The Abbey of Saint Mary de Pratis, more commonly known as Leicester Abbey, was an Augustinian religious house in the city of Leicester, in Leicestershire, England. The abbey was founded in the 12th century by the Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester, and grew to become the wealthiest religious establishment within Leicestershire. Through patronage and donations the abbey gained the advowsons of countless churches throughout England, and acquired a considerable amount of land, and several manorial lordships. Leicester Abbey also maintained a cell (a small dependent daughter house) at Cockerham Priory, in Lancashire. The Abbey's prosperity was boosted through the passage of special privileges by both the English Kings and the Pope. These included an exemption from sending representatives to parliament and from paying tithe on certain land and livestock. Despite its privileges and sizeable landed estates, from the late 14th century the abbey began to suffer financially and was forced to lease out its estates. The worsening financial situation was exacerbated throughout the 15th century and early 16th century by a series of incompetent, corrupt and extravagant abbots. By 1535 the abbey's considerable income was exceeded by even more considerable debts.
The abbey provided a home to an average of 30 to 40 canons, sometimes known as Black Canons, because of their dress (a white habit and black cloak). One of these canons, Henry Knighton, is notable for his Chronicle, which was written during his time at the abbey in the 14th century. In 1530 Cardinal Thomas Wolsey died at the abbey, whilst travelling south to face trial for treason. A few years later, in 1538, the abbey was dissolved, and was quickly demolished, with the building materials reused in various structures across Leicester, including a mansion which was built on the site. The house passed through several aristocratic families, and became known as Cavendish House after it was acquired by the 1st Earl of Devonshire, in 1613. The house was eventually looted and destroyed by fire in 1645, following the capture of Leicester during the English Civil War.
Part of the former abbey precinct was donated to Leicester Town Council (the predecessor of the modern City Council) by the 8th Earl of Dysart. In 1882 it was opened by The Prince of Wales and became known as Abbey Park. The remaining 32 acres (13 ha), which included the abbey's site and the ruins of Cavendish House, were donated to the council by the 9th Earl of Dysart in 1925 and, following archaeological excavations, opened to the public in the 1930s. Following its demolition, the exact location of the abbey was lost; it was only rediscovered during excavations in the 1920s/30s, when the layout was plotted using low stone walls. The abbey has been extensively excavated and was previously used for training archaeology students at the University of Leicester. Leicester Abbey is now protected as a scheduled monument and is Grade I Listed.
History
Foundation
Leicester Abbey was founded during a wave of monastic enthusiasm that swept through western Christendom in the 11th and 12th centuries. This wave was responsible for the foundation of the majority of England's monasteries, and very few were founded after the 13th century. These monasteries were often founded by a wealthy aristocratic benefactor who endowed and patronised the establishments in return for prayers for their soul, and often, the right to be buried within the monastic church. Leicester Abbey was founded in the Augustinian tradition. The members of the abbey community were known as canons regular, and followed the monastic Rule of Life set down by Saint Augustine of Hippo. Sometimes known as Black Canons, because of their attire (a white habit and black cloak), Augustinian canons followed a clerical life engaged in public ministry while living in community under religious vows; this is distinct from monasticism in which monks are cloistered from the outside world, and lived an isolated, contemplative life.
Leicester Abbey was founded in 1143 by Robert le Bossu, 2nd Earl of Leicester, and was dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. It was not the first abbey Robert had established, having founded Garendon Abbey, also in Leicestershire, in 1133. Robert's father, Robert de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Leicester, had previously founded a college of secular canons in Leicester, known as The College of St Mary de Castro. The new abbey assumed control of the college and its possessions, which included all of the churches in Leicester. Robert added to this with the gift of numerous churches in Leicestershire, Berkshire and Northamptonshire. The abbey also gained the manor of Asfordby from its merger with the college, and the manor of Knighton from its founder.
The earls of Leicester continued to patronise the abbey: Petronilla de Grandmesnil, wife of the founder's son, Robert de Beaumont, 3rd Earl of Leicester, financed the construction of the abbey's Great Choir; whilst her husband donated 24 virgates (720 acres) of land at Anstey.
In 1148, Pope Eugene III granted the abbey an exemption on paying tithe for their newly acquired land and livestock. This was granted on the condition that there was to be no impropriety or violence when electing an abbot, and that those who donated money to the abbey could be buried within it, regardless of whether they had been excommunicated.
14th century
Though the abbey was a religious house, it was attacked in 1326 by the Earl of Lancaster's soldiers, who seized property belonging to Hugh le Despenser, 1st Earl of Winchester, which was being kept there.
Under the Abbotship of William Clowne (tenure: 1345–1378) the abbey prospered, increasing their lands and endowments with acquisitions such as the manors of Ingarsby and Kirkby Mallory. Clowne is described as having "friendly relations" with King Edward III, and used this to gain further privileges for the abbey, including being exempted from having to send representatives to Parliament. However, by the late 14th century, the abbey had entered a difficult period, and its income began to fall.
It was during this period that the abbey was home to canon Henry of Knighton, who wrote Knighton's Chronicon. The chronicle includes both Knighton's contemporary experiences, between 1377 and 1395, and a historical section recording events between 1066 and 1366. Knighton chronicles the impact of John Wycliffe, the rise of the Lollards, and gives an unusually favourable account of John of Gaunt. Knighton's chronicle is valued by historians for his contemporary account of the Black Death in Leicester, which has been compared with Giovanni Boccaccio's Decameron, which chronicles the plague in Florence. His in depth account records the effects of the Black Death on Leicester. This includes the impact on the prices of food, grain, wine and cattle, and on changes in wages and the labour market. The chronicle also includes detailed death tolls for all of Leicester's parishes, revealing that one-third of the population of Leicester were killed by the disease. Following the deaths of canons within the abbey, Knighton theorises that it was punishment because of "the ordination of candidates ill-prepared and but little suited for the sacred ministry". The chronicle was not published until 1652.
15th century
In the 15th century the abbey began to lease out its land (most probably as a solution to their falling income). By 1477 only the demesne lands in Leicester, Stoughton and Ingarsby remained un-leased, and were directly farmed by the abbey.
Philip Repyngdon served as Abbot of Leicester Abbey from 1393 to 1405, when he resigned to become "Chaplain and Confessor" to King Henry IV, and subsequently served as Bishop of Lincoln and as a Cardinal. Repyngdon's successor, Richard of Rothely, was granted a Royal Licence permitting him to ask the Pope for to remove the abbey from the Bishop of Lincoln's jurisdiction, as the abbot feared Repyngdon would interfere with his former abbey, which lay within that Diocese. It is unclear if the Pope ever agreed to this petition, as Repyngdon also petitioned the Pope; receiving a declaration confirming that Leicester Abbey was "fully subject to him and his successors".
Under the tenure of Abbot William Sadyngton (1420—42) the abbey's fortunes fell further. A visit by William Alnwick, Bishop of Lincoln, in 1440, revealed the number of canons had fallen from 30 to 40 to just 14 and that the number of boys in the almonry had fallen from 25 to 6. Sadyngton was accused of various unsavory practices: of accepting unsuitable boys into the almonry in return for money, of "pocketing various minor revenues", of "keeping the offices of treasurer and cellarer in his own hands" and of not disclosing the abbey's accounts to his canons. Sadyngton was also known to keep servants and was even accused of practising magic, including divination.
Despite Abbot Sadyngton's apparent financial corruption, the abbey appeared to be financially stable: the abbey's monastic buildings had recently been extensively rebuilt and the abbey had a substantial annual income of £1180.
Perhaps because of the large income the Abbot was sustaining, Bishop Alnwick appears to have not taken strong measures against the Abbot's indiscretions. He ordered that the number of canons should be increased to 30 and the number of boys in the almonry increased to 16. The Bishop also ordered proper accounts to be kept and forbade the abbot from granting favours without the permission of both the Bishop and the Canons.
16th century
In 1518 William Atwater, Bishop of Lincoln, visited to inspect the abbey. The Abbot, Richard Pescall, was, like Sadyngton, accused of financial impropriety, but also was thought to be too old to perform his duties. Pescall's extravagances included an "excessive number of hounds", which were known to roam freely "fouling church, chapter house and cloister"; whilst the Bishop complained the boys in the almonry were being improperly educated.
A follow-up visit, in 1521, by Bishop Atwater's successor, John Longland, showed that things had not improved. Abbot Pescall rarely attended church services and, when he did, he would often bring his jester who "disturbed the services with his buffoonery". The Abbot's bad example had affected the canon's behaviour, who ate and drank at improper times, failed to attend services (an average of 11 of the 25 canons attended) and roamed freely outside the abbey: visiting the town's alehouses and frequently going hunting. Two canons were also accused of "incontinence". This visit revealed the abbey was severely in debt, leading the Bishop to appoint two administrators to oversee the abbey's finances.
The Chancellor of Lincoln Diocese visited the abbey in 1528 and found things had not improved. The abbot was still not attending services and was eating at unusual times and in unusual places, away from the other canons. The Chancellor also complained about the Abbot's "excessive number" of servants. The 24 canons were also still frequently leaving the abbey without proper reason.
Bishop Longland saw no alternative but to remove Abbot Pescall, but the task was not simple as Pescall tried to secure his position by sending gifts and bribes to Thomas Cromwell, leading Bishop Longland to resort to "harassing" the Abbot by constantly interfering with affairs at the abbey. Abbot Pescall finally resigned 5 years later (10 years after his "failures" were first noticed) and was granted a pension of £100 a year. Pescall's retirement was far from quiet, however. Pescall frequently wrote to Thomas Cromwell complaining about affairs at the abbey, even bemoaning the fact that £13 of his undeservedly generous pension of £100 a year was being taken in tax, and asking that the tax be paid by the abbey.
It was during Abbot Pescall's tenure, in 1530, that Cardinal Thomas Wolsey visited the abbey. Wolsey was an influential minister in the government of King Henry VIII. He fell from favour after failing to secure papal permission for Henry to divorce his wife Catherine of Aragon, and on 4 November 1530 was arrested for treason. While en route from Yorkshire to London, where Wolsey would be held prisoner, he fell ill. The journey took Wolsey through Leicester, and he arrived at the abbey on 26 November, declaring: "Father abbott, I ame come hether to leave my bones among you". Wolsey died on 30 November and the public were allowed to view his remains before he was interred within the abbey's church.
By the time Pescall was removed, the abbey's financial position was poor: Despite being the richest monastery in Leicestershire (with an income of £951 in 1534), it owed a total of £1,000 to debtors. John Bourchier, who would be the last abbot of the house, took control in 1534 and by 1538 had reduced the debt to £411. Abbots were usually elected from among the canons of the abbey: Bourchier represented a departure from tradition. Bourchier most probably gained the position of abbot on the instigation of the influential Robert Fuller, Abbot of Waltham Abbey, and on the promise of a bribe for Henry VIII's chief adviser, Thomas Cromwell. Exact details are unknown, but letters seem to suggest Cromwell was promised his nephew Richard Williams (Cromwell) would be given £100 and the lease of the abbey's grange at Ingarsby; the promise was only honoured in April 1536, as Bourchier faced opposition from the canons of the abbey. Historians have suggested that in choices such as Bourchier, Cromwell may have been selecting abbots he felt would be more "pliable" his future changes to the church (i.e. the future Dissolution of the Monasteries, of which Cromwell was the architect).
In 1527 King Henry VIII asked Pope Clement VII to annul his marriage to Katherine of Aragon, but the pope refused. This started a series of events known as English Reformation in which Henry broke away from the authority of the pope. In lieu of the pope, Henry assumed authority over the church: all priests and religious figures, including monks, were required to swear support to the royal supremacy over the church. Abbot Bourchier and the 25 canons at Leicester Abbey acknowledged the king's royal supremacy on 11 August 1534, thereby saving the abbey from immediate dissolution.