Abbots of larger monasteries were on a similar social status to a temporal lord – indeed there was every chance that they were the younger sons of the nobility. Their role within local and national society required that they should have quarters fit for entertaining their peers and if Cromwell’s list of misdeeds recorded by his commissioners during their Visitation of 1536 are anything to go by sufficient privacy to entertain numerous ladies of ill-repute.
Sometimes the abbot’s quarters were built into the west range above the cellarium (an undercroft where provisions were stored – think very large pantry). The abbot would have his own chapel, a hall for entertaining and two or three other rooms.
Elsewhere, and as time progressed, the abbot might expect to have his own separate dwelling – sometimes with a private necessarium as at Netley Abbey near Southampton (abbot’s lodging shown at the start of this paragraph). There is no particular rule as to where the lodgings might be. Cistercians tend to put their lodgings to the south of the cloister, though strictly speaking Cistercian abbots had no business being anywhere other than the dormitory with the rest of the monks. As well as a garderobe an abbot’s lodging might reasonably be expected to include a fireplace to warm distinguished guests, in some cases they had their own kitchen and stables. The fireplace shown at the opening at the post can be found at Monk Bretton Priory – the remnants of a Cluniac foundation. In Kirkstall a rather grand staircase led to the abbot’s lodging and at Fountains there was a monastic prison in the basement complete with three cells and means of restraining prisoners. At Fountains the abbot’s ‘modest dwelling’ underwent considerable expansion at the beginning of the sixteenth century on the orders of Abbot Huby who added an office and bay windows.
In Carlisle, which had a bishop so the abbot was technically a prior there was a pele tower where the prior and his officers could flee in the event of marauding Scots.
The abbot’s lodging often survived the dissolution of the monasteries in the guise of a manor house. In York the abbot’s lodging of St Mary’s Abbey was retained by Henry VIII and used during his visit north. It played host to King Charles I and is now part of the University of York.
A couple of ammplifications.
Netley Marsh is where Cerdic is reputed to have defeated Natanleod, just after his landing in the 500s. It’s my view that Cerdic was most likely a Breton from Domnonea, across the Channel from its sister state, Dumnonia (commonly identified with Devon, though its capital was at Winchester). A contemporary Breton ruler was named Budic. Conflicts between Britons were frequent at the time; Cerdic’s supposed to have found the not very imposing Gewisse tribe at Dorchester and offered to lead them to victory over all their rivals, and so Wessex was born.
Henry VIII re-established the Council of the North in 1539 and meetings were held (until the Council was abolished in1641) in St Mary’s former abbot’s house, now known as the “King’s Manor”.
Do you know what the large whole in the floor of the Abotts lodge is at Netley Abbey? It’s now covered over with some metal grating, it seems there isn’t a definitive answer to what it may be.
Sorry no I don’t know why. Is it safety related?
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