HOUSE OF CISTERCIAN MONKS
9. THE ABBEY OF BINDON (fn. 1)
A Cistercian abbey was built here in 1172 (fn. 2)
by Roger de Newburgh and Maud his wife, who
transferred to Great Bindon the earlier monastery which William de Glastonia and Maud his
wife had begun to build at a spot now identified
with Little Bindon. King John, by his charter,
confirmed to the monks the site of the abbey,
2 acres of land the gift of William de Glastonia,
2 virgates in Lulworth, the manor of 'Borton,'
the land of Nottington, the land of Wood Street
with the meadows adjoining, and half a hide of
land with pasture for 300 sheep in the manor of
Chaldon (Herring) the gift of Thomas Harang. (fn. 3)
The founder himself bestowed on the abbey his
manor of Woolaston (Northants) with all its
appurtenances, to be held by the monks in free
alms quit of all secular suits and exaction. (fn. 4)
A charter of Henry III, dated 4 April, 1234,
confirmed to the church of St. Mary of Bindon (fn. 5)
and the monks serving God there the site of
their abbey, the gift of Roger de Newburgh and
Maud his wife, together with the place in which
the first monastery had been commenced, the gift
of William de Glastonia, the manor of Bexington,
given by Maud de Arundel by leave of King
Henry, (fn. 6) the land of Nottington and Luca, purchased by Gilbert de Percy from the monks of Ford
and bestowed on Bindon, the land of Hethfelton
according to the agreement between the monks
and Simon de Eneford, the land of Wood Street
which the abbey and convent held of William de
Wodestert as his charter testifies, and half a hide
of land with pasturage for 300 sheep as confirmed
by the charter of Thomas Harang. (fn. 7) By another
charter in June of the same year, the king
further confirmed to the abbey the wood of
Stotwode, part of Hamsted wood with common
pasture, the whole land of Pulham, 150 acres of
waste, the mill of Lulworth with the land pertaining to it and the moltura of the men of
Lulworth given by Robert de Newburgh, with
certain houses in Dorchester and all the arable
land which the monks held under the walls of
Dorchester, the gift of William Lock of Dorchester. (fn. 8)
A charter of Edward II inspecting all previous
grants confirmed to the abbot and convent lands
and rents in Lulworth, Bexington, Nottington,
Hethfelton, Chaldon, Winfrith Newburgh,
mills at Fordington, Cranborne, and outside
Dorchester, the churches of Chaldon Herring
and Fossil, and the right to hold a market and
fair at Wool, with the right of free warren in all
their demesne lands at Stockford, Wood Street,
Wool, Bovington, Lulworth, Bindon, and
Hethfelton. (fn. 9)
In the Taxatio of 1291 the spiritualities of the
abbey are not given; the temporalities amount to
£107 6s., of which £91 4s. was reckoned from
possessions in the deanery of Dorchester, (fn. 10)
£12 2s. from the manor of Bexington in the
Bridport deanery, (fn. 11) and £4 from Pulham and
Winterborne Monkton in the deanery of Whitchurch. (fn. 12)
The house from the outset received much
attention and kindness from the Plantagenets.
The abbot occurs frequently in the records of
John's reign, and from various entries in the
Liberate and Misae Rolls appears to have been
employed by the king in affairs of a confidential
nature. (fn. 13) On 27 July, 1213, while staying at
the abbey, John issued letters allowing the
monks thirty cart-loads of lead for the purpose
of roofing their monastery, together with fifty
oak logs. (fn. 14) During the year 1215 the king's
treasure was dispersed about in the custody of
various monasteries, preference apparently being
shown for those of the Cistercians and Premonstratensians; an order issued on 24 June of that
year directed that it should be delivered up to the
king, and an entry under date of 3 July in the
patent rolls records that on the feast of St. Peter
and St. Paul (29 June) John, while at Marlborough, received at the hands of Robert the
precentor a staff (baculum) set with nineteen
sapphires, and another set with ten, which had
been deposited in Bindon Abbey. (fn. 15)
Henry III also showed favour to the community,
to whom, in 1229 and 1247, he granted letters
of protection. (fn. 16) In 1235 they received by gift
of the king an order allowing them fifty oak
logs to rebuild their church. (fn. 17) In 1272 Henry
de Newburgh, who at that time held the advowson, granted the monks leave to elect whom
they would to be their patron, and in view of
past favours it is not surprising that the choice
of the brethren fell on the king and Queen
Eleanor. Henry and his consort accepted their
election, the former, by his charter, signifying
that he had taken the abbey, of which he and
his heirs were now the patrons, into his protection
and defence. (fn. 18) Early in the reign of Edward I
Queen Eleanor granted to the church of St.
Mary of Bindon and the monks serving God
there, for the soul of her late husband and his
ancestors, 'our' children, ancestors and successors,
all lands and tenements in Wool which she held
by gift of Thomas de Wool, son and heir of
William de Wool, to be held by them in free
alms. (fn. 19)
The abbot and monks bore their share in all
charges and contributions incidental to the
tenure of ecclesiastical landowners. In May,
1278, they contributed to the 'courtesy' of
£1,000 raised for the king by the whole order
in England, (fn. 20) and in 1294 the abbot received
protection for a year in favour of his person and
goods in consideration of the fact that with the
rest of 'exempt' abbots he had granted a moiety
of his benefices and goods towards the Holy
Land. (fn. 21) In the reign of Edward II the house
was twice called on to assist in the Scotch war. (fn. 22)
In December, 1309, John Dassh was sent in place
of William Brid to lodge in the abbey and receive
the necessaries of life, (fn. 23) and in May, 1335, in
the midst of financial and other embarrassments,
the community was requested by the king to
allow Hugh Prest such maintenance in their
house as their earlier boarder William Brid had
had. (fn. 24) In return for these accommodations the
abbot received frequent grants of protection and
was permitted freely to visit the parent house at
Cîteaux and to attend the general chapter of his
order. (fn. 25)
It is to be regretted that however favourable
the circumstances of the house under the earlier
Plantagenets, frequent references to the community in the fourteenth century range themselves for the most part under the head of debt
and disorder, internal dissension among themselves, and open strife with their neighbours,
making up a sufficiently sordid story. The first
mention of financial insecurity occurs in the
year 1275, when Edward I appointed Henry de
Monte Forte custodian during pleasure of the
abbey, which had fallen into debt. (fn. 26) Passing over
a small incident in 1283 of a common enough
nature in those days, (fn. 27) the first breach with
the neighbourhood occurred in 1296, when a
charge was brought against the abbot of causing
the death of brother Nicholas de Wyther of
Bexington, sometime monk of Bindon, and brother Maurice, also sometime monk of this place
by relatives of the deceased. A commission of
oyer and terminer was issued in February and
again in July, 1296, but the matter proceeding
too slowly for their taste the plaintiffs appear to
have taken the law into their own hands, with the
result that another commission was appointed
the following March to investigate the complaint
of the abbot against a number of persons who
had come to the abbey and imprisoned him and
carried away his goods. (fn. 28) What the upshot was
we do not know; the abbot in the same month
received a grant of protection from the king and
the matter dropped. (fn. 29) Ill-feeling, however, seems
to have remained in the district, and a complaint
by the abbot in 1315 of trespass and assault on
the part of William de Whitefield, knt., and
others provoked from the accused knight and his
adherents a counter-charge that the abbot and
monks had trespassed in his meadow and assaulted
his men, both sides at the same time claiming
to be under the royal protection. (fn. 30)
The troubles of the community came to a
climax in the early part of the reign of Edward III, and the causes mainly contributing
to the state of affairs then disclosed are clearly
expressed in the king's letter of 21 May, 1329,
appointing the abbot of Beaulieu, Hugh de
Courtenay and Hugh Poynitz custodians of
the king's abbey of Bindon, lately taken into
custody in consequence of the grievous dissension
which had arisen on the question of the removal
of the abbot, resulting in the carrying away
of the goods of the house by a large mob of
people, the withdrawal of many of the monks,
and the cessation of divine offices and alms
founded there by the king's ancestors. (fn. 31) The
custodians appointed were empowered to collect
the revenues, recover the goods carried away,
and after reserving a reasonable sum to its
maintenance, to apply the residue to the discharge of its debts and the best interests of the
house. (fn. 32) On 28 July of the same year John
Mautravers the younger and William de Whitefield, knt., were appointed to the custody of the
abbey, 'now grievously burdened with debt for
want of good rule;' (fn. 33) in December the following
year, 1330, the custody was transferred to Hugh
de Courtenay, both the elder and the younger,
and the abbot of Ford. (fn. 34) The exact date of
the deposition of Abbot John de Monte
Acuto, who appears to have so grievously abused
his trust, cannot be found, but as his successor, according to the episcopal registers, was
blessed by the bishop in September, 1332, (fn. 35)
a species of interregnum may have ensued between the early part of 1331 and that date; for in
January of the former year the king ordered a
commission of inquiry into the complaint of the
abbot that brother John de Monte Acuto, 'bearing
himself as a monk of the house,' with a number
of adherents had invaded the abbey, driven away
cattle and sheep to the value of £700, carried
away books, chalices, and other ornaments of the
church as well as charters, deeds, and muniments,
and breaking open a chest had carried away the
seal of the abbey with which divers bonds had
been sealed, &c., to the prejudice of the house. (fn. 36)
In March William de Warenna and John
Fraunceys were ordered to arrest John de
Monte Acuto, an apostate monk fugitive from
the Cistercian abbey of Bindon, and on 29 April
the chief culprit together with another apostate
monk, John de Wille, was arrested while wandering about the country, sometimes in secular
and sometimes in regular habit to the contempt
of his profession, and ordered to be taken back
to the abbey. (fn. 37) Unfortunately, John seems to
have obtained a certain following in the neighbourhood and even among the inmates of the
house, and a letter, amongst various communications addressed about this time to the king by
the brethren, (fn. 38) petitions that whereas Brother
John de Montagu by favour and power had
been made abbot of Bindon, and for the
destruction he had wrought had afterwards been
deposed by the abbot of Ford, 'son visitour,' and
'for his great sins' had been placed by the
chapter-general under perpetual ward, but by
favour of his keepers had escaped, the king will
order the abbots of Beaulieu and L . . . . to take
him into safe custody that he may not again
escape, and that scandal may not thence arise to
the order through his being at large. (fn. 39)
The connexion of Bindon with the abbey of
Ford was at this pass most unfavourable for the
restoration of peace, and in November, 1332,
Edward III wrote to the abbot of Cîteaux reciting the injuries that had been inflicted on the
monastery of Bindon 'by the indiscreet government and detestable presumption' of the late
abbot who, although he had been removed and
brother Roger substituted in his place, yet found
adherents in the neighbourhood and even among
the monks, and was a source of constant annoyance and loss, so that the dispersal of the monks
was feared unless a remedy could be provided,
and requesting that John and his accomplices,
'who go armed to the scandal of the order,'
should be removed to places far distant to do perpetual penance and stay there until the state of
the house could be reformed, and that as the
abbot of Ford, 'to whom the house of Bindon is
subject by affiliation,' encouraged John in his
wrong-doing the abbot-general would reserve
the visitation of the house to himself and commit
it to some discreet abbot in whom he had full
confidence. (fn. 40)
The following January, 1333, Roger, the
newly appointed abbot, with the intention of
attending the general chapter of his order,
nominated his attorney in England for a year, (fn. 41)
and on 3 February the abbot of Beaulieu and
Roger de Guldene were appointed to the custody
of the house, 'burdened with debt by neglect
and bad rule of abbots.' (fn. 42) A commission of oyer
and terminer was issued on 1 May of that year
touching the trespasses of William le Rede of
Wool and others in imprisoning Roger the
abbot of Bindon and nine of his monks while
the abbey was under the king's protection and in
the custody of those appointed by him. (fn. 43)
The sordid story continues to run on with its
tale of debt, which the appointment of custodians
failed to relieve, (fn. 44) and of ill-feeling that refused
to be placated. (fn. 45) On 11 April, 1348, the mayor
of Dover was directed to allow the abbot of
Bindon to cross to the Roman court, whither he
was bound in the interests of his abbey, (fn. 46) and in
the same year protection was granted to the abbey
with the appointment of Hugh de Courtenay, earl
of Devon, and Hugh his son as custodians; we
may note that at this time the reason hitherto
alleged for its poverty-stricken condition—the bad
rule of abbots—had given place to another—'the
frequent visits of the king's enemies coming upon
us unawares.' (fn. 47) Richard II on 8 July, 1392,
on payment of a fine licensed John Dygon and
Gilbert Martyn to alienate ten messuages, with
lands and rents in East Burton, to the abbot and
convent in aid of their maintenance. (fn. 48) The
only entries in the course of the fourteenth
century that do not relate to the material
condition of the abbey occur in 1317, when the
abbot and convent obtained leave to acquire
lands and rents to the yearly value of £10 for
the provision of a chaplain to celebrate daily in
the abbey for the soul of Edward I and of all
good Christians, and for the good estate of the
king and of Roger Damory; (fn. 49) and again in
1325, when Thomas Crubbe of Dorchester was
licensed to alienate two messuages and 10s. rent
in Dorchester in augmentation of the maintenance of a chaplain to celebrate daily in the abbey
for the soul of the said Thomas, his ancestors,
and all the faithful departed. (fn. 50)
The history of the abbey during the fifteenth
century is practically a blank, and, as a house of
the Cistercian order and 'exempt,' there are no
references to Bindon in the episcopal registers
which throw light on its later condition. (fn. 51)
Henry IV, in the first year of his reign, made
over to his servant, John Crosby, the £20 which
the convent had paid yearly to the late earl of
Salisbury from the issues of the manor of Lulworth, (fn. 52) and in 1401 he made a life-grant to
the abbot of a butt of wine yearly from the port
of Melcombe. (fn. 53) In 1485 John, then abbot of
Bindon, was licensed to accept an ecclesiastical
benefice with or without cure. (fn. 54)
There are various references to Bindon in the
reign of Henry VIII. In 1512 a grant of a
corrody in the monastery was made in survivorship to William Wycombe on its surrender by
Robert Thorney. (fn. 55) In 1522 the abbot contributed £66 13s. 4d. towards the grant by the
spirituality for the expenses of the king in recovering the crown of France. (fn. 56) He was summoned to convocation in 1529. (fn. 57) On the abbey
becoming void in 1534 the duke of Richmond
wrote to Cromwell requesting him to grant the
monks liberty to elect their own abbot, 'as the
convent intends to take care of my deer' in
certain lands adjoining the monastery. (fn. 58) In
January the following year, the abbot of Ford,
by virtue of the royal commission, was authorized
to visit the Cistercian houses of Bindon and
Tarrant, (fn. 59) but no report has been found as to his
'findings.'
The Valor of 1535 gave the abbey spiritualities
amounting to £13 4s. 6d. from the parsonage of
Chaldon, and tithes in Winfrith Newburgh,
Burngate, and West Chaldon, (fn. 60) and temporalities
from the manors of Bindon, Wool, East Burton,
Pulham, Chaldon Herring, and South Fossil,
West Lulworth, and other lands. (fn. 61) Among the
expenses was the sum of 3s. 4d. annually distributed to the poor in Chaldon, and 13s. 4d.
annually distributed at Abbotsbury for the soul
of the founders, 'Roger' Newburgh and Matilda his wife. The abbey, with a clear annual
income of £147 7s. 9¾d., (fn. 62) came under the earlier
Act for the suppression of all houses under the
yearly value of £200. (fn. 63) There is no evidence of
a genuine desire on the part of Henry VIII to
save the house, but on the payment of £300 (fn. 64)
the king, by letters patent dated 16 November,
1536, restored it and constituted the former
abbot head; the respite was of a very temporary
nature, for the house fell with the larger monasteries in 1539 and was suppressed on 14 March
of that year. (fn. 65) The abbot, John Norman, who
signed the surrender deed with the prior and
six brethren, received a pension of £50; the
prior, who had a yearly corrody in the monastery of £10, received £8; Stephen Farsey
was appointed to the living of Bindon, worth
£6 13s. 4d. without tithes and oblations, 'if he
be impotent then to have 106s. 4d.;' the subprior had £7; and of the four remaining, one had
£5, another £4, and two received £2 each. (fn. 66)
Abbots of Bindon
John, resigned 1191, in which year he became
abbot of Ford (fn. 67)
Henry (fn. 68)
Ralph, occurs 1227 (fn. 69)
John, occurs 1232 (fn. 70)
William (fn. 71)
Robert, occurs 1243 and 1252 (fn. 72)
Reginald, occurs 1275 (fn. 73)
William, occurs 1290 (fn. 74)
Walter, elected 1309 (fn. 75)
Richard, occurs 1316 (fn. 76)
John de Monte Acuto, deposed 1331–2 by
order of the chapter-general of Cîteaux (fn. 77)
William, occurs 1331 (fn. 78)
Roger Harnhull, appointed 1332 (fn. 79)
William de Comenore, elected 1338 (fn. 80)
Philip, occurs 1350 (fn. 81)
William Chetus or Cletus, elected 1361 (fn. 82)
William Fordington, occurs 1400 (fn. 83)
Robert Lulworth, occurs 1433 (fn. 84)
John Smith, occurs 1444 (fn. 85)
William Comere, occurs 1446 (fn. 86)
Robert, occurs 1458 and 1464 (fn. 87)
Thomas, occurs 1467 (fn. 88)
John, occurs 1485 and 1495 (fn. 89)
John Bryan, occurs 1499 (fn. 90)
John Waleys, occurs 1523 (fn. 91)
Thomas, occurs 1529 (fn. 92)
John Norman, elected 1534, surrendered
finally 1539 (fn. 93)
A fourteenth-century pointed oval seal with
a very imperfect impression and the legend entirely defaced represents two crowned saints in
a canopied niche. There is an obliterated shield
of arms on each side. In base under a pointed
arch an abbot is lifting up his hands in adoration. (fn. 94) A much mutilated example of this seal
is attached to the surrender deed of the abbey. (fn. 95)