Beauchief Abbey: a timeline

Following my visit to Beauchief Abbey yesterday, I decided to find out more about the site and its history.

(NB There seems to be some disagreement about dates, especially during the early history of the abbey.)

From 1172 or 1183 onwards
Beauchief Abbey is founded by Robert FitzRanulf de Alfreton.

The abbey was part of the Premonstratensian order and like other Premonstratensian orders was small, although the abbey at Beauchief was one of the smallest in the country with an abbot and approximately 12 canons. It was not an enclosed order, the canons are likely to have been ordained and to have acted as priests for local churches. The abbey may have been dedicated to St Thomas a Beckett, his image appears on one of the abbey's seals.

The layout of the abbey is subject to some conjecture, but it is believed to have contained a range of monastic buildings including a church, cloister garth and chapter house. The photograph below is taken from the information board on the site and shows the likely layout of the original abbey.

The abbey also controlled a large area of land, including several mills, farms and some industries including iron smelting. The land controlled by the abbey expanded over the years and included property as far afield as Hathersage and Chesterfield.

1537
Dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII forces the abbot, John Sheffield, to surrender Beauchief Abbey and its property to the crown. A large area of the estate was purchased by Sir Nicholas Strelley.

1648
Edward Pegge married Gertrude Strelley, heiress to the Strelley family's property, starting Beauchief Abbey's association with the Pegge family.

1671
Edward Pegge built Beauchief Hall. Some of the stone used in the building was taken from the ruined sections of the abbey.

1727
Samuel and Nathaniel Buck create an engraving of the abbey, this is the earliest image that still survives. At this point the tower is still at its original full height, with a belfry and pinnacles. The wall contains arches which are believed to be those either side of the present day building. This picture of the engraving was photographed from the information board on the site.

Between 1820 and 1827
Two stone arches are moved from their original positions to the current positions on either side of the tower.

1923
Mr Frank Crawshaw purchases the abbey and much of the surrounding land from descendants of the Strelley and Pegge families. Some of the land was later sold for housing development.

1923-1926
Excavations are carried out at the site, with the support of the owner, Frank Crawshaw. Most of the work is done by boys from the King Edward VII School under the supervision of Mr W.H. Elgar, a master at the school.

1931
Beauchief Abbey and the surrounding land is presented to Sheffield Corporation.

1996
The Abbeydale Brewery opens and uses Beauchief Abbey as the inspiration for its logo

Logo © Abbeydale Brewery

2007
Beauchief Abbey remains open to visitors and is still in use for Evensong and Holy Communion services.

Beauchief Abbey is now a scheduled ancient monument.

*Beauchief is pronounced locally as Bee-chiff

Links:
A 360 degree tour of the Abbey
My Flickr photos
(Very limited) visitor information from Sheffield Council's Website

nb the exterior is freely accessible and no prior booking is required. There is some on street car parking nearby. Wheelchair access is very limited, there is a path to the main door, but most of the site is grassed and the ground is soft and somewhat uneven. We did spot a homemade (wood and chicken wire) ramp for disabled access to the interior!
Information leaflet about the Abbey
Wikipedia: History of Beauchief Abbey
Development of Abbeydale Brewery's Ruined Abbey Logo


Sources:
Information board at the Beauchief Abbey site
Information leaflet about the Abbey
Wikipedia: History of Beauchief Abbey
Development of Abbeydale Brewery's Ruined Abbey Logo

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Originally published here on my main blog http://three-legged-cat.blogspot.com/

Comments on the original post

Not totally ruined after all

Looking back the clues were there all along, I just didn't notice them. There is a brown and white road sign on Abbey Lane to direct the way. The sign points down Beauchief* Abbey Lane. There's even a section on the council's website for goodness sake.

Clearly my powers of observation are somewhat lacking.

I've known for years that there used to be an abbey in Sheffield, I even knew it was in the Abbeydale area (which is hardly surprising really). What I didn't know, until very recently, was that it is still there, or at least parts of it are. I was under the impression that only a few bits of mossy stone remained to show where an abbey had been. I was wrong (but there's nothing unusual about that).

I can't remember who it was that told me that the abbey was ruined, but they were only partially correct. The tower and most of the nave from the original abbey are still standing and the current building is still in use as a chapel. On either side of the tower are two stone arches, believed to have been relocated from their original positions in an adjoining wall in the original structure. Unfortunately we weren't able to explore inside the chapel, as it was closed, but it does open for weekly services.

The other parts of the abbey really are just ruins, but the original building has left a carefully preserved footprint. There are low walls still visible showing where the cloisters and stores once were; a curved section and the bases of two pillars mark the likely site of the chapter house.

The churchyard has an air of quiet shabbiness with its tumbledown graves, old tombs and soft mossy grass. However the mystical charm of the place was spoiled a little by the sight of golfers from the neighbouring course trundling past from time to time!

It's only a small site, so on a clear wintry day like today, with very few other people around, it was possible to stand back and imagine stepping back in time to see how the area used to look. I don't know why, but I love ecclesiastical architecture, so the chance to spend some time quietly contemplating this little bit of Sheffield's history was a real treat for me.

*Beauchief is pronounced locally as Bee-chiff

Links:
A 360 degree tour of the Abbey
My Flickr photos
(Very limited) visitor information from Sheffield Council's Website
nb the exterior is freely accessible and no prior booking is required. There is some on street car parking nearby. Wheelchair access is very limited, there is a path to the main door, but most of the site is grassed and the ground is soft and somewhat uneven. We did spot a homemade (wood and chicken wire) ramp for disabled access to the interior!
Information leaflet about the Abbey
Wikipedia: History of Beauchief Abbey

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Originally published here on my main blog http://three-legged-cat.blogspot.com/
Comments on the original post