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Shropshire and the Norman Conquest |
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Ecclesiastical centre
Shrewsbury Abbey refectory pulpit |
Anyone familiar with Ellis Peter's monk-turned-sleuth Father Cadfael will know about Shrewsbury's ecclesiastical importance in the 11th Century. In 1083, Roger de Montgomery pledged to build an abbey in Shrewsbury. The site chosen is symbolic of the subjugation of the Anglo-Saxon ruling class, rather than choosing an unoccupied area, Roger decided to place it on the home of Siward, a wealthy and influential Ango-Saxon thegn. Siward's house advantageously also incorporated its own watermill, church and burial ground, and was positioned on the busiest roads into the town.
By 1087, Roger de Montgomery's pet-project had begun its life as a monastic centre. Much of the original building was destroyed during the Reformation in 1540. However, the Domesday Book reveals that the area given to the Abbey was a prosperous one; by locating the Abbey's grounds alongside the Rea Brook, Roger de Montgomery secured a guaranteed income, from milling, for the monks.
Unlike the majority of Norman monasteries, Shrewsbury Abbey was not aligned to a pre-existing religious house; it was Roger de Montgomery's own independent foundation. Only two others enjoyed this independent status: Battle Abbey, which was founded by William the Conqueror, and Chester, another chief town of an important earldom.
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