Creake Abbey
Encyclopedia
Creake Abbey is a ruined abbey
in Norfolk
, England
, situated alongside the River Burn
and a mile to the north of the village of North Creake
. The abbey church was dedicated to Saint Mary.
The site was originally occupied by an almshouse
for the poor, and was founded by the Augustinians
as a priory
in the 12th century. Voluntary grants of alms by the leading families of Nerford and Creake and by the faithful of the neighbourhood seem to have built up resources sufficiently to warrant elevation from Hospital to Priory and thence to Abbey, which happened in 1231. Henry III made a number of grants to Creake in its early years. Gifts of parish churches included Hapton and Wreningham, Gateley and St. Martin at Quarles and later in 1365 of St. Andrew, Great Ringstead. .
The heyday of the Abbey was during the fourteenth century when there were but six canons, though the Rule required in addition to the abbot,prior and cellarer, a cantor, sacrist and kitchener, refectorian, infirmarian, almoner, master of novices and guest master,which according to Bedingfield, may have been posts filled in rotation or plurality. There will have been junior canons and, from time to time, novices. There would finally be numerous servants, tailors, laundresses and their assistants, the messor, shepherds and cowherds for the farm, not to mention of residents of the hospital. Unlike some of the abbeys thereabouts, it was still fulfilling its hospital function as late as 1397 ..
In 1483, a fire swept through the abbey, damaging the church and several of the other buildings, such that it was beyond the capacity of the convent to restore it. The abbot appealed to the king as patron of the house, and Richard III
, 'moved with pite' gave the abbey by way of alms towards the rebuilding of the handsome sum of £46 13s.4d. to be paid out the revenues of the lordship of Fakenham. Robert Walsingham, appointed abbot in 1491, began extensive rebuilding of the quire and presbytery and Sir William Calthorpe left £74 towards the completion of the work. By 1503 the work was well advanced and lands given by Waler Aslak were for the completion of the north side of the quire. By this time the abbot was Giles Sherington. However, in 1506 an outbreak of the 'sweating sickness' wiped out the monastic community, the abbot himself being the last to die ,. The abbey site and estate was given to Lady Margaret Beaufort in 1507, and ended up in the ownership of Christ's College
, Cambridge
.
A few sections of the church walls remain standing, and demonstrate their traditional Norfolk flintwork. There are some remaining carved details in the window arches and doorways. However, little else survives apart from foundations. The site is now in the care of English Heritage
, and freely accessible to the public.
Abbey
An abbey is a Catholic monastery or convent, under the authority of an Abbot or an Abbess, who serves as the spiritual father or mother of the community.The term can also refer to an establishment which has long ceased to function as an abbey,...
in Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, situated alongside the River Burn
River Burn, Norfolk
The River Burn is a river in the northwest of the County of Norfolk. From its source to its mouth on the North Coast of Norfolk it is 9.8 miles long. The river has a fall of 36 metres to the sea. The source is one mile south of the village of South Creake, in a small copse west of a bend in London...
and a mile to the north of the village of North Creake
North Creake
North Creake is a village and civil parish in the north west of the English county of Norfolk.It covers an area of and had a population of 414 in 184 households as of the 2001 census....
. The abbey church was dedicated to Saint Mary.
The site was originally occupied by an almshouse
Almshouse
Almshouses are charitable housing provided to enable people to live in a particular community...
for the poor, and was founded by the Augustinians
Augustinians
The term Augustinians, named after Saint Augustine of Hippo , applies to two separate and unrelated types of Catholic religious orders:...
as a priory
Priory
A priory is a house of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or religious sisters , or monasteries of monks or nuns .The Benedictines and their offshoots , the Premonstratensians, and the...
in the 12th century. Voluntary grants of alms by the leading families of Nerford and Creake and by the faithful of the neighbourhood seem to have built up resources sufficiently to warrant elevation from Hospital to Priory and thence to Abbey, which happened in 1231. Henry III made a number of grants to Creake in its early years. Gifts of parish churches included Hapton and Wreningham, Gateley and St. Martin at Quarles and later in 1365 of St. Andrew, Great Ringstead. .
The heyday of the Abbey was during the fourteenth century when there were but six canons, though the Rule required in addition to the abbot,prior and cellarer, a cantor, sacrist and kitchener, refectorian, infirmarian, almoner, master of novices and guest master,which according to Bedingfield, may have been posts filled in rotation or plurality. There will have been junior canons and, from time to time, novices. There would finally be numerous servants, tailors, laundresses and their assistants, the messor, shepherds and cowherds for the farm, not to mention of residents of the hospital. Unlike some of the abbeys thereabouts, it was still fulfilling its hospital function as late as 1397 ..
In 1483, a fire swept through the abbey, damaging the church and several of the other buildings, such that it was beyond the capacity of the convent to restore it. The abbot appealed to the king as patron of the house, and Richard III
Richard III of England
Richard III was King of England for two years, from 1483 until his death in 1485 during the Battle of Bosworth Field. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty...
, 'moved with pite' gave the abbey by way of alms towards the rebuilding of the handsome sum of £46 13s.4d. to be paid out the revenues of the lordship of Fakenham. Robert Walsingham, appointed abbot in 1491, began extensive rebuilding of the quire and presbytery and Sir William Calthorpe left £74 towards the completion of the work. By 1503 the work was well advanced and lands given by Waler Aslak were for the completion of the north side of the quire. By this time the abbot was Giles Sherington. However, in 1506 an outbreak of the 'sweating sickness' wiped out the monastic community, the abbot himself being the last to die ,. The abbey site and estate was given to Lady Margaret Beaufort in 1507, and ended up in the ownership of Christ's College
Christ's College, Cambridge
Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.With a reputation for high academic standards, Christ's College averaged top place in the Tompkins Table from 1980-2000 . In 2011, Christ's was placed sixth.-College history:...
, Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
.
A few sections of the church walls remain standing, and demonstrate their traditional Norfolk flintwork. There are some remaining carved details in the window arches and doorways. However, little else survives apart from foundations. The site is now in the care of English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
, and freely accessible to the public.
External links
- The Abbey of Creake - Victoria County HistoryVictoria County HistoryThe Victoria History of the Counties of England, commonly known as the Victoria County History or the VCH, is an English history project which began in 1899 and was dedicated to Queen Victoria with the aim of creating an encyclopaedic history of each of the historic counties of...
at British History Online - Creake Abbey - the abbey at PastScape.org, English HeritageEnglish HeritageEnglish Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
- Abbey Farmhouse - includes remains of the abbey's domestic buildings, at PastScape.org, English HeritageEnglish HeritageEnglish Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
- Visitor information and research: English Heritage