Sawtry Abbey
Encyclopedia
Sawtry Abbey was a Cistercian abbey located between Sawtry
and Woodwalton
in Cambridgeshire
, England
. The abbey was founded in 1147 by Simon I de Senlis
, Earl of Northampton, who was the grandson of Earl Waltheof and Judith
, the niece of William the Conqueror
who held the manor when the Domesday Survey
was compiled.
A colony of monks from Wardon Abbey
in Bedfordshire joined the new monastery, which was founded as an independent abbey. Due to its proximity to other monasteries, disputes over tithes and land with the abbots of Ramsey
and Thorney
often occurred during the 13th century.
During the 14th century the abbot of Sawtry was often recorded as being in debt, although the exact cause is unknown. Indeed, very few documents relating to the abbey survive. The abbey was worth less than £200 a year, and at the Dissolution of the Monasteries
the whole establishment was disbanded before December 1536, with only the abbot receiving a pension of £10.
Following the dissolution in 1536, the church, conventual buildings, gate-house, bell tower and even the old parish church of Sawtry Judith were demolished. Stone was removed from the site as late as the 19th century.
Excavations took place between 1907-13. The layout of most of the abbey was recovered. The church was cruciform with short transepts and choir. The cloisters were located to the south and to their East was an infirmary or Abbots lodging. A guest house was situated south-west of the cloister. The earthworks were resurveyed and are well preserved.
Sawtry
Sawtry is a village in the district of Huntingdonshire in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. The village is home to over people.-Location:...
and Woodwalton
Woodwalton
Woodwalton – in Huntingdonshire , England – is a village near Abbots Ripton south west of Ramsey. The civil parish of Wood Walton is spread over a wide area, the main village dissected by the East Coast Main Line...
in Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
, 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...
. The abbey was founded in 1147 by Simon I de Senlis
Simon I de Senlis, Earl of Huntingdon-Northampton
Simon I de Senlis , 2nd Earl of Northampton and 2nd Earl of Huntingdon jure uxoris was a Norman nobleman.In 1098 he was captured during the Vexin campaign of King William Rufus and was subsequently ransomed. He witnessed King Henry I’s charter of liberties issued at his coronation in 1100...
, Earl of Northampton, who was the grandson of Earl Waltheof and Judith
Judith of Lens
Countess Judith , was a niece of William the Conqueror. She was a daughter of his sister Adelaide of Normandy, Countess of Aumale and Lambert II, Count of Lens....
, the niece of William the Conqueror
William I of England
William I , also known as William the Conqueror , was the first Norman King of England from Christmas 1066 until his death. He was also Duke of Normandy from 3 July 1035 until his death, under the name William II...
who held the manor when the Domesday Survey
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
was compiled.
A colony of monks from Wardon Abbey
Wardon Abbey
Wardon or Warden Abbey, Bedfordshire was one of the senior Cistercian houses of England, founded about 1135 from Rievaulx Abbey.It is a Grade I listed building.- History :...
in Bedfordshire joined the new monastery, which was founded as an independent abbey. Due to its proximity to other monasteries, disputes over tithes and land with the abbots of Ramsey
Ramsey Abbey
Ramsey Abbey is a former Benedictine abbey located in Ramsey, Cambridgeshire, England, southeast of Peterborough and north of Huntingdon, UK.-History:...
and Thorney
Thorney Abbey
Thorney Abbey was on the island of Thorney in The Fens of Cambridgeshire, England.- History :The earliest documentary sources refer to a mid-7th century hermitage destroyed by a Viking incursion in the late 9th century. A Benedictine monastery was founded in the 970s, and a huge rebuilding...
often occurred during the 13th century.
During the 14th century the abbot of Sawtry was often recorded as being in debt, although the exact cause is unknown. Indeed, very few documents relating to the abbey survive. The abbey was worth less than £200 a year, and at 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...
the whole establishment was disbanded before December 1536, with only the abbot receiving a pension of £10.
Following the dissolution in 1536, the church, conventual buildings, gate-house, bell tower and even the old parish church of Sawtry Judith were demolished. Stone was removed from the site as late as the 19th century.
Excavations took place between 1907-13. The layout of most of the abbey was recovered. The church was cruciform with short transepts and choir. The cloisters were located to the south and to their East was an infirmary or Abbots lodging. A guest house was situated south-west of the cloister. The earthworks were resurveyed and are well preserved.
External links
- Ground plan at huntingdonshire.info