Denny Abbey facts for kids
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Denny Abbey is a very old former monastery near Waterbeach. It's about 6 miles north of Cambridge in Cambridgeshire, England. Today, it's known as the Farmland Museum and Denny Abbey.
This special place was home to three different religious orders over time. It is now a protected historical site. The main church and dining hall buildings are still standing. They are considered very important Grade I listed buildings. There's also a barn built in the 1600s using stones from the old abbey.
The area where Denny Abbey stands was used by farmers even in Roman times. It was on an old road between Cambridge and Ely. The Domesday Book from 1066 says that Edith the Fair, who was King Harold's partner, owned it. Later, a lord from Brittany named Alan, 1st Earl of Richmond owned it. The name "Denny" first appeared in records in 1176. It probably means "Danes' Island".
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Benedictine Monks at Denny Abbey
In the 1150s, a group of Benedictine monks moved here. They came from a very wet monastery at Elmeney, which is now gone. Conan IV, Duke of Brittany suggested they move. They built a church and monastery, which opened in 1159. It was called Denny Priory. Only parts of the original church, like the crossing and transepts, are left today. In 1169, the monks went back to Ely. The site was then given to the Knights Templar.
Knights Templar Take Over
The Knights Templar added new parts to the priory. This included a large arched doorway in the Norman style and a refectory (dining hall). By the mid-1200s, Denny became a hospital for sick members of the Knights Templar.
However, by the end of that century, the Knights Templar lost their power. In 1308, King Edward II had all the Knights arrested. He accused them of serious wrongdoings and took their property. Denny was then given to the Knights Hospitaller. But they didn't do much with the place. In 1324, the King took it back again.
Home for the Poor Clares Nuns
In 1327, King Edward III gave the Priory to a young widow. Her name was Marie de Châtillon, the Countess of Pembroke (1303-1377). She is famous for starting Pembroke College, Cambridge. Countess Marie changed the old Abbey church into her own home. She had a new church built for others. She then gave the rest of the priory to the Franciscan Poor Clares.
These nuns moved from their old home at Waterbeach Abbey, which often flooded. The priory grew during this time. It had comfortable rooms for the Countess, who never became a nun herself. The nuns had simple rooms. During this period, the priory started to be called Denny Abbey.
Countess Marie died in 1377. She was buried in the nuns' church at Denny Abbey. But no one knows the exact spot of her grave today.
Leaders of Denny Abbey
Here are some of the Abbesses (leaders) of Denny Abbey:
- Katherine de Bolewyk, the first abbess in 1342.
- Margaret, in 1361.
- Joan Colcestre, in 1379.
- Isabel Kendale, in 1391 and 1404.
- Agnes Massingham, chosen in 1412.
- Agnes Bernard, in 1413.
- Margery Milley, in 1419 and 1430-1.
- Katherine Sybyle, in 1434 and 1449.
- Joan Keteryche, in 1459, 1462, and died in 1479.
- Margaret Assheby, in 1480, 1487, and 1493.
- Elizabeth Throckmorton, the last abbess, in 1512. She later lived with her nephew George Throckmorton at Coughton Court. She took a special wooden gate from Denny Abbey with her. It had her name carved on it. You can still see it at Coughton Court.
Denny Abbey After the Monks and Nuns
Denny Abbey was closed in 1536. This happened during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The Crown took it over again. The last nuns left within two years.
The Abbess's lodge, which was built for the Countess, became a farmhouse. The Refectory became a barn. But the main part of the church (the nave) was pulled down. In 1628, the abbey became private property. John George Witt, a lawyer, was born at Denny Abbey in 1836. Pembroke College, Cambridge, which Countess Marie also founded, bought the site in 1928.
The Abbey buildings and land were still a farm until 1947. Then, they were leased to the Ministry of Works. This group later passed them to English Heritage. The abbey was partly fixed up in the 1960s. Now, it's open to the public. The Farmland Museum helps English Heritage manage the Abbey.
The Farmland Museum opened in 1997. It has a shop, a café, and a learning center. They run courses for local schools. Old farm buildings, like the 17th-century barn, now show local history and farming. You can see a 1940s farm worker's cottage and a 1930s village shop. There are also displays about old crafts and skills. Many old farm tools came from a museum in nearby Haddenham that closed. In the 1970s, people from Haddenham shared their farming stories from the early 1900s.
The whole site, called Farmland Museum and Denny Abbey, is open from April to October. They also have special event days regularly.
Note: The spellings Denny and Denney were both used in old books. But today, only "Denny" is used in the area.
