Cecily Bodenham
Encyclopedia
Cecily Bodenham was the last Abbess of Wilton Abbey
. Her tenure as Abbess was from 1534 to 25 March 1539, when she surrendered the abbey to the commissioners of King Henry VIII of England
during the Dissolution of the Monasteries
. She received a generous pension and a property at Fovant
, where she retired with about ten of the nuns from Wilton.
and Joane Bromwich. She became a nun at Kingston St Michael in Wiltshire
; eventually becoming the Prioress. In 1511, she was kidnapped by a curate
of Castle Coombe, who also robbed the priory; however, she was later released and returned to Kingston St Michael. In 1534, she was nominated by the Court to the vacant post of Abbess of Wilton Abbey, replacing Isabel Jordan. Cecily was known to both King Henry and Queen Anne Boleyn
; and she paid the sum of £100 to Thomas Cromwell to secure her election as Abbess.
As Abbess of Wilton, Cecily held an entire barony from the King, which was a privilege shared by three other English nunneries: Shaftesbury, Barking, and St. Mary, Winchester.
During her tenure, she leased Fuggleston Manor, held by Wilton Abbey, to a relative, Henry Bodenham. She was compliant with the King's policies during the Dissolution of the Monasteries; and when Wilton Abbey suffered the same fate as the other religious houses, she willingly surrendered the abbey to the King's commissioners on 25 March 1539. At the time she claimed to be "without father, brother, or assured friend".
A nun at the abbey wrote in her diary complaining of Cecily Bodenham's ready acquiescence to King Henry's Acts with this passage:
"Methinks the Abbess hath a faint heart and doth yield up our possessions to the spoiler with a not unwilling haste...Master Richard Neville, the Sub-Seneschal, informeth me that His Majesty's commissioners do purpose to reward her with a fair house at Foffaunt and a goodly stipend withal."
Cecily was amply awarded with a generous pension of £100 and a property at Fovant in Wiltshire, with an orchard, gardens, three acres of meadow, and one load of wood per annum from Fovant woods. About 10 of the nuns from Wilton went to live with her at the Manor Home Farm. She paid for the construction of the south aisle of St. George's Church.
Cecily Bodenham died sometime after 1543, when her will was made.
Wilton Abbey
Wilton Abbey was a Benedictine convent in Wiltshire, England, three miles from Salisbury on the site now occupied by Wilton House. A first foundation was made as a college of secular priests by Wulfstan, Ealdorman of Wiltshire, about 773, but after his death was changed into a convent for twelve...
. Her tenure as Abbess was from 1534 to 25 March 1539, when she surrendered the abbey to the commissioners of King Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
during 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...
. She received a generous pension and a property at Fovant
Fovant
Fovant is a medium-sized village and civil parish in southwest Wiltshire, England. It is located between Salisbury and Shaftesbury on the A30 road in the Nadder valley. Its name is derived from the Old English Fobbefunta, meaning "spring of a man called Fobbe"...
, where she retired with about ten of the nuns from Wilton.
Religious career
Cecily was born on an unknown date, the daughter of Roger Bodenham of Rotherwas, HerefordshireHerefordshire
Herefordshire is a historic and ceremonial county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire" NUTS 2 region. It also forms a unitary district known as the...
and Joane Bromwich. She became a nun at Kingston St Michael in Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
; eventually becoming the Prioress. In 1511, she was kidnapped by a curate
Curate
A curate is a person who is invested with the care or cure of souls of a parish. In this sense "curate" correctly means a parish priest but in English-speaking countries a curate is an assistant to the parish priest...
of Castle Coombe, who also robbed the priory; however, she was later released and returned to Kingston St Michael. In 1534, she was nominated by the Court to the vacant post of Abbess of Wilton Abbey, replacing Isabel Jordan. Cecily was known to both King Henry and Queen Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn ;c.1501/1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536 as the second wife of Henry VIII of England and Marquess of Pembroke in her own right. Henry's marriage to Anne, and her subsequent execution, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that was the...
; and she paid the sum of £100 to Thomas Cromwell to secure her election as Abbess.
As Abbess of Wilton, Cecily held an entire barony from the King, which was a privilege shared by three other English nunneries: Shaftesbury, Barking, and St. Mary, Winchester.
During her tenure, she leased Fuggleston Manor, held by Wilton Abbey, to a relative, Henry Bodenham. She was compliant with the King's policies during the Dissolution of the Monasteries; and when Wilton Abbey suffered the same fate as the other religious houses, she willingly surrendered the abbey to the King's commissioners on 25 March 1539. At the time she claimed to be "without father, brother, or assured friend".
A nun at the abbey wrote in her diary complaining of Cecily Bodenham's ready acquiescence to King Henry's Acts with this passage:
"Methinks the Abbess hath a faint heart and doth yield up our possessions to the spoiler with a not unwilling haste...Master Richard Neville, the Sub-Seneschal, informeth me that His Majesty's commissioners do purpose to reward her with a fair house at Foffaunt and a goodly stipend withal."
Cecily was amply awarded with a generous pension of £100 and a property at Fovant in Wiltshire, with an orchard, gardens, three acres of meadow, and one load of wood per annum from Fovant woods. About 10 of the nuns from Wilton went to live with her at the Manor Home Farm. She paid for the construction of the south aisle of St. George's Church.
Cecily Bodenham died sometime after 1543, when her will was made.