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Elstow Abbey was a monastery for Benedictine nuns in Elstow, Bedfordshire, England. It was founded c.1075 by Judith, Countess of Huntingdon, a niece of William the Conqueror, and therefore is classed as a royal foundation. [1] [2]
Shaftesbury Abbey was an abbey that housed nuns in Shaftesbury, Dorset. It was founded in about 888, and dissolved in 1539 during the English Reformation by the order of Thomas Cromwell, minister to King Henry VIII. At the time it was the second-wealthiest nunnery in England, behind only Syon Abbey. [1]
The Bar Convent is England's oldest living convent, still home to a resident community of sisters (who belong to the Congregation of Jesus). The Grade I listed buildings were widely renovated in 2015 and now house a museum exploring the history of the convent and the community, as well as a café, meeting rooms and a guest house.
Prior to 1214, as a "royal foundation", the abbesses of Barking had been chosen by the King. However, following pressure from the Pope, King John allowed the nuns to conduct elections to choose their abbess. The crown would later, however, claim they had the right to select a nun to join the abbey each time a new monarch acceded to the throne.
In July 1988 the community of nuns moved to a much smaller property in Curzon Park, Chester, where they also have a small retreat house. The main Abbey building is a converted late 19th Century mansion constructed mainly of red brick. A chapel was built on the Curzon Park Abbey site in 1997.
The nuns seem never to have reached high numbers. In 1395 there were 22; in 1445, 17 nuns with the right to vote; in 1473 only 14 nuns, while at the Dissolution there were a total of 17 members of the community, including 3 novices. The latter fact seems significant, since it suggests that the house was still attractive enough to be recruiting.
The Duke of Norfolk presented the land to the Carmelites and about twelve sisters came from the Most Holy Trinity Monastery, in London's Notting Hill where the facilities were overcrowded. £10,000 was spent on extending and fitting out the premises, with the work again being done by the architects Hadfields. A public chapel seating 150, new ...
It was first recorded in 1122 as an institution for nine nuns and a prioress - around the time of its Dissolution the priory's own tradition was that it had been founded by Maurice or Richard de Belmeis I, though the antiquarian John Leland believed it had been a co-foundation by William of London and William Roscelin.