Bardney Abbey Explained

Bardney Abbey in Lincolnshire, England, was a Benedictine monastery founded in 697[1] by King Æthelred of Mercia, who was to become the first abbot. The monastery was supposedly destroyed during a Danish raid in 869.[2] In 1087, the site was refounded as a priory, by Gilbert de Gant, Earl of Lincoln, and it regained status as an abbey in 1115.[2] [3]

In 1537, six of the Bardney Abbey monks were executed for their role in the Lincolnshire Rising.[2] [3] [4] In 1538, the Abbey was disbanded and its property seized during the Dissolution of the Monasteries campaign started by Henry VIII. The property was then granted to Sir Robert Tirwhit.

Tirwhit retained the abbot's lodging as a house and converted the cloister into a garden. In later years, the lodging and garden became ruins along with the remainder of the former abbey.[4]

Excavations from 1909 through 1914 revealed the layout of Bardney Abbey. This can still be seen, though nothing remains to any height. Further excavations and conservation took place in 2009[5] and 2011.[6] Some grave slabs and carved stones are preserved in Bardney parish church, which is dedicated to St Lawrence.[7] [8] The abbey site is now owned by the charity the Jews' Court and Bardney Abbey Trust.

Relics of St Oswald

Bede relates that Bardney Abbey (which he called Beardaneu)[9] was greatly loved by Osthryth, queen of Mercia, and in about 679 she sought to move the bones of her uncle, the very pious St Oswald, to there.[10] However, when the body was brought to the Abbey the monks refused to accept it, because the Abbey was in the Kingdom of Lindsey, and Oswald, when king of Northumbria, had once conquered them. The relics were locked outside, but during the night a beam of light appeared and shone from his bier reaching up into the heavens. The monks declared that it was a miracle and accepted the body, hanging the King's Purple and Gold banner over the tomb.[9] They are also said to have removed the great doors to the Abbey so that such a mistake could not occur again. So if someone said "do you come from Bardney?", it meant that you had left the door open.[11] [12] [13]

As well as the wondrous light, other miracles were associated with the remains of King Oswald. The bones at Bardney were washed before interment and ground into which the water was poured supposedly gained great healing powers.[14] In another tale from Bede, a boy with the Ague kept vigil by the tomb and was cured.[15] The King's heads and hands had been separately interred, for he had been dismembered in battle.[14] A fragment of the stake on which his head had been impaled was later used to cure a man in Ireland.[16]

In 909, in response to increased Viking raids, Oswald's bones were translated to the new St Oswald's Priory, Gloucester.[17]

Burials

Known abbots of Bardney

This list is taken from the Victoria County History,[3] and Bowyer's History of the Mitred Parliamentary Abbies.[18]

Original foundation:

Benedictine foundation:

Further reading

In popular culture

Bardney was referred to as Bearddan Igge (Bardney Abbey) in The Saxon Stories by Bernard Cornwell.

See also

References

53.2204°N -0.3336°W

Notes and References

  1. This date comes from the National Monument record, but according to Bede the abbey already existed when Oswald was interred there in 679
  2. 351575. Bardney Abbey. 10 April 2010.
  3. Book: Houses of Benedictine monks: The abbey of Bardney . Victoria County History . A History of the County of Lincoln: Volume 2 . 1906 . 97–104 . 3 April 2013.
  4. 1058729. House and Garden. 10 April 2010.
  5. Book: Cope-Faulkener, Paul . Archaeological evaluation at Bardney Abbey (BASM09 12/09). . Heckington . December 2009 . 4 April 2013 . Report on 2009 investigation, includes detailed floor plan.
  6. Web site: Bardney Abbey Revealled 2011 . Lincolnshire county council . 3 April 2013 . 26 March 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120326024231/http://community.lincolnshire.gov.uk/bardneyvillagehistory/section.asp?catId=32122 . dead .
  7. Web site: New exhibition of sculpture from Bardney Abbey . http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20140714022134/http://www.hlf.org.uk/news/Pages/BardneyAbbey.aspx . dead . 14 July 2014 . Heritage Lottery Fund . 5 October 2012 . 4 April 2013 .
  8. Web site: Bardney church . Bardney Heritage Group . 3 April 2013 . 18 May 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120518123104/http://community.lincolnshire.gov.uk/bardneyvillagehistory/section.asp?docId=75077 . dead .
  9. Book: Bede. Bede. Leo Sherley-Price. The Ecclesiastical History of the English People. Penguin. Penguin Classics. 2008. 160.)
  10. [wikisource:Catholic_Encyclopedia_(1913)/St._Oswald_(2)|Catholic Encyclopedia: St Oswald]
  11. Web site: Lincolnshire Heritage web page about the legend. 12 September 2009.
  12. Web site: Parish web site mentioning the legend. 22 February 2011.
  13. Web site: Local Authority history site, including the legend. 12 February 2011. 3 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160303165431/http://community.lincolnshire.gov.uk/bardneyvillagehistory/section.asp?docId=82156. dead.
  14. [wikisource:Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation (Jane)/Book 3#11|''Bede'' iii.11]
  15. [wikisource:Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation (Jane)/Book 3#12|''Bede'' iii.12]
  16. [wikisource:Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation (Jane)/Book 3#13|''Bede'' iii.13]
  17. Book: Heighway, Carolyn. Gloucester and the new minster of St Oswald. N. J.. Higham . D. H.. Hill. Edward the Elder 899-924. Routledge. 2001. 108.
  18. Book: Bowyer, W. . An History of the Mitred Parliamentary Abbies, and Conventual Cathedral Churches . 1718 . 4 April 2013.
  19. 1301846 . Benedictine Cell. 4 April 2013.
  20. Book: Thompson, Pishey . Collections for a topographical and historical account of Boston, and the hundred of Skirbeck. Pishey Thompson. 1820 . J.Noble . Boston . 28.
  21. Web site: The association of friends of Bardney Abbey. Charity Commission for England and Wales. 1993. 4 April 2013.

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