); * Croxton Abbey, near
Melton Mowbray Melton Mowbray () is a market town in the Borough of Melton, Melton district in Leicestershire, England, north-east of Leicester and south-east of Nottingham. It lies on the River Eye, Leicestershire, River Eye, known below Melton as the Rive ...
, Leicestershire (1163); * Dale (Stanley Park) Abbey, Derbyshire (1204); * Easby Abbey (Abbey of St Agatha) at Easby, near Richmond, Yorkshire (1152); * Newbo Abbey, near Sedgebrook, Lincolnshire (1198); * Sulby Abbey, Northamptonshire (originally established at Welford) (1155).


Burials

* Philip le Despencer, 1st Baron le Despencer and wife Elizabeth Spencer Despencer *Joan Cobham, mother of Philip le Despencer, 1st Baron le Despencer (daughter of John de Cobham, 2nd Baron Cobham (of Kent)) *Sir Henry Wentworth


Suppression

It was suppressed in 1536, and the site was incorporated into a landscape park by
Capability Brown Lancelot "Capability" Brown (born c. 1715–16, baptised 30 August 1716 – 6 February 1783) was an English gardener and landscape architect, a notable figure in the history of the English landscape garden style. Unlike other architects ...
during the 18th century. Parts of the abbey including the precinct boundary are visible as earthworks, and there is a heavy scatter of building material, and grassed-over foundations.


References

;Attribution * The entry cites: **
William Dugdale Sir William Dugdale (12 September 1605 – 10 February 1686) was an English antiquary and herald. As a scholar he was influential in the development of medieval history as an academic subject. Life Dugdale was born at Shustoke, near Colesh ...
, ''Monasticon Anglicanum'', VI; **Collectanea Anglo-Præmonst, in Redmen, Register, ed. Francis Aidan Gasquet (Royal Historical Society, 3rd series, VI, X, XII); **Geudens, A Sketch of the Premonstratensian Order and its houses in Great Britain and Ireland (London, 1878); **Hugo, Annales Præmonstratenses (Nancy, 1734). {{Coord, 53.604284, N, 0.298081, W, display=title Monasteries in Lincolnshire Premonstratensian monasteries in England 1143 establishments in England 1530s disestablishments in England Christian monasteries established in the 1140s