| Summary : Founded 1221-1226 as an Augustinian Monastery dependent on Lilleshall Abbey, but in 1230 became one of three monasteries of the Grandmontine Order. It remained so until the expulsion of alien orders in 1414. In 1441, it became the property of All Souls College, Oxford and was maintained as a chantry chapel. It was suppressed under the suppression of chantries act in 1547, The church was converted into a farmhouse, White Abbey Farm in 1578, and remodelled in 1857-8. The church originally had a nave with square-ended choir, St Stephens Chapel to the North and cloisters to the South. only the central section of the church remains, minus the East and West ends, with the Chapel of St Stephen, and these are incorporated in the farmhouse. |
More information : (SJ 37531515 & 37531537) Moat (NR). (1)
(SJ 375152) St. Stephen's Chapel (NR) (Remains of)(NAT)
Alderbury Priory (NR)(Grandmontine formerly Augustinian founded
AD 1221)(NAT). (2)
White Abbey Farmhouse incorporates what is left of Alberbury
Priory. It was founded between 1221 and 1226 for the Augustinian
canons of Lilleshall, but about 1230 was transferred to the
Order of Grandmont, with which it remained until alien priories
were taken into the King's hands in 1414. In 1441 it was procured
for All Souls College, Oxford, although regained for a short
time by the Order in 1474, when a prior and brethren took up
residence, and the buildings were repaired and the precinct
ditch cleared (the feature described as 'Moat' on the OS map of
1902). The buildings were maintained until the suppression of
chantries in 1547, after which they were pulled down or allowed
to decay and in the late 16th century the church was converted
for domestic use. Renovations in 1857-8 uncovered a number of
skeletons under where the altar would have been. Excavations in
1925 revealed the nave of the church with a straightened
chancel and a doorway leading to a cloister on the south side.
The north half of the house, with another original doorway,
was the west end of the chapel of St. Stephen, a northern
extension of the church. The chapel is still complete, of
three bays, rib-vaulted.
During the Middle Ages it was known as New Abbey or Black Abbey
after the monks habits. All souls college to which it belongs was
called Black Abbey or White Abbey. In Lelands time it had
become known as White Abbey after the colour of the stone, hence
White Abbey Farmhouse. (3-7)
The scant remains of this priory are as described above. The
precinct ditch or moat can be traced for much of its length
although it now averages less than 0.5 metres in depth. It was
probably intended to hold water, as a leat can be traced
feeding it (and a pond within the precinct) from the south.
Published 1:2500 revised. (8)
|