Tewkesbury Abbey

Tewkesbury Abbey

Legend has it that a hermit monk named Theoc (from whom it is thought Tewkesbury was named) lived on the site of the Abbey as early as the 7^th century. Theoc was therefore preaching the new message of Christianity here at the same time as Cuthbert and Wilfred were preaching in the north, and when the Venerable Bede was a boy at Lindisfarne. There is a large stone beneath the old yew trees in front of the Abbey known as Theoc’s stone, on which he is said to have stood to preach to the local people.

      

Whether or not the legend of Theoc is true, there was certainly a small Saxon monastery here in the 8^th century, which was destroyed by Danish raiders, and it was almost 300 years later in 1087 that  Robert Fitzhamon, a kinsman of William the Conqueror, founded the great Norman Abbey which we see today, for an order of Benedictine monks. He engaged  Giraldus, ( the Abbot of Cranborne who was anxious to extend his dominion) as the first abbot. It was a marvellous construction, and when Robert Fitzhamon died in 1107, as a result of wounds received at the siege of Falaise, his son- in- law Robert Fitzroy, (an illegitimate son of Henry 1^{st )} continued the building until the completion of the Norman phase and its consecration in October 1121.

       

Mediaeval tomb

Tewkesbury Abbey became one of the richest monasteries in England, largely due to the powerful mediaeval families associated with the Abbey prior to the Dissolution. The lavishly decorated tombs and chantry chapels which still survive from that period give us a glimpse of the wealth and influence of these families. One tomb of particular beauty and interest is that of Simon de Despenser, who was the favourite of King Edward 11. Edward was imprisoned in a hole in the ground in nearby Berkeley Castle near Gloucester, before being murdered in a particularly horrifying way, and his favourite Simon de Despenser was also killed in a barbaric fashion before being given an honoured and beautiful resting place.

            

When Henry VIII undertook the dissolution of the monasteries, Tewkesbury was high on his list. All the monastic outbuildings were demolished, the monks killed or chased away, and the Abbey stripped of its moveable treasures. To the everlasting credit of the people of the town, they somehow managed to scrape up the magnificent sum of £453 to pay off the soldiers and save their church building. It is still the second largest parish church in England, larger even than 14 of our cathedrals, and it also boasts the highest Norman tower in England, and still dominates the beautiful Gloucestershire countryside which surrounds the town.

         

Stained glass window

Tewkesbury Abbey has survived fire, the bloody battle of Tewkesbury in 1471, several periods of reconstruction, and the Dissolution, and it is nothing short of a miracle that it has survived in such a complete state. The Norman west front is particularly fine, as is the impressive nave and the beautiful Romanesque tower. A series of 14^th century radiating chapels surround the high altar, and one of the country’s finest examples of mediaeval stained glass still decorates the windows in the chancel.

            

The nave

The pure Norman architecture remains almost untouched. Although the original timber vaulted roof was replaced around 1340 by a splendid lierne vault, it does not detract the eye from the 14 massive Norman pillars which dominate the nave. Each is over 30 feet high and several feet thick, and their stark unadorned majesty seems to epitomise the resilience and grandeur of the Abbey, and the calm dignity with which it has withstood the turbulence of the passing centuries. It is a place of timeless beauty.