Faversham Abbey
Faversham Abbey was a Cluniac style monastery[1] immediately to the north-east of the town of Faversham, in north Kent, England.
History
Foundation
It was founded by King Stephen and Queen Matilda in 1148.[2] A party of monks from Bermondsey Abbey provided the nucleus and the first abbot, Clarembald.
Dissolution
At the Dissolution of the Monasteries, Sir Thomas Cheney assigned the abbey to Thomas Arden and it was considerably destroyed in 1538. Thereafter the site of the abbey came into the possession of the Sondes family[3] and now lies within the grounds of Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School.
The Abbey was the burial place of King Stephen, Queen Matilda, and their eldest son, Eustace IV of Boulogne. Their bones were reportedly thrown into the nearby Faversham Creek when the abbey was demolished. Their empty tombs were unearthed in 1964 near what had been the centre of the choir. However, there is a canopy tomb with no contemporary inscription in the nearby Parish Church, where it is said that their bones were re-interred.
The Abbey was excavated in 1965 by a team led by the archaeologist Brian Philp.[4] A full plan of the abbey was produced. At around 360 ft (110 m) in length, the abbey was shorter than Canterbury Cathedral, but longer than Rochester Cathedral. The cloister and monastic buildings were built on the northern side.
The abbey was built from a mix of chalk, flint, ragstone, greensand, and Caen stone. The roofing material appears to have been slate from south Devon with matches to materials obtained from sites near Modbury and Slapton Sands.
Archaeology
In May, 2019 Kent Archaeological Field School uncovered 150 ft (46 m) long by 50 ft (15 m) wide Roman building at Abbey Farm. According to the Dr Paul Wilkinson, the building contained broken stone walls. The walls covered huge amounts of box flue tiles, which were used to direct hot air up the indoor walls, glazed terracotta floors, an untouched underfloor with hypocaust heating and tons of ceramic roof tiles. Although the plaster painted from these walls were mostly white, plaster walls coloured with green, red and yellow panels were found in the hot sauna room on the north side of the building. The building was divided into two zones of activity – a bath house and a room for agricultural activity.[5]
From the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia
Faversham Abbey — A former Benedictine monastery of the Cluniac Congregation situated in the County of Kent about nine miles west of Canterbury. It was founded about 1147 by King Stephen and his Queen Matilda. Clarimbald, the prior of Bermondsey, and twelve other monks of the same abbey were transferred to Faversham to form the new community; Clarimbald was appointed abbot. It was dedicated to Our Saviour and endowed with the manor of Faversham. In the church, which was completed about 1251, Stephen and Matilda, the founders, were buried and also their eldest son Eustace Earl of Boulogne. We read of chapels in the church dedicated to Our Lady and St. Anne. Henry II confirmed all grants and privileges conferred by Stephen, adding others to them, and all these were again confirmed to the monks by Kings John and Henry III. The abbots had their seat in Parliament and we find them in attendance at thirteen several parliaments during the reigns of Edward and Edward II, but on account of their reduced state and poverty, they ceased to attend after the 18th, Edward II. It appears that some bitterness existed for a considerable time between the monks and the people of Faversham, who complained of the abbey's imposts and exactions. Among these grievances were claims, by way of composition, for allowing the inhabitants to send their swine to pannage, for exposing their goods for sale in the market, and for the liberty of brewing beer. Twenty-two abbots are known to us; the last was John Shepey, alias Castelocke, who, on 10 December, 1534, along with the sacristan and four monks, is said to have signed the Act of Supremacy. On 8 July, 1538, the abbey was surrendered to the king, at which time the annual revenue was about £350. Henry VIII gave the house and site to John Wheler for twenty-one years at an annual rent of £3 18s. 8d. Afterwards the property came into the possession of Sir Thomas Cheney, warden of the Cinque Ports. Later it was owned by Thomas Ardern and subsequently came to belong to the family of Sondes. The two entrance gates where standing a century ago, but had to be taken down on account of their ruinous condition. At the present day there is nothing left except some portions of the outer walls.
References
- Back to citation "Faversham Abbey". Catholic Encyclopedia. Retrieved 18 February 2007.
- Back to citation "Faversham Abbey". Faversham.org. Archived from the original on 16 June 2010. Retrieved 18 February 2007.
- Back to citation Dugdale, Sir William (1846). "Monasticon Anglicanum: A History of the Abbies and Other Monasteries, Hospitals, Frieries, and Cathedral and Collegiate Churches, with Their Dependencies, in England and Wales; Also of All Such Scotch, Irish and French Monasteries, as Were in Manner Connected with Religious Houses in England".
- Back to citation Excavations at Faversham, Brian Philps, copy held in Faversham reference library
- Back to citation "Large Roman building uncovered at Abbey Farm in Faversham". Archived from the original on 18 June 2024. Retrieved 18 June 2024.