Adam Sedbar, Abbot of Jervaulx
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Adam Sedbar or Sedbergh was the 23rd and last Abbot of Jervaulx Abbey
in Wensleydale, Yorkshire
Adam Sedbar had been elected abbot of the Cistercian abbey of Jervaulx in 1533 when Henry VIII introduced his plans for the Dissolution of the Monasteries
He was persuaded in 1536, somewhat reluctantly, to join in a Pilgrimage of Grace
, together with other local abbots from Fountains, Bridlington and Guisborough Abbeys, in order to protest about the king's policies. The cause attracted a large number of followers, and urged on by a few fanatics, became increasingly militant. After a number of Yorkshire towns were attacked by the insurgents the King eventually decided, after some negotiation with their spokesman, to round up the ringleaders and charge them with treason. Sedbar sought sanctuary with John Scrope, 8th Baron Scrope of Bolton
at his stronghold in Bolton Castle
. When the King's Commissioners followed him there, Lord Scrope fled for his own safety and Sedbar hid out for several days on Witton Fell but was captured on 12 May 1537 and taken with others to be tried in London.
He was imprisoned in the Beauchamp tower in the Tower of London, where his inscribed name on the wall "ADAM SEDBAR. ABBAS JOREVALL 1537" can still be clearly seen. He was charged that "he did conspire to deprive the King of his title of Supreme Head of the English Church, and to compel him to hold a certain Parliament and convocation of the clergy of the realm, and did commit divers insurrections..." and "tried" or examined on both April 25 and May 24. Although he claimed that the objectives of the insurrection were non-ecclesiastical he was found guilty, as were the other abbots, several monks and various lay ringleaders. He was taken with others on 2 June 1537 to Tyburn where they were hanged, drawn and quartered. The Prior of Bridlington suffered the same fate on the same day and the Abbots of Fountains and Guisborough a few days previously. Their heads were all displayed on London Bridge.
Jervaulx Abbey
Jervaulx Abbey in East Witton near the city of Ripon, was one of the great Cistercian abbeys of Yorkshire, England, founded in 1156. Initially a Savigniac foundation, the abbey was later taken over by the Cistercian order and responsibility for it was taken by Byland Abbey. Originally founded in...
in Wensleydale, Yorkshire
Adam Sedbar had been elected abbot of the Cistercian abbey of Jervaulx in 1533 when Henry VIII introduced his plans for the Dissolution of the Monasteries
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
He was persuaded in 1536, somewhat reluctantly, to join in a Pilgrimage of Grace
Pilgrimage of Grace
The Pilgrimage of Grace was a popular rising in York, Yorkshire during 1536, in protest against Henry VIII's break with the Roman Catholic Church and the Dissolution of the Monasteries, as well as other specific political, social and economic grievances. It was done in action against Thomas Cromwell...
, together with other local abbots from Fountains, Bridlington and Guisborough Abbeys, in order to protest about the king's policies. The cause attracted a large number of followers, and urged on by a few fanatics, became increasingly militant. After a number of Yorkshire towns were attacked by the insurgents the King eventually decided, after some negotiation with their spokesman, to round up the ringleaders and charge them with treason. Sedbar sought sanctuary with John Scrope, 8th Baron Scrope of Bolton
John Scrope, 8th Baron Scrope of Bolton
John le Scrope, 8th Baron Scrope of Bolton was the son of Henry le Scrope, 7th Baron Scrope of Bolton and Mabel Dacre....
at his stronghold in Bolton Castle
Bolton Castle
Bolton Castle in North Yorkshire, is located in Wensleydale in the Yorkshire Dales . The nearby village Castle Bolton takes its name from the castle. The castle is a Grade I listed building and a Scheduled Ancient Monument. The castle was damaged in the English Civil War, but much of it remains...
. When the King's Commissioners followed him there, Lord Scrope fled for his own safety and Sedbar hid out for several days on Witton Fell but was captured on 12 May 1537 and taken with others to be tried in London.
He was imprisoned in the Beauchamp tower in the Tower of London, where his inscribed name on the wall "ADAM SEDBAR. ABBAS JOREVALL 1537" can still be clearly seen. He was charged that "he did conspire to deprive the King of his title of Supreme Head of the English Church, and to compel him to hold a certain Parliament and convocation of the clergy of the realm, and did commit divers insurrections..." and "tried" or examined on both April 25 and May 24. Although he claimed that the objectives of the insurrection were non-ecclesiastical he was found guilty, as were the other abbots, several monks and various lay ringleaders. He was taken with others on 2 June 1537 to Tyburn where they were hanged, drawn and quartered. The Prior of Bridlington suffered the same fate on the same day and the Abbots of Fountains and Guisborough a few days previously. Their heads were all displayed on London Bridge.