Basingwerk Abbey - Medieval History

Medieval History

The abbey was founded in 1132 by Ranulph de Gernon, 2nd Earl of Chester, who brought Benedictine monks from Savigny Abbey in southern Normandy. In 1147, the abbey became part of the Cistercian Order and therefore a daughter house of Buildwas Abbey in Shropshire. Earlier on, they had received the manor of West Kirby from the Earls of Chester. In 1157, the abbey was given the manor of Glossop in Derbyshire by King Henry II. The hilltop Monks' Road and the Abbot's Chair in Glossop is a reminder of the monks' efforts to administer their possession. They gained a market charter for Glossop in 1290, and one for Charlesworth in 1328. In the 13th century, the abbey was under the patronage of Llywelyn the Great, Prince of Gwynedd, and his son Dafydd ap Llywelyn gave St Winefride's Well to the abbey. The monks harnessed the power of the Holywell stream to run a corn mill and to treat the wool from their sheep. In 1433, the monks leased all of Glossopdale, Derbyshire, to the Talbot family, later Earls of Shrewsbury.