Tewkesbury Abbey

“ The old many-arched bridge over the Avon is extremely picturesque. In a county famed for its rich monasteries, Tewkesbury was among the most important. The name is believed to come from Theoc, a Saxon missionary monk, who founded a hermitage here. The abbey was originally a dependency of Cranbourne Abbey in Dorsetshire, but being richly endowed, Tewkesbury became the leading monastic establishment. Fitz-Hamon, Earl of Gloucester, began the rebuilding of the church. The choir was reconstructed in 1350 in Gothic style, but the nave and massive central tower are Norman. ”

“ Time has done much, and will do more, to remove the glaze, but nothing will ever remove the stiff printed look of the pattern. The black patches of tiles are rather heavy in appearance, but the pavement looks better so than it would if broken up with streaky slabs and squares of glaring white marble incised with more or less pictorial designs relieved with a background of black cement. The choir of Tewkesbury in this respect has fared better than that of Gloucester, though a little more might have been made of the graves of the illustrious dead who are known to have been buried underneath. ”

“ During this period we have the dedications,—which shew that the work was sufficiently forward for the choir to be used,—of Ely, Rochester, Norwich, Canterbury, and some others. Several new works were commenced also, as Tewkesbury Abbey, St. Botolph’s, Colchester, St. Bartholomew’s, Smithfield, the nave of Durham, the choir of Peterborough, and Reading Abbey: but we do not find any difference between the early parts of these and those which immediately preceded them. ”

“ The ruins of this abbey church of a former Benedictine monastery stand overshadowed by the glorious Malvern hills in a beautiful valley in Gloucestershire, through which flow the Avon and Severn with two tributaries. The rich colouring of the country side and the ever varying tints of the surrounding hills make the environment of Tewkesbury{131} one of singular beauty—a perfect setting for the abbey with its imposing Norman tower, one of the most perfect of the kind in England. ”

“ For how lives an Abbey save by the death of generous and holy men and women? And was it not a foul thing that the great Earl—lord of this manor, patron of this Abbey—should not have profitably laid his bones here, where now for four hundred years lie all the lords of Tewkesbury, Fitz-Hamons, Clares, De Spensers, Beauchamps—but should be filched away to Berkshire to enrich those Austin friars instead? ”

“ The Chronicles of the Abbey tell us that the first monastery at Tewkesbury was built by two Saxon nobles, Oddo and Doddo, in or about the year 715, a time when Mercia was flourishing under Ethelred, and later, under Kenred and Ethelbald. It was dedicated to the Virgin Mary, and endowed with the manor of Stanway and other lands for the support of the Benedictine monks who, under a Prior, were there installed. Oddo and Doddo died soon afterwards, and were buried in the abbey church of Pershore. ”

“ Blunt in "Tewkesbury and its Associations" says, there are many people who cannot hear about monks without immediately thinking of nuns. It would seem that the room communicated with the dorter or dormitory, and was designed for invalid monks, who from it might hear mass sung in the church without going downstairs. In the south-east corner of the transept a staircase gives access to this chamber, and communicates with the triforium of the transept, the clerestory of the choir, the vaulting of the ambulatory as well as that of the tower. ”

“ Anthony on her left. At her feet there was to be an escutcheon, bearing her arms impaled with those of her late husband—who had died just three months before her—supported by two griffins; and at the [87] side there were to be statues of poor men and women in humble apparel with their beads in their hands. From the Abbey Register this part of the lady's last will and testament seems to have been carried out; but nothing remains of these added figures or of the tomb. The chapel is less perfect on the south, or choir side, than on that which faces the north aisle. ”

“ At Great Malvern we were deliciously idle. We walked about the place, rested quietly, drove into the neighboring country, and made a single excursion,--to Tewkesbury. There are few places better worth seeing than this fine old town, full of historical associations and monumental relics. The magnificent old abbey church is the central object of interest. The noble Norman tower, one hundred and thirty-two feet in height, was once surmounted by a spire, which fell during divine service on Easter Day of the year 1559. ”

“ Peter at Westminster.
[33] "Most small English churches were built on a plan which is purely 'Scottish,' all through the Saxon time and beyond it. There are scores of them all over the country. The smaller church at Deerhurst, built in the middle of the eleventh century, will serve for an example. Note its small square presbytery and narrow arch. The church at Kirkdale, near Kirby Moorside, is a contemporary dated building of like form, but rather larger size" (J.T. Micklethwaite in Arch. Journal, vol. liii.) .
[127]
INDEX TO TEWKESBURY ABBEYToC
Abbey church purchased by the town, 15. ”

“ You cannot see this great Abbey church to advantage from the town. It is only from the open meadows by the Severn, and its tributary brooks, where the little town is to be guessed at by the evidence of a few roofs and chimneys, that its great scale and solemn majesty are fully apparent. There the great central Norman tower and the magnificent and unique West Front of the same period are seen in their proper relation with the surroundings. The long outline is very like that of St. Albans, but 237 feet less; St. Albans Abbey being 550 feet long, and Tewkesbury 313 feet. ”

“ The Abbey Gateway, which is well worth inspection, is Perpendicular work, and is in surprisingly good repair, mainly owing to the fact that for many years it was in private hands. It stands very solid and square, and looks formidable with its battlements, but the view through the open doorway is very fine—the foliage on the trees beyond showing up the stonework. The work in the arches is good, and the gargoyles are worthy of notice. ”

“ When a landowner wished to establish a monastic body on his land, it had been found possible to endow an abbey cheaply by handing over to it a church already in existence, on condition that the monastery undertook to look after the parish. Thus, the Abbot of Tewkesbury went to Grosseteste to consult him about the church of Great Marlow, to which he wished to appoint a youth belonging to a noble house, who would in turn let out the lands of the church in farm to the abbey. ”

“ Close to Abbot Alan's tomb is another recess which now is without its coffin. The arch is pointed and crocketed with pinnacles at the sides. In the absence of a tomb the chief interest consists in the old encaustic tiles which have been transferred here from other parts of the building, a few of them having been found in 1875 under the then stone pavement of the choir. They are now safe here from the destroying power of the ubiquitous tourist's foot. ”

“ Alas! the madness of men. Thou art the only light of thy mother, and the last hope of the flock." Holinshed writes that the body of the Prince "was homelie interred with the other simple corpses in the church of the monasterie of the blacke monks in Teukesburie." Another MS., which gives a list of noblemen slain in the battle of Tewkesbury, states more definitely that he was "buried in the midst of the convent choir in the monastery there." ”

“ In 1241, Oct. 25, the body of Fitz-Hamon, the founder of the existing fabric, was brought in from the Chapter House and placed on the site of the Founder's Chapel built later.
In 1243 the dormitory, which had been rebuilt (chiefly by Abbot Peter) , was re-opened for use.
In 1246 the Prior, Henry de Banbury, built an Early English Chapel, dedicated to St. Eustachius. It seems probable that this was erected on the site of the apsidal Norman chapel, and the space (6 feet) between it and the Early English chapel. The vaulting corbels are all that remain. ”

“ Tewkesbury is known to fame by its mustard, its abbey, and its battle. The renown of the Tewkesbury mustard goes back for at least three centuries: as "thick as Tewkesbury mustard" was a proverb of Falstaff's. That old-time historian Fuller says of it, "The best in England (to take no larger compass) is made at Tewkesbury. It is very wholesome for the clearing of the head, [Pg 343] moderately taken." But, unfortunately, the reputation of Tewkesbury for this commodity has declined in modern times. ”

“ This lot was known as the Vaulted Chamber, and formed a portion of the south aisle of the nave which had been cut off from the rest of the building, and to which access was given by a stone staircase outside the church and a doorway in the wall by the nave.
Very few traces of the old monastic buildings are to be found, for when the neighbouring ground has been levelled at various times large quantities of stone have been dug up from the old foundations, and utilised partly in constructing boundary walls, partly in repairs to the building. ”

“ Tancard, Abbot of Jumièges, his appointment, i. 570. Tenby Castle, ii. 95. Tewkesbury Abbey, founded by Robert Fitz-hamon, i. 479, ii. 84; grant of Welsh churches to, ib. Thames, great tide in the, ii. 302. Theningmannagemót, the, i. 604. Theobald of Gisors. See Pagan. Theobald, the White Knight, helps to defend Courcy, ii. 519. Thetford, hospital at, founded by William Rufus, ii. 506; the see moved to Norwich, i. 449, ii. 569. Thierry, Augustin, on the punishment of the monks of Saint Augustine’s, i. 140 (note) . Thomas of London, Archbishop of Canterbury, case of, at Northampton, i. 95 ”

“ That seems to have been about the beginning of the eleventh century, but it is certain that there is earlier work in the west end and in the tower, and probable that there also is [118] in the side walls of the nave. The presbytery was round-ended and wide-arched, as at Worth, and there is an arch in the east wall of the south transept leading to an altar place beyond. In the corresponding position on the other side (i.e., in the north transept) is a doorway which has led to some chamber outside. ”

“ In this chapel is a large aumbry, and a very perfect stone coffin which was dug up in the south ambulatory near the Trinity Chapel. The metallic sound given forth by the coffin when tapped seems to be of more interest than anything else to the ordinary visitor. Various interesting fragments of stonework are in the chapel, one being a portion of a tomb. Portions of the font formerly in the Norman chapel in the south transept are also here. Under the painted window is a piscina, more than half of which is modern work. ”

“ The choir was altered in the time of Abbot Parker, by Elizabeth, the wife, successively, of Lord Badlesmere, of Hugh Lord Despenser, and Sir Guy de Brien. The original Norman clerestory was taken down and the Norman columns of the choir slightly raised, as will be seen from the choir aisle on the side where the original capitals were left unaltered. At the same time the beautiful series of apsidal chapels was [14] added; stone vaulting took the place of the earlier wooden roofing and the space between the four piers that support the tower was vaulted. ”

“ Formerly the old font, of which portions remain in the church, stood in the apsidal chapel in the south transept, and the choice of position for the new one is not quite happy. The canopy is very fine work, but the font as a whole is as much too high as the choir screen is too low. It is also placed at far too great a height above the surrounding floor to be comfortable for a party of sponsors, and from its height it interferes with the beautiful vista of the nave as viewed from the outside of the open west door on a fine day in summer. ”

“ The altar-stone at Gloucester was at one time used to pave the south porch, and is now in the crypt.
[23] The safety of the old glass has been ensured by a protective external window of rolled glass let in the mullions from the outside. This was done in 1889.
[24] This Gilbert de Clare is said to have had a copy of Magna Charta and the Charta de Foresta made and deposited in the Abbey. ”

“ Edward the Confessor gave of its lands to his new abbey at Westminster. William the Conqueror took of them for himself or his courtiers. For all that, money was found for rebuilding, and for rearing a glorious structure, resembling those at Gloucester and Tewkesbury, in the latter part of the eleventh century. The choir was again re-built in the thirteenth; the central tower dates from the middle of the fourteenth. The Reformation here, as elsewhere, was a time of plunder and destruction—nave, lady-chapel, and monastic buildings were pulled down ”

“ The abbey of Margam, whose chronicle is an important authority for the history of mediæval Wales, was founded by him; another abbey in which a valuable chronicle was compiled—that of Tewkesbury—had in him one of its chief benefactors. On his estates at Torigni in Normandy was born Robert of the Mount, afterwards abbot of Mont St Michel, eminent as a chronicler and known as a lover of the legends of his own Breton race. ”

“ TEWKESBURY (Mitred Benedictine)
715, Monastery founded by two brothers, Oddo and Doddo, Dukes of Mercia, on the site of the cell inhabited by Theocus, a hermit—1102, Refounded and endowed by Robert Fitz-Hamon as a Benedictine abbey—Church and monastery built—1123, Church consecrated—1539, Dissolved. Annual revenue, £1598 1s. 3d.—Conventual buildings destroyed but church purchased by the parishioners—John Wakeman, last abbot, retires on a pension and becomes first Bishop of Gloucester—1875, Church restored by Sir Gilbert Scott. ”