Bourne Abbey

An abbey existed in Bourne long before the present church was built and the most extensive account of its existence comes from John T Swift in his book Bourne and People associated with Bourne which he published in 1925 although only a handful of copies survive. This is an extract which has been faithfully reproduced although I have made small editorial amendments to make it more accessible to the modern reader.

THERE IS SAID to have been an old Saxon Benedictine Abbey in Bourne, built by the son of the pagan Penda, who on the death of that stern old warrior, became a Christian and did all in his power to extend Christianity in his kingdom, but nothing is known of this foundation which was no doubt destroyed when Bourne was burned by the Danes. The abbey we do know about was erected by Baldwin FitzGilbert, and it was occupied by monks of the Augustine Order.

Baldwin endowed the abbey with much property; the church of Bourne, some land in the fields of the town; the churches of Helpringham, Morton, East and West Deeping, Barholm, Stowe, Thrapston, Fletcham, Skillington and Eastwick. He gave them land in Spanby, his fisheries in Bourne Marsh, a fishpond near the church, and Goodwin the fisherman with his house and land. He gave also the tithe of his mi1ls, and rents of Bourne and Morton, the tithe of his wool to make their garments and the tithe of the deer hides killed in hunting. These gifts were supplemented by his daughter, who married Sir Hugh Wake, and by their son Baldwin Wake, who gave six pints of wine on St Peter's Day and three pints on the following day. Hugh Wake also gave thirteen pints of wine yearly for the use of the altar.

Baldwin Wake also gave them two faggots of wood every day from Bourne Wood "such as a man might carry on his back composed of large branches." Some years afterwards, these grants and gifts became a cause of dispute between the abbot and the owner of the castle. They could not agree about the reading of some of the awards and so on the visit of Edward III to Bourne in 1330, these differences were submitted to him and his arbitration asked for. The award of the king was given in favour of the abbey but in the future, was to take the form of a money payment instead of in kind.

But although a monastery is supposed to be a place of peace and harmony, there were often ripples and storms in our abbey. Sometimes it was from the outside that the excitement came. There were occasional disputes with the people of the town, and sometimes these disputes ended in blows in which the canons did not always come off best, for in the year 1309 the abbot writes to the Bishop of Lincoln complaining "that the seculars of Bourne had committed violence upon one of his canons." Sometimes differences of opinion occurred among the inhabitants of the monastery themselves, and were not always settled by spiritual means, but passions getting the mastery, blows would be used instead of prayers.

In 1368, one of the canons sent a petition to the Pope, complaining of injuries received from his own abbot, and asking for permission to be transferred to another house. Again, sometimes our monks were too friendly with the people of Bourne, and spent too much of their time in frivolity and pleasure, for again in the year 1440, the prior complained to the Bishop “that his monks drank too much with their friends." Sometimes the quiet of the monastery was destroyed, and the repose of its inhabitants broken by a few refractory members, for in 1515 when the Bishop of Lincoln visited Peterborough, a sad complaint was brought before him of the evil consequences produced by the existence of a tavern close by the monastery, which tempted some of the fraternity to visit it with too much frequency, and by the noise of their singing and dancing, proving a nuisance to their more staid brethren.

In the year 1341, a shadow fell over the abbey, for then for some reason, Simon de Watton, the abbot, was ex-communicated by the Bishop of Lincoln. But the abbot was very obstinate, and would not heed the voice of his Bishop, defied him, refused to conform to his demands or accept his dictation. The Bishop, finding his spiritual power ineffective, had to apply to the king for aid and sent the following petition:

Petition forwarded to the King by John Buckingham, Bishop. February 7th, 1348. Sayeth that Simon of Watton, abbot of Bourne, had been duly cited to a sentence of ex-communication, but that he had preserved with hardened heart, despising the Keys of the Church. The Bishop therefore prays the King's magnificence that he would deign to extend the aid of the secular arm to repress the obstinency of the said sinner for the well governing of the church and realm.

To this petition the king gave his consent.

In the Hundred Rolls, it is noted that Everadus Cuts held an Assise of bread and beer.

It was in Bourne Abbey that the Deed was drawn up granting a site in Grimsthorpe Park to a group of monks from Fountains Abbey. This deed is still in existence and on it is an impression of the seal of Bourne Abbey (Peter holding the keys).

During the early part of the 16th century, there was great trouble in the Church of England. King Henry VIII, owing to the refusal of the Pope to grant him a divorce from his Queen, Catherine of Aragon, decided to separate the English Church from Rome, to dissolve the religious houses and institutions connected with the papal regime, and to become himself head of the English Church.

Although the ending of the connection with Rome must have been a terrible thing for the monks at Bourne, they did their best to save their abbey, going so far as to renounce the Roman Church and accept the King as their head instead of the Pope, and they petitioned the King as follows:

John Small, by God's patience, abbot of Bourne. and the canons there, with one voice and unanimous assent, bind themselves and their successors to render perfect inviolable, sincere and perpetual fidelity, observance and obedience to their Sovereign Lord King Henry, and to the Queen Anne, his wife, and the offspring begotten or to be begotten of the said Anne, and they would hold, and will ever hold that the aforesaid King Henry is the head of the English Church, and that the Bishop of Rome is not to be regarded as having any greater dignity than any Bishop. Signed by John Small, abbot; Thomas Bourne, prior; James Aslackby, precentor; Rohert Haxey, Edward Bedford, Robert Baston, Thomas Swallow, William Gainsborough, Robert Boston and Edward Edenham.

But it was no use. The commissioners of Sir Thomas Cromwell came to Bourne, headed by one John Freeman. They took the lead off the roof of the abbey, melted it down, leaving the walls standing, which, owing to their strength would have been very costly to demolish. So came to an end the old abbey of Bourne, erected with high hopes and high ideals, and with a definite religious purpose. It did its work for many years, helping the poor, the aged and the sick. It was for some time a blessing to the people, but as the years passed by, the religious fervour died away, and its work ended. Nothing now remains of the old building, the last part of it disappearing about the year 1880, when the large kitchen and cookhouse were taken down.

But the men of Bourne and Lincolnshire did not take these great changes without protest. They sent a petition to the King, asking that their religious houses might be spared, and then, when they found their petition and efforts were useless, tried stronger measures. Sir John Thimbleby, a large landowner then living in Bourne, called upon the people of the town to join him in resistance to the action of the king in forcing on them these great religious changes, especially the closing of their abbeys and monasteries.

Many of the inhabitants of Bourne volunteered to fight for their old faith; others joined the rebels because they dared do no other. Sir John called upon his tenants and told them that if they did not go with him, he would burn down their houses and destroy their homes, so perforce they had to go.

But this was not done without the king knowing what was taking place. Richard Cromwell, writing to his uncle, Sir Thomas Cromwell, says: “At Bourne only 7 miles from here (Stamford), resided Sir John Thimbleby, the great traitor, who, hearing the approach of the commissioners, had assembled all his tenants, threatening to burn the houses of all who did not go with him, had passed the night at Sleaford, and joined the rebels on Lincoln Heath." On October 9th, Russell, another of the commissioners, writes to the King: “They have left Bourne under one of your own servants, about 100 strong."

When the Bourne men reached Lincoln, they found about 20,000 men assembled on the heath, and so formidable did they appear, that the commander of the Royal force thought it best to negotiate rather than risk a battle, so, after discussion, a memorial was drawn up and sent to the King, stating the reason for this rising against him, and saying how much they objected to the suppression of the religious houses. The reply of the King was characteristic of bluff King Henry: “How presumptuous of ye, rude commoners of one shire, and that the most brutal of the whole realm, to dictate to your Prince how he shall govern." He flatly refused to entertain their petition and advised them to give up their ringleaders and leave governing to him.

This bluster of the King appears to have frightened our Lincolnshire men: they at once dispersed and our Bourne people came home again, sadder, and, we hope, wiser men. Fifteen of the local leaders of the rebellion came to Bourne and spent the night at Sir John Thimbleby's house, and the next day waited on the Lord Lieutenant of the county and surrendered themselves.

The king sent instructions to his officers to entertain Thimbleby "in such sort, that others might see that he mindeth nothing less than their destruction, unless they continue in the rebellion." Suffolk was to keep Thimbleby with him, and promise him "both to be harmless at his hands, and to be suitor for him to the king, if he could indeed serve him in the suppression of the rebellion." So we see our Bourne leader captive in the king's hands, and trying to serve the king by helping to undo the rebellion of which he was one of the originators.

For a long time we were unable to trace the house in which Sir John Thimbleby lived but a few years ago, the Trollope Bedehouses [in South Street] were sold, when the new owner, digging up the garden, came upon the foundations of what must have been a large mansion. Walls two to three feet thick, extending from the churchyard, and apparently passing under Cavalry House and also there are in the bedehouses some very massive fireplaces, which may have been part of this old mansion; this we think, may have been the house to which Sir John Thimbleby brought the crestfallen leaders of this rebellion.

This old mansion was probably demolished when the Red Hall was built about 1601.

NOTE: Subsequent research has established that Sir John Thimbleby never lived in Bourne.

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