Buildwas Abbey
| Buildwas Abbey | |
|
Shropshire | |
|---|---|
 Buildwas Abbey | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SJ642044 |
| Location: | 52°38’10"N, 2°31’50"W |
| Village: | Buildwas |
| Order: | Cistercian |
| History | |
| Established: | 1135 |
| Founder: | Roger de Clinton |
| Disestablished: | 1536 |
| Information | |
| Owned by: | English Heritage |
| Website: | Buildwas Abbey |
Buildwas Abbey is the ruin of a mediæval abbey, the Abbey of St Mary and St Chad, located along the banks of the River Severn in Buildwas, Shropshire, about two miles west of Ironbridge.
Early history
The abbey was founded for the Cistercian order of monks in 1135 by Roger de Clinton, Bishop of Coventry (1129–1148). It was to be a Savignac monastery and was inhabited by a small community of monks from Furness Abbey. The stone from which it was built was quarried in the nearby settlement of Broseley.
The abbey's location near the border of the Welsh principalities meant it was destined to have a turbulent history. Welsh princes and their followers regularly raided the Abbey and on one occasion in 1406, during the rebellion of Owain Glyndwr, raiders even kidnapped the abbot. This however paled in comparison to an earlier event in 1342 where one of the Buildwas monks, Thomas Tong, murdered his abbot, managed to evade arrest, and then petitioned for re-instatement into the Cistercian order.
Closure
The abbey was closed in 1536 by the order of Henry VIII during the Dissolution of the Monasteries, whereupon the estate was granted to Edward Grey, 3rd Baron Grey of Powis.
Modern history
The abbot's house and infirmary were later incorporated into the building of a private house in the 17th century for the Acton Moseley family, although the remaining buildings are now in the care of English Heritage. They are open to the public, who can view the church which remains largely complete and unaltered since its original construction, although it is now without its roof.
The remains are considered to be among some of the best preserved twelfth-century examples of a Cistercian church in Britain.
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Buildwas Abbey) |
- Buildwas Abbey – English Heritage
- Adrian Fletcher’s Paradoxplace – Buildwas Abbey Pages – Photos
References
- &resourceID=2 National Monuments Record: No. 72110 – Buildwas Abbey