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Minster Abbey

Memorials	:	247
Location	:	Minster on Sea, Swale Borough, England
Coordinate	:	51.4219320, 0.8119580
Description	:	Minster Abbey or, to give it its full title, The Abbey Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Sexburga, occupies the highest hilltop position on the otherwise flat Isle of Sheppey in Kent and has been a place of worship for over 1,400 years. Founded as a Benedictine nunnery by the widowed Queen Sexburgha in 664, it was endowed with land given by her son Ercombert, King of Kent. With no stone on the island the building material was hewn at Boughton Monchelsea and brought down the River Medway and the Swale. Examples of early Saxon stone and Roman tiles,... Read More	Minster Abbey or, to give it its full title, The Abbey Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Sexburga, occupies the highest hilltop position on the otherwise flat Isle of Sheppey in Kent and has been a place of worship for over 1,400 years. Founded as a Benedictine nunnery by the widowed Queen Sexburgha in 664, it was endowed with land given by her son Ercombert, King of Kent. With no stone on the island the building material was hewn at Boughton Monchelsea and brought down the River Medway and the Swale. Examples of early Saxon stone and Roman tiles, (from an earlier Roman outpost of the garrison at Reculver which earlier occupied this hilltop,) can also be found in the walls of the St Sexburgha chapel. Three still functioning wells from the priory are located by the Gatehouse, under a shop in Minster High Street and in the garden of a house in the adjacent Falcon Gardens. The priory was badly damaged, but not destroyed, by Danish Vikings in the ninth century and was further damaged in the 11th century. Following the Norman invasion of 1066, King William the Conqueror partly rebuilt the church and priory and allowed nuns from Newington to take up residence. It remained impoverished, though, until Archbishop de Corbeuil rebuilt it between 1123 and 1139. He is credited with the unusual arrangement of two adjacent churches with the northern church for the nuns and the southern for the parishioners. It is thought curtains were originally hung to cover the arches which separate the two churches. The stone for the Norman part of the church was imported from Caen from the same quarry that provided the stone for Canterbury Cathedral. During the Dissolution of the Monasteries by Henry VIII, the two adjacent churches led directly to the saving of the Abbey church. Because the two churches shared a common wall and were linked by arches in the wall, the Abbey church was spared the destruction wrought on the rest of the Abbey Following the Dissolution, the abbey came into the ownership of Sir Thomas Cheyne (or Cheney) and he was first buried in the now lost chapel of Saint Katherine on this site in 1559. Most of the Abbey was eventually demolished except for the church and the adjacent Abbey Gatehouse. The gatehouse survived because it was used as a private residence and now contains an interesting local history museum. The church has an interesting array of monuments displaying English armour from the 14th to the 16th centuries. The earliest is Baron Robert de Shurland (died 1327) who reclines on an altar tomb on the southside. At his feet is the head of his horse, Grey Dolphin. According to local legend, Sir Robert killed a monk and resolved to ask the King for a pardon. In 1326, he rode to where the King's ship was anchored, off the Isle of Sheppey, and rode out through the water to gain forgiveness from the King. Returning, he met a witch who said that de Shurland's horse, Grey Dolphin, which had borne him so bravely to the ship, would be the death of him. Sir Robert immediately killed the horse and cut off its head. A year later Sir Robert was walking along the shore when a shard of the horse's bone pierced his foot. Blood poisoning set in and Sir Robert died, killed by his horse as predicted by the witch. In the arches between the two churches is the final resting place of Sir Thomas Cheyne KG (1485-1558). As Sherriff of Kent from 1516, and Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports from 1536, until his death, (a position he held through the reigns of all five of the Tudor monarchs), he became one of the most powerful men in the South-East of England. For many years he served as Treasurer of the Household for Henry VIII and remarkably retained this post under Mary I. In the north-east corner of the northern aisle there is the effigy of a man dressed in high Gothic armour from the late 15th century. Some sources suggest it might be Sir Hugh de Badlesemere, a Yorkist soldier who fought in the War of the Roses. However, others say that it might be George, 1st Duke of Clarence, as George was constable of nearby Queenborough Castle. Supposedly executed at the Tower of London by drowning in a Butt of Malmsley, there is evidence, though, that George was buried with his wife in Tewksbury. The effigy is of very high quality and clearly reflects wealth, but all the shields and heraldry have been hacked off, which might suggest Tudor vandalism of a supposed Yorkist tomb. This could support the 'Clarence' theory, but the effigy also rests with his feet on a curly haired ram and not a bull - the bull badge being traditionally associated with George, Duke of Clarence. The famous de Northwode brasses lie between the choir stalls in the chancel of the main church. They are normally uncovered and are usually available for the public to view. Full size replicas of the brasses can also be found either side of the war memorial under the organ in the Northern aisle, and 1970 rubbings are mounted on the wall by the entry door to the vestry and tower. The brasses date from about 1330, and are notable for the details of armour and female dress of the period. There are only three other earlier brasses in the country which show female attire of this period.

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Minster Abbey is located at High St Street Minster on Sea, Swale Borough ,Kent , ME12 3QDEngland.
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5 memorials
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Latitude: 51.4219320
Longitude: 0.8119580

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Nearby Cemetories:

1. Ss Mary and Sexburga New Churchyard
Minster on Sea, Swale Borough, England
Coordinate: 51.4235540, 0.8098720

2. Sheppey Cemetery
Sheerness, Swale Borough, England
Coordinate: 51.4232780, 0.7718320

3. All Saints Churchyard
Eastchurch, Swale Borough, England
Coordinate: 51.4068909, 0.8574320

4. Holy Trinity Churchyard
Queenborough, Swale Borough, England
Coordinate: 51.4174080, 0.7443560

5. St Clement Churchyard
Leysdown, Swale Borough, England
Coordinate: 51.3970440, 0.9066620

6. All Saints Churchyard
Iwade, Swale Borough, England
Coordinate: 51.3787920, 0.7306550

7. St James Churchyard
Grain, Medway Unitary Authority, England
Coordinate: 51.4585991, 0.7173300

8. Holy Trinity Churchyard
Milton Regis, Swale Borough, England
Coordinate: 51.3556700, 0.7401300

9. St Giles Churchyard
Tonge, Swale Borough, England
Coordinate: 51.3424640, 0.7757790

10. St Mary Churchyard
Teynham, Swale Borough, England
Coordinate: 51.3377640, 0.8213570

11. St Thomas the Apostle Churchyard
Harty, Swale Borough, England
Coordinate: 51.3598251, 0.9045590

12. Garden of England Crematorium
Bobbing, Swale Borough, England
Coordinate: 51.3595330, 0.7179190

13. Murston Cemetery
Sittingbourne, Swale Borough, England
Coordinate: 51.3424700, 0.7527100

14. Deerton Natural Burial Ground
Teynham, Swale Borough, England
Coordinate: 51.3344460, 0.8297850

15. St. Bartholomew's Churchyard
Bobbing, Swale Borough, England
Coordinate: 51.3537600, 0.7101420

16. St. Laurence's Churchyard
Bapchild, Swale Borough, England
Coordinate: 51.3330520, 0.7655020

17. St Mary Churchyard
Luddenham, Swale Borough, England
Coordinate: 51.3324180, 0.8586720

18. Holy Trinity Church
Sittingbourne, Swale Borough, England
Coordinate: 51.3416000, 0.7316000

19. St Peter's Churchyard
Oare, Swale Borough, England
Coordinate: 51.3335910, 0.8804350

20. St Margaret of Antioch Churchyard
Lower Halstow, Swale Borough, England
Coordinate: 51.3752975, 0.6711660

21. Sittingbourne Cemetery
Sittingbourne, Swale Borough, England
Coordinate: 51.3345300, 0.7348000

22. St. Nicholas Churchyard
Rodmersham, Swale Borough, England
Coordinate: 51.3227780, 0.7627730

23. St Mary Churchyard
Norton, Swale Borough, England
Coordinate: 51.3149750, 0.8221900

24. St. Andrew the Apostle Churchyard
Shoeburyness, Southend-on-Sea Unitary Authority, England
Coordinate: 51.5273210, 0.7801570

Minster Abbey

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