Rocester Abbey was a medieval monastic house at
Rocester
Rocester is a village and civil parish in the East Staffordshire district of Staffordshire, England. Its name is spelt ''Rowcestre'' in the Domesday Book. It is located on the Derbyshire border.
Geography
The village is about north of Utto ...
,
Staffordshire
Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...
,
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
of which there is now no trace above ground level.
The Augustinian abbey of St. Mary, Rocester was founded in Dovedale between 1141 and 1146 by Richard Bacon, a half brother-in-law of Ranulph, 6th
Earl of Chester
The Earldom of Chester () was one of the most powerful earldoms in medieval England, extending principally over the counties of Cheshire and Flintshire. Since 1301 the title has generally been granted to heirs apparent to the English throne, ...
and a son-in-law of Hugh de Kevelioc, the previous earl. The Earls of Chester were the early patrons of the abbey until the death of
the 7th Earl in 1237, after which the earldom was annexed to the Crown, who thereby took over the patronage. Nevertheless, the abbey, a relatively small one, was also commensurately poor. Improved funding in the 13th century and the granting to them of the right to hold a weekly market and an annual fair at Rocester improved their situation.
In 1538, the abbey was finally dissolved as part of the
Dissolution of the Monasteries. At the time the abbey was dissolved there were only 9 monks there, including the abbot. Most of the building was dismantled for its reusable materials and the land sold to
Richard Trentham, the MP for
Shropshire
Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...
. He relocated his family there, where a manor house was built, and the property subsequently passed down in the Trentham family.
The site today is known as Abbey Fields and is an open space with traces of an earlier Roman Fort.
References
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Monasteries in Staffordshire
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