Tewkesbury Abbey

A Bit of History…

A former Norman Benedictine monastery, Tewkesbury Abbey is now a parish church. Tewkesbury had been a centre for worship since the 7th century, with a monastic settlement on this site long before the Norman conquest, as Benedictine monks settled here as early as the early-8th century.

In the year 1087, William the Conqueror gave some land in Tewkesbury to his cousin, Robert Fitzhamon, to build an abbey, and work began in 1102 on what would become the present building. In the year 1121, the abbey was near completion and was consercrated by the Bishop of Worcester assisted by four other bishops.

In 1471 at the Battle of Tewkesbury, which was a pivotal battle in the Wars of the Roses, the Lancastrian army, led by the Prince of Wales, Lord Wenlock and the Duke of Somerset, was defeated by the Yorkists led by Edward IV, Richard of Gloucester (the future King Richard III) and George, Duke of Clarence. Some of the defeated Lancastrians sought sanctuary in the abbey, the victorious Yorkists forced their way in, and the resulting bloodshed caused the building to be closed temporarily until it could be purified and re-consecrated.

In 1540 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the abbey was dissolved and all its valuables seized and placed in Henry VIII‘s coffers. Most of the monastery buildings were lost, but the abbey church survived after being saved by the townspeople of Tewkesbury. The abbey was purchased by the townspeople for £453 to become their parish church.

There are many chapels and tombs inside the abbey, and one of them is the tomb of the abbey’s founder; William the Conqueror’s cousin, Robert Fitzhamon.

Tewkesbury Abbey is considered one of the finest examples of Norman architecture in Britain, and has the largest Romanesque crossing tower in Europe.