Above-The 12th Century Infirmary at Wenlock Abbey circa 1950
Today, as I watched Notre Dame cathedral in Paris burn, I realised that my assumptions about the burning of Much Wenlock Priory and other Abbeys in Britain at the time of the reformation were obviously completely wrong! If the Priory Church been torched to bring down the roof, (as I had always understood), it is certain that most, if not all the town, (which at that time was mainly built of wood with thatched roofs), would have been set alight! Additionally, no traces of fire damage appear on the Prior’s house or the 12th century Infirmary. They have continued to be used as a private home till today!
There could not have been wanton destruction but rather a very sophisticated and orderly recycling (or re-purposing if you prefer) process much as would happen today with unwanted structures!
It was time to find out what really happened and how! Mumford’s ‘Wenlock in the Middle Ages’ proved to be very informative! (Alas, although the Internet has something to say about everything it is often sadly lacking in the finer details that bring history alive!) In this case it seems that the whole process was well planned and efficiently executed!
On January 26th, 1539 Abbot John Bailey and his monks met for the last time in the Old Chapter House to surrender Wenlock Priory to the King. Incidentally, Shrewsbury Abbey (of Cadfael fame) signed the act of surrender only a few days before Wenlock.
The whole process of closure appears to have been an excellent example of a well-run project with no recorded confrontation either with the Monks or the town. In fact, many of the townspeople probably benefited from the large amount of casual labour required.
All the monks were given a pension and new employment in one of the small country churches. Pensions and/or Annuities were provided for the servants and many other associates.
John Scudamore was appointed to be Receiver General for the King and John Bradshaw of Ludlow was granted the lease to oversee the disposal of the assets etc. In today’s world he would have been a CEO of a Recycling Corporation!
Hugh Morrall, (my Ancestor) was Bailiff for the Abbey and oversaw the closure and departure of the Monks to their new posts in the various small Churches around. Hugh continued working as bailiff for the King and subsequent owners and was probably the site manager for the recycling process.
All gold, silver or jewelled ornaments were dispatched to the Tower of London Jewel House. Then the furnishings and outlying buildings (excluding the Priory itself) were put up for sale. Five of the great bells were sold to St. Peter’s Church in Wolverhampton. Wenlock itself managed to buy 3 of the bells for the Parish Church.
Only the need to harvest the precious lead roofing remained. This operation required the expert, Henry Johnstone! It is amusing to think that Henry was a Frenchman, employed by the British to salvage lead needed to make cannonballs for the war with France!
It was probably a simple though dangerous Job which entailed severing the roof timbers from their supporting walls and watching the whole roof collapse into the nave. When the dust settled the wood provided fuel for the great fires used to melt the lead and collect it into ingots suitable for transport. The whole process must have taken many days and left the nave and surrounding walls blackened!
But at last the workers departed and the dust settled!
Wenlock was left with a wonderful source of quarried stone which was to provide prime cheap building material for the construction of rows of limestone cottages all around the town. Gradually over the centuries the Priory Church floor was cleared back to ground level and the green lawns we see today were created.
Today the old Priory enjoys a new life as a tourist attraction drawing visitors from all over the World! Will it be re-purposed /reinvented again? Probably! But that is for future generations to decide.
If you want to learn more a Google search for Wenlock Abbey will bring up multiple sites with lots of pictures of the ruins. They are currently managed by English Heritage and open to the Public.