Stratford Langthorne Abbey, or the Abbey of St Mary's, Stratford Langthorne was a

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

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 ...

founded in 1135 at Stratford Langthorne — then

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

but now Stratford in the

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. The Abbey, also known as West Ham Abbey due to its location in the parish of

West Ham West Ham is a district in East London, England and is in the London Borough of Newham. It is an inner-city suburb located east of Charing Cross. The area was originally an ancient parish formed to serve parts of the older Manor of Ham, a ...

, was one of the largest Cistercian abbeys in

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, possessing of local land, controlling over 20 manors throughout Essex. The head of the community was known as the Abbot of West Ham. The Abbey was self-sufficient for its needs and wealthy besides; some of this wealth came from the ecclesiastic mills grinding wheat for local bakers to supply bread to the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

. This later led to competition with the Guild of Bakers, who sought powers to levy a toll on loaves entering the City at

Whitechapel Whitechapel () is an area in London, England, and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in east London and part of the East End of London, East End. It is the location of Tower Hamlets Town Hall and therefore the borough tow ...

History

Foundation

In a charter dated 25 July 1135, William de Montfichet granted the monks all his lordship of (West) Ham, of meadow, two mills by the causeway of Stratford, his wood of Buckhurst and the tithe of his ''

pannage Pannage is the practice of releasing livestock- pigs in a forest, so that they can feed on fallen acorns, beechmast, chestnuts or other nuts. Historically, it was a right or privilege granted to local people on common land or in royal forests ...

''. The abbey was dedicated in honour of St Mary. The Abbey was a daughter house of

Savigny Abbey Savigny Abbey (''Abbaye de Savigny'') was a monastery near the village of Savigny-le-Vieux (Manche), in northern France. It was founded early in the 12th century. Initially it was the central house of the Congregation of Savigny, who were Benedi ...

, and in 1218 the General Chapter ruled that visiting members of the order could only spend three days at the Abbey's hospitality. The following year, the rule was relaxed and monks and lay brothers could remain longer, as long as they provided their own ale and wine; and oats and hay for their horses.''Cistercian Abbeys: Stratford Langthorne''
The Cistercians in Yorkshire (Sheffield University) accessed 20 April 2008 House Mill at Three Mills

The Abbey church expanded from a simple cruciform building, to one with an aisled presbytery,

ambulatory The ambulatory ( 'walking place') is the covered passage around a cloister or the processional way around the east end of a cathedral or large church and behind the high altar. The first ambulatory was in France in the 11th century but by the 13t ...

and side chapels by the 13th century. The religious house was surrounded by buildings for lay brothers and hospitality. There were also workshops for brewing, shearing, weaving and tannery with farm buildings to service the extensive holdings and mills on the

Bow Back Rivers Bow Back Rivers or Stratford Back Rivers is a complex of waterways between Bow, London, Bow and Stratford, London, Stratford in east London, England, which connect the River Lea to the River Thames. Starting in the twelfth century, works were ca ...

. Some of these were tidal mills, like those at Three Mills. These were owned by the Abbey, but the surviving mill was built much later. During the 13th century, the abbey acquired further grants of land in Essex and beyond, including the manor of Biggin in Chadwell St Mary. In 1267, for a time, the Abbey became the court of Henry III for the visitation of the

Papal legate 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the Pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title '' legatus'') is a personal representative of the Pope to foreign nations, to some other part of the Catho ...

s, and it was here that he made peace with the barons under the terms of the Dictum of Kenilworth. Subsequent monarchs visited, and the Abbey came to be both a popular retreat for the nobility and their final resting place.''Stratford Langthorne Abbey''
John Laight (1999) accessed 30 April 2008 Severe flooding of the Thames in 1338 saw the monks decamp to their landholdings at Great Burstead in

, and in 1381, the Abbey was invaded by the

Peasants' Revolt The Peasants' Revolt, also named Wat Tyler's Rebellion or the Great Rising, was a major uprising across large parts of England in 1381. The revolt had various causes, including the socio-economic and political tensions generated by the Black ...

and its goods removed and charters burned. It also suffered flooding at the end of the 14th century, after which the Abbey was restored by

Richard II Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward, Prince of Wales (later known as the Black Prince), and Joan, Countess of Kent. R ...

. King Edward IV was entertained in 1467, and began an annual endowment of two casks of wine for the celebration of masses, in his honour. A small river port developed at Stratford, mentioned in the 15th century, to serve the needs of West Ham Abbey and the mills at Stratford. There is similar evidence in later centuries with specialist wharves for brick and timber, but by 1920 the dock was filled in and factories built on the site. From 1613, extraction of water for canals and the artificial New River, supplying fresh water to the city from

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

, had caused water levels to fall in the non-navigable channels, and traditional water milling to cease.''West Ham: Rivers, bridges, wharfs and docks'', A History of the County of Essex: Volume 6 (1973), pp. 57-61
accessed: 30 April 2006.

Responsibility for Bow Bridge

In 1177, a bridge was built at Bow, to replace a ford at Old Ford. Initially, local land and Abbey Mill were given to

Barking Abbey The Abbey of St Mary and St Ethelburga, founded in the 7th-century and commonly known as Barking Abbey, is a former Roman Catholic, royal monastery located in Barking, in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. It has been described as havi ...

for the maintenance of the bridge, but these properties and the responsibility eventually passed to this Abbey. The Abbess of Barking and Abbot of West Ham argued about the obligation, a dispute that was settled in 1315. West Ham was to maintain the bridge and highway, but the Abbess would pay £200 annually in recompense. The Abbey's subsequent dissolution caused further lengthy litigation over maintenance of the bridge at Bow – with the successor landowners found responsible in 1691.''Houses of Cistercian monks: Abbey of Stratford Langthorne'', A History of the County of Essex: Volume 2 (1907), pp. 129-133
accessed: 30 April 2008. The matter was not finally resolved until 1834, with the formation of a Turnpike Trust. The Abbey was also responsible for maintenance of the sea wall around West Ham marsh; this led to further disputes with the nearby Priory of St Leonards at Bow, when, in 1339 the Abbot attempted to put the expense on the Prioress

Dissolution

The Abbey existed until the Dissolution of the Monasteries 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. ...

in 1538. It was the fifth largest in England – as important as its sister Abbeys at Jervaulx, Rievaulx and

Fountains A fountain, from the Latin "fons" ( genitive "fontis"), meaning source or spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. Fountains were o ...

, all in

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

. At the Dissolution the land was granted to Sir Peter Meautas and Johanna his wife "for their true and faithful service" and the monks were all pensioned.

Modern history

The Abbey lay between the Channelsea River and Marsh Lane (Manor Road). Nothing visible remains on the site, as local landowners took away much of the stone for their own buildings, and by 1840, the North Woolwich Railway was built through the site, and factories and Stratford Wholesale Market were established on the remaining land. A stone window and a carving featuring skulls – thought to have been over the door to the charnel house – remain in All Saints West Ham Parish Church (dating from about 1180). The Great Gate of the abbey survived in Baker's Row until 1825. None of the abbey's buildings remain, but in the early 1990s archaeological investigations were carried out between 1993–94 on land cleared for the new Stratford Market Depot, part of the Jubilee Line Extension. 647 burials were excavated from the Cistercian cemetery and reburied at Mount St. Bernard Abbey in Leicestershire. Excavation continues on the site as the remaining former factories are redeveloped. The latest, at Bakers Row, was in early 2008 and identified the former gatehouse of the Abbey - to the north east of the Abbey Church and defining the eastern edge of the precinct. This area, where former council stables were situated, is now protected from further development by

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...

status and a major community garden designed by artists Karen Guthrie and Nina Pope of the artists' collective

Somewhere Somewhere may refer to: Music Albums * ''Somewhere'' (Eva Cassidy album) or the title song, 2008 * ''Somewhere'' (Keith Jarrett album), 2013 * '' Somewhere – The Songs of Sondheim and Bernstein'', by Marina Prior, 1994 * ''Somewhere'', or ...

has been created on the site by the "Friends of Abbey Gardens". The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

of the Abbey can be seen over the doorway to the Old Court House, in Tramway Avenue (Stratford). The chevrons from this device, originally from the arms of the Mountfitchet family, together with an abbot's

crozier A crozier or crosier (also known as a paterissa, pastoral staff, or bishop's staff) is a stylized staff that is a symbol of the governing office of a bishop or abbot and is carried by high-ranking prelates of Roman Catholic, Eastern Catholi ...

were incorporated into the arms of the former

County Borough of West Ham West Ham was a local government district in the extreme south west of Essex from 1886 to 1965, forming part of the built-up area of London, although outside the County of London. It was immediately north of the River Thames and east of the Rive ...

in 1887. The same arms were adopted by the new

in 1965. The Abbey is commemorated by two roads in the district, Abbey Lane and Abbey Road. In addition, Langthorne Street was formerly situated a little north of the Abbey site, running between Chapel Street and West Ham Lane. The street was devastated by enemy action during the Second World War, and the site subsequently disappeared beneath new development in the late 1960s. Leytonstone Library 3

The Langthorne chevrons were also incorporated into the arms of the former Municipal Borough of Leyton, now part of the

London Borough of Waltham Forest The London Borough of Waltham Forest () is an Outer London, outer London boroughs, London borough formed in 1965 from the merger of the municipal boroughs of Municipal Borough of Leyton, Leyton, Municipal Borough of Walthamstow, Walthamstow an ...

, because the abbey held considerable

demesne A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land subinfeudation, sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. ...

lands there. Langthorne Road and the former Langthorne Hospital in

Leytonstone Leytonstone ( ) is an area in East London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It adjoins Wanstead to the north-east, Forest Gate to the south-east, Stratford to the south-west, Leyton to the west, and Walthamstow to the nor ...

commemorated the abbey's influence in the area.

Burials at the Abbey

The excavations recovered 647 burials from the church and the external cemetery to the north and north-east. Analysis of the skeletons indicated an overwhelmingly male cemetery population, as might be expected of a Cistercian monastery, but a few infants, children and women were present in all areas used for burial. Documented burials at the abbey include: *

John de Bohun, 5th Earl of Hereford John de Bohun, 5th Earl of Hereford (23 November 1306 – 20 January 1336) was born in St Clement's, Oxford to Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford and Elizabeth of Rhuddlan, a daughter of Edward I of England. After his father's deat ...

Estates held

Manors held by the abbey included: * Land in

, Essex * Land in

Leyton Leyton ( ) is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It borders Walthamstow to the north, Leytonstone to the east, and Stratford to the south, with Clapton, Hackney Wick and Homerton, across the Ri ...

, Essex * Land in Great Burstead, Essex. * The manor of Biggin in Chadwell St Mary, Essex * Monkhams, in Woodford, Essex.'Woodford: Manors', in A History of the County of Essex: Volume 6, ed. W R Powell (London, 1973), pp. 344-348. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/essex/vol6/pp344-348 ccessed 20 January 2023

References

External links

The history of Stratford Langthorne Abbey Cistercian Abbeys: Stratford Langthorne Ongoing excavations near Abbey Road Discovery of the Abbey's "Great Gate" in February 2008
{{Authority control Religion in the London Borough of Newham Monasteries in London Former buildings and structures in the London Borough of Newham Cistercian monasteries in England Stratford, London 1135 establishments in England Christian monasteries established in the 1130s 1538 disestablishments in England Monasteries dissolved under the English Reformation