Abbot of Athelney
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| Monastery information | |
|---|---|
| Order | Benedictine |
| Established | 888 |
| Disestablished | 1540 |
| People | |
| Founder(s) | King Alfred |
| Site | |
| Location | Athelney, Somerset, England |
| Grid reference | ST346293 |
Athelney Abbey, established in the county of Somerset, England, was founded by King Alfred in 888, as a religious house for monks of the Order of St. Benedict. It was dedicated to our Blessed Saviour, St. Peter, St. Paul, and St. Egelwine.
Originally Athelney was a small island in swampland, in what is now the parish of East Lyng, covered with alders and infested by wild animals. It was inaccessible except by boat, according to William of Malmesbury. Here Alfred found a refuge from the Danes; here he built the abbey. The dedication to St. Æthelwine suggests that it may have been an enlargement of a hermitage or monastery already in existence.
He peopled it with foreign monks, drawn chiefly from France, with John the Old Saxon (known as Scotus) as their abbot. The original church was a small structure, consisting of four piers supporting the main fabric and surrounded by four circular chancels.
From the 11th century up to the time of its dissolution the monks of Glastonbury Abbey attempted to annex it or have it placed under the Glastonbury jurisdiction.
The Abbey appears in the Domesday book, and the Taxatio of 1291.
In 1267 Henry III granted the abbey a weekly market on Mondays.
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Wikipedia