Thornton Abbey facts for kids
Thornton Abbey is an amazing old ruin in North Lincolnshire, England. It was once a very important monastery (a place where religious people live and work together). Today, it's famous for its huge gatehouse, which is the biggest and most impressive one left from a monastery in England. This special place is a Grade I listed building, meaning it's super important historically.
The abbey was started in 1139 as a priory (a smaller type of monastery) by William le Gros, who was the Earl of Yorkshire. It became a full abbey in 1148, approved by Pope Eugene III. It was home to Augustinian or black canons. These were priests who lived together under the Rule of St Augustine (a set of rules for their daily life). They also helped people outside the abbey. Important jobs inside the abbey included a cellarer (who managed food), a bursar (who handled money), and a kitchener (who cooked). There was even a medieval hospital near the abbey, helping the sick from at least 1322.
Thornton Abbey became very rich and important because it was involved in the growing wool trade in the area. By 1534, it had a large yearly income of about £591. However, in 1539, King Henry VIII closed the abbey as part of the Dissolution of the Monasteries. This was when many monasteries in England were shut down. Thornton Abbey managed to stay open for a little longer by becoming a "secular college" (a place for priests who didn't live under strict monastic rules), but it was finally closed in 1547.
You can find Thornton Abbey railway station nearby today.
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What Happened to Thornton Abbey?
After the abbey closed, its land and buildings were owned by many different people. These included Henry Randes (a bishop), Sir Robert Tyrwhitt, Sir Vincent Skinner, and Sir Robert Sutton. In 1816, Charles, 1st Baron Yarborough became the owner.
In 1859, a group called the Lincoln Diocesan Architectural Society visited the site. They learned that people had been damaging the ruins, so access had become limited.
In 1938, Sackville Pelham, 5th Earl of Yarborough gave the care of the abbey ruins to HM Office of Works. Today, English Heritage looks after Thornton Abbey, and it's open for people to visit. You usually need to book your visit ahead of time.
Amazing Buildings at Thornton Abbey
The first abbey building, built in the 1100s, was in the Romanesque style. Sadly, none of it remains above ground. The later abbey, built in the 1200s and 1300s, was in the Early Gothic style. Not much of this building is left either, except for three walls of the chapter house (where monks met) and part of the cloister (an open area surrounded by covered walkways). However, you can still see the outline of where the abbey buildings once stood on the ground.
The most exciting part of Thornton Abbey is its huge gatehouse. It's one of the earliest large buildings in England to be made mostly of brick. The gatehouse is two stories tall and is still standing strong. It doesn't have many windows, and the rooms inside are small because the walls are so thick! On the outside, above the main gate, you can see three almost life-size statues. A bridge over a moat (a ditch filled with water) leads to the gatehouse. This bridge also has strong walls and garderobes (old-fashioned toilets).
The Abbot's Lodge, a building nearby, is also a Grade I listed building. Some parts of the original monastic buildings were changed into a house in the 1600s, but it collapsed when it was finished.
Digging Up the Past
For a long time, Thornton Abbey wasn't fully explored by archaeologists, even though it was a big and important site. That changed in 2007 when English Heritage started a research program. Then, from 2011 to 2016, the University of Sheffield's Department of Archaeology carried out excavations, led by Dr. Hugh Willmott.
In 2013, these excavations made an amazing discovery: a Black Death plague pit in the cemetery of the abbey's hospital! This pit contained the remains of at least 48 people, including 27 children. Scientists were able to get DNA from the remains, and it tested positive for Yersinia pestis, the bacteria that caused the Black Death. This was the first time a mass grave from the Black Death had been found in a rural area of Britain, not just in a city. Dr. Willmott said it showed "the real difficulties faced by a small community ill-prepared to face such a devastating threat."
Important People Buried Here
- William le Gros, 1st Earl of Albemarle (who founded the abbey)
- Aveline de Montfichet, wife of William de Forz, 3rd Earl of Albemarle
