Wymondham Abbey

Having lived in Norfolk my whole life and having driven past the abbey and Wymondham several times I had never actually visited the Abbey before. So back in 2013 I finally made it to the Abbey and had a wander around both inside and outside the building. It is hard to believe that Norfolk would have such a large Benedictine Abbey just under 10 miles from the Benedictine Monastary, now Norwich Anglian Cathedral, in Norwich. This can be answered fairly easily. Firstly Wymondham was both an Abbey plus a parish church and secondly it started life as a priory.

Wymondham Abbey as a priory

Wymondham Abbey started its spiritual journey as a priory, a dependant upon the Benedictine Abbey of St Albans. The Abbot at St Albans, Richard d'Aubigny, was uncle to William D'Aubigny the founder of the priory at Wymondham. It was founded in 1107 and originally dedicated to St Mary the Virgin and St. Alban the Martyr. It was not until 1448 that Wymondham priory became an Abbey as the complex grew and became more important.

When first built the priory was built on a large and very grand scale with the nave being 12 bays long. It is commented that the original nave was a scaled down version of the nave at Norwich Cathedral. Like Norwich Cathedral, the Abbey at Wymondham was faced with Limestone from Caen, Normandy, France. The stone was shipped from Caen to Wymondham.

The Abbey remained in use until the dissolutions of the monasteries in 1538 at which point it was closed and parts of it demolished and the stone sold for re-use elsewhere leaving the present day church building.

Wymondham Abbey as a parish church - Then and Now

There is evidence to show us that when originally built the abbey was cruciform in shape with a central tower and twin towers at the west end.The central tower however was rebuilt in 1376 and was replaced by the now ruined octagonal tower. This tower held the monk's bells.

In 1447 the twin west towers were replaced by a taller single tower which would contain the bells of the townspeople. As mentioned at the start of this entry the abbey began life as not only a priory but also a parish church which means the building was divided and shared between the monks and the townspeople. The north aisle and the nave as they still do today served the townspeople as the parish church, however during its time as a priory and abbey it caused many dissputes between both parties.

For more information about Wymondham Abbey head over to www.wymondhamabbey.org.uk/

I enjoyed my first visit to Wymondham abbey. As I strolled around the buildings and the grounds I felt at ease and very peaceful there. It has a great feeling of religion there similar to the feeling you get when you enter Norwich Cathedral or the Shrine at Walsingham in Norfolk. The building is highly impressive especially the alter screen and the stone carvings throughout the building. I would recommend a visit and will not doubt take myslelf there again for another visit or some peaceful contemplation.

 

All Saints Weybourne (Weybourne Priory)

On my travels around Norfolk I came across this site while using the North Norfolk coastal road. The signs on the gates that lead to this church give it the name of God's acre. As I walked through the graveyard I loved the peace and tranquility it provided even though its close proximity to the coastal road.

The church notice board gives the name of this Church as All Saints, Weybourne however this site has been more than just a parish church. A church has been on this site since Saxon times, where evidence of a Saxon cruciform church can be found in the north of the chancel, in the form of a tower. Other features can be found in arcade between the current nave and the north aisle as it occupies the site of the Saxon church.

The priory was formed between the end of the 12th century and the beginning of the 13th century by Sir Ralph Mainwaring as a house of Augustinian canons. The priory was a subordinate to the priory of West Acre. It was dissolved in 1314.

The remains of the priory include large sections of wall such as that of the north wall of the choir, walls of the presbytery. A section of the north transept can be seen, some of the north range is still visable along with walls of the cloisters.

Thetford Priory

An impressiveset of remains of a Cluniac monastic house. It is a highly important monastary in East Anglia having been founded by Roger Bigod, the first Earl of Norfolk in 1103.

Thetford Priory is dedicated to the Virgin Mary or Our Lady as she is said to have appeared to local residents. The priory became a magnet to pilgrims due to a statue of Our Lady of Thetford having a hollow in the head to house saints' relics.

Like many other monasteries Thetford Priory seccumbed to the eventual closure caused by the dissolution of the Monasteries. Even though the Monastery housed many tombs from the early Tudor dynasty officials including several members of the Howard family including that of Henry FitzRoy (1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset) 

Having visited this site on a sunny day, it was lovely to leisurly walk around the ruins investigating. The overall size of the complex would suggest that it was a very rich and powerful monastic house at the height of its use. The lower walls of the church and cloister can be seen along with an extensive and impressive shell of the Prior's lodging. Unfortunately during my visit I was not able to get through to the reportedly almost complete 14th century gatehouse as the pathway appears to run through a private garden. However I plan to return to see if I can approach the gatehouse from the otherside during a visit to the Holy Sepulchre Church which is about 300 metres away to the south.

It is reported that the Priory at Thetford is haunted however I had no such feeling during my visit.

Today the site is open to the public and is under the care of English Heritage. 

 

Leiston Abbey

Leiston Abbey originally started life as St Mary's Abbey at Minsmere in Suffolk. It was founded by Ranulf de Glanville in 1182 however due to unhealthy and undesriable site conditions due to being built on swampy groung the abbey moved from Minsmere to its present location in 1363. Very little is left at the original location due to it being dismantled for building materials to build the new abbey at Leitson, however sections of the proiry chapel can still be seen at Minsmere.

Leitson Abbey was home to a group of Augustinian Canons Regular following the premonstratensian rule. They held many duties including preaching and pastoral work unlike monks.

 Like so many other abbeys, priories and monasteries, Leiston Abbey fell victim to the dissolution of the monasteries, after which is fell into ruin and become a farm with the farm house being built into the ruins of the abbey. Today the site is under the guardianship of English Heritage.

Lady Eleanor Talbot (Lady Butler)

At the same site of Whitefriars Monastry in Norwich I found a plaque on the wall informing me that this is the final resting place to Lady Eleanor Talbot. I had never heard of her until this point and therefore had to do some research before I could post the photo on here.

Well, what a story I have come across with this one.

Lady Talbot was born in 1436, daughter of John Talbot the 1st Earl of Shrewsbury. In 1449, aged just 13, Lady Eleanor married Sir Thomas Butler, however in March of 1461 Thomas Butler died.

It is also commented that she had friendships with Edward IV. I discovered that he had siezed ownership of two manors she had owned with her husband. When she requested ownership of the manors back he attempted to have personal relations with Lady Eleanor, however she refused. At this he promised he would marry her.

In June of 1468 Lady Eleanor died at the age of 32 in a convent. She was later buried in the Carmelite Priory Church in Norwich.