Delapré Abbey
Delapré Abbey is a Cluniac abbey for nuns founded around 1145 on the River Nene south of Northampton in England .
history
The abbey, which was one of two Cluniac nunneries in England directly under the Cluny Abbey, was founded by Simon II of Senlis, a Norman nobleman who was also involved in the founding of the Cistercian monastery at Sawley Abbey . It was fortified with a domain in the Hardingstone area and received patronage over the churches in Earls Barton, Great Doddington and Fotheringhay, and later also in Wollaston (Northamptonshire) and Filgrave. The Battle of Northampton took place on the abbey grounds in 1460. The monastery was withdrawn from the Crown in 1538 and left to John Mershe. It was then used for residential purposes, from 1542 to 1764 by the Tate family, then by Edward Bouverie. In 1940 it was confiscated by the War Office , which in the post-war period was used for archives for the county of Northamptonshire. The buildings are currently unused.
Plant and buildings
Most of the existing buildings were erected in the 18th century, partly using the medieval walls of the nave in the north from the late 12th and early 13th centuries. The chapter house was replaced by the kitchen in the 17th century. The landscape architecture is influenced by Capability Brown . Victorian elements and a ha-ha were added in the 19th century .
On the edge of the abbey grounds stands the Eleanor Cross at Hardingstone.
literature
- Nikolaus Pevsner : The Buildings of England - Northamptonshire . (2nd ed.). Penguin Books, ISBN 0-300-09632-1
- Anthony New: A guide to the abbeys of England and Wales , 1985: Constable, London, pp. 137-139, ISBN 0-09-463520-X
- Colin Spears: Delapré Abbey , ISBN 978-0-9553692-0-9
Web links
- British History Online - House of Cluniac Nuns - The Abbey of Delapré
Coordinates: 52 ° 13 ′ 29 ″ N , 0 ° 53 ′ 22 ″ W.