Abbot of Tavistock
Encyclopedia
Abbot of Tavistock was the title of the abbot
of Tavistock Abbey
in Devon
, England. The name of the first abbot is unknown, but the abbey was founded between 975 and 980. Unless otherwise specified the details in the following table are from Heads of Religious Houses: England & Wales 940–1216.
Abbot
The word abbot, meaning father, is a title given to the head of a monastery in various traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not actually the head of a monastery...
of Tavistock Abbey
Tavistock Abbey
Tavistock Abbey, also known as the Abbey of Saint Mary and Saint Rumon, is a ruined Benedictine abbey in Tavistock, Devon. Nothing remains of the abbey except the refectory, two gateways and a porch. The abbey church, dedicated to Our Lady and St Rumon, was destroyed by Danish raiders in 997 and...
in Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
, England. The name of the first abbot is unknown, but the abbey was founded between 975 and 980. Unless otherwise specified the details in the following table are from Heads of Religious Houses: England & Wales 940–1216.
| Name | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| unknown | c.975 | First abbot |
| Ælfmær Ælfmær -Life:Perhaps previously a monk at Glastonbury Abbey and then abbot of Tavistock Abbey, Ælfmær was Bishop of Selsey by 1011, and was dead by 1032, when his successor witnessed a charter of King Cnut.... |
994–c1009 | Became bishop of Selsey |
| Lyfing of Winchester Lyfing of Winchester Lyfing of Winchester , also known as Livingus or Lifing, was an Anglo-Saxon prelate who served as Bishop of Worcester, Bishop of Crediton and Bishop of Cornwall.-Life:... |
c.1009–1027 | Became bishop of Worcester Bishop of Worcester The Bishop of Worcester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Worcester in the Province of Canterbury, England. He is the head of the Diocese of Worcester in the Province of Canterbury... |
| Aldred Aldred Ealdred was Abbot of Tavistock, Bishop of Worcester, and Archbishop of York in Anglo-Saxon England. He was related to a number of other ecclesiastics of the period. After becoming a monk at the monastery at Winchester, he was appointed Abbot of Tavistock Abbey in around 1027. In 1046 he was named... |
c. 1027–c. 1043 | Became bishop of Worcester Bishop of Worcester The Bishop of Worcester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Worcester in the Province of Canterbury, England. He is the head of the Diocese of Worcester in the Province of Canterbury... |
| Sihtric | c. 1043–1082 | Became a pirate |
| Geoffrey | c. 1082–c. 1088 | |
| Wimund | before 1096–1102 | Deposed by the Synod of Westminster Synods of Westminster Synods of Westminster. Under this heading are included certain of the more important ecclesiastical councils held within the present bounds of London. Though the precise locality is occasionally uncertain, the majority of the medieval synods assembled in the chapter-house of old St Pauls, or the... in 1102 |
| Osbert | ?–before1131 | |
| Robert of Plympton | c. 1131–1145 | |
| ?Roger | c. 1146 | |
| Robert Postel | c. 1146–1154 | |
| Walter of Winchester | c. 1154–c. 1168 | |
| Godfrey | c. 1168–c. 1173 | |
| Baldwin | 1174–1184 | |
| Herbert | 1186–1200 | |
| Andrew | 1200–1202 | |
| Jordan | c. 1203–1219/1220 | |
| William of Kernit | 1220 | |
| John of Rofa | 1224 | |
| Alan of Cornwall | 1233 | Previously prior of Tresco |
| Robert of Kitecnol | 1248 | |
| Thomas | 1248 | |
| Henry of Northampton | 1257 | |
| Philip Trencheful | 1259 | |
| (vacant) | 1259 | Appointment lapsed to Walter Branscombe Walter Branscombe Walter Branscombe was Bishop of Exeter from 1258 to 1280.-Life:... , Bishop of Exeter. |
| Alured | 1260 | |
| John Chubbe | 1262–1269 | Deposed by Bishop Branscombe |
| Robert Colbern | 1270 | |
| Robert Campbell/Champeaux | 1285–1325 (died) | "Of the abbots in the later monastic period ... probably ... the greatest and wisest" |
| (vacant) | 1325–1328 | Dispute between two candidates, Robert Busse and John Courtenay (eldest son of Hugh de Courtenay, 9th Earl of Devon Hugh de Courtenay, 9th Earl of Devon Hugh de Courtenay was the son of Hugh de Courtenay of Okehampton and Eleanor le Despenser, daughter of Lord Hugh le Despenser, the significant advisers to King Edward II. He was grandson of John de Courtenay of Okehampton by Isabel de Vere, daughter of Hugh, Earl of Oxford... ) |
| Robert(?) Bonus | 1328—1333 (excommunicated) | Bishop Grandisson John Grandisson John Grandisson was a medieval Bishop of Exeter.Grandisson was born at Ashperton near Hereford in 1292. His father William, Lord de Grandisson, was a Burgundian in the household of Edmund, Earl of Lancaster, brother of King Edward I of England. He studied theology at the University of Paris, and... said of him "That Abbot's name was Good, but he was a scoundrel, a near-heretic!" |
| John Courtenay | 1334 | Suspended by Bishop Grandisson for maladministration |
| Richard Esse | 1349 | |
| Stephen Langdon | 1362 | |
| Thomas Cullyng | 1380 or 1381 | The last of five abbots after Campbell who were all accused of waste, extravagance and neglecting their spiritual duties. |
| John Mey | 20 July 1402 | |
| Thomas Mede | March 1422 – April 1442 | |
| Thomas Crispyn | 11 June 1442 – 5 April 1447 | |
| William Pewe | 2 May 1447 – 26 December 1450 | |
| John Dynyngton | February 1451 – December 1490 | |
| Richard Yeme | February 1491 – c. March 1492 | |
| Richard Banham | 1492–1523 | |
| John Peryn | 1523–1539 | Last abbot |