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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