Otham Abbey was a medieval monastic house in
Polegate
Polegate is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Wealden District, Wealden District of East Sussex, England, United Kingdom.OS Explorer map Eastbourne and Beachy Head Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampt ...
,
East Sussex
East Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement ...
, England.
History
Otham Abbey was founded about 1180 by Ralph de Dene as the Abbey of St. Mary and St. Laurence. Ralph donated his land and chapel of Otham, together with other lands and rents, to establish a house of
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 ...
canons.
Other grants of lands and rents were to follow from other donors.
However, owing to the bleak and unhealthy location of Otham, it was decided to transfer the house some time shortly after 1208 to join a new monastery built at
Bayham, in the north of the county, by Sir
Robert de Turnham. Otham was retained as a
grange
Grange may refer to:
Buildings
* Grange House, Scotland, built in 1564, and demolished in 1906
* Grange Estate, Pennsylvania, built in 1682
* The Grange (Toronto), Toronto, Ontario, built in 1817
* Monastic grange, a farming estate belonging to ...
and chapel.
After a period of leasing out the land for farming, the establishment was finally dissolved in 1526. The site is now occupied by the Grade II listed Otteham Court, a T-shaped C15 timber-framed building, mostly refaced in red brick with a hipped tiled roof, and a small 14th-century chapel dedicated to St Lawrence. The latter is a grade II* listed building.
See also
*
List of monastic houses in East Sussex
The following is a list of the monastic houses in East Sussex, England.
See also
* List of monastic houses in England
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Monastic houses in East Sussex
Lists of buildings and structures in East S ...
References
Monasteries in East Sussex
Wealden District
1180s establishments in England
History of East Sussex
Grade II* listed buildings in East Sussex
Christian monasteries established in the 1180s
1526 disestablishments in England
{{UK-hist-stub