Denny Abbey is a former abbey near Waterbeach, six miles (10 km) north of Cambridge in Cambridgeshire, England. The site, on an ancient road between Cambridge and Ely, was settled by farmers as early as the Roman period. A group of Benedictine monks, governed from Ely, moved here from their waterlogged monastery at Elmeney (a vanished settlement about a mile to the northeast) in the 1150s, at the suggestion of Duke Conan IV of Britanny. They built a church, Denny Priory, which opened in 1159. The crossing and transepts are the only parts of the original Priory that remain today. In 1169 the monks returned to Ely and the site was handed to the Knights Templar. The Templars built a number of additions, including a large Norman-style arched doorway and an infirmary. By the 1290s the Knights had lost their power, and in 1308 King Edward II had the entire order arrested and imprisoned, confiscating their property. Denny was given to the Hospitallers, who took no active interest in the property. An abbey (from the Latin abbatia, which is derived from the Syriac abba, father), is a Christian monastery or convent, under the government of an Abbot or an Abbess, who serve as the spiritual father or mother of the community. ... Waterbeach is a large fen-edge village north of Cambridge in Cambridgeshire in England, and belongs to the administrative district of South Cambridgeshire. ... Map of the Cambridgeshire area (1904) The city of Cambridge is an old English university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire. ... Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs) is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location (dark green) within the United Kingdom (light green), with the Republic of Ireland (blue) to its west Languages English Capital London Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population –mid-2004... Ely (pronounced , rhyming with freely) is a cathedral city in the East Cambridgeshire district of Cambridgeshire in the East of England and 64 miles (103 km) east north-east of Charing Cross in London. ... Principal sites in Roman Britain Roman Britain refers to those parts of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire between 43 and 410. ... Ely (pronounced , rhyming with freely) is a cathedral city in the East Cambridgeshire district of Cambridgeshire in the East of England and 64 miles (103 km) east north-east of Charing Cross in London. ... Centuries: 11th century - 12th century - 13th century Decades: 1100s 1110s 1120s 1130s 1140s - 1150s - 1160s 1170s 1180s 1190s 1200s Years: 1150 1151 1152 1153 1154 1155 1156 1157 1158 1159 Events and Trends Peter Lombard writes his Sentences Eric the Saint, king of Sweden led the first Christian crusade to... Conan IV (1138 – February 20, 1171) was duke of Brittany, from 1156 to his death. ... Events In the Roman Catholic Church, Cardinals are given the right of election of the Pope. ... Events Nur ad-Din invades Egypt, and his nephew Saladin becomes the sultan over the territory conquered by Nur ad-Din. ... The Seal of the Knights — the two riders have been interpreted as a sign of poverty or the duality of monk/soldier. ... The Nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the nave anticipates the Gothic style. ... A physician visiting the sick in a hospital. ... Centuries: 12th century - 13th century - 14th century Decades: 1240s 1250s 1260s 1270s 1280s - 1290s - 1300s 1310s 1320s 1330s 1340s Years: 1290 1291 1292 1293 1294 1295 1296 1297 1298 1299 Events and Trends Categories: 1290s ... Events Henry VII is elected as king of the Holy Roman Empire. ... This article or section is missing needed references or citation of sources. ... The Knights Hospitaller (the or Knights of Malta or Knights of Rhodes) is a tradition which began as a Benedictine nursing Order founded in the 11th century based in the Holy Land, but soon became a militant Christian Chivalric Order under its own charter, and was charged with the care...

In 1324 (or 1327) King Edward III gave the Priory to his relative, Mary de St Pol, Countess of Pembroke (died 1377), who built accommodation for herself there. She gave the remainder of the Priory to a Franciscan order of nuns, the order of Saint Clare, also known as the Poor Clares, who were moved from their flood-prone Priory in the nearby village of Waterbeach. Denny Priory was expanded into an Abbey during this period, with comfortable quarters for the Countess above spartan accommodation for the nuns. The abbey was closed in 1539, shortly after the Dissolution of the Monasteries, and was taken by the Crown. Its transept and choir were retained as a farmhouse, and the refectory as a barn, but the nave was demolished. In 1628 the abbey passed into private ownership. Pembroke College, Cambridge, which had also been founded by the Countess of Pembroke in 1347, bought the site in 1928. Events Publication of Defensor pacis by Marsilius of Padua Mansa Kankan Musa I, ruler of the Mali Empire arrives in Cairo on his hajj or pilgrimage to Mecca. ... Events January 25 - Edward III becomes King of England. ... Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377) was one of the most successful English kings of medieval times. ... Events January 17 – Gregory XI enters Rome. ... The Order of Friars Minor and other Franciscan movements are disciples of Saint Francis of Assisi. ... Nun in cloister, 1930; photograph by Doris Ulmann In general, a nun is a female ascetic who chooses to voluntarily leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent. ... Saint Clare of Assisi, born Chiara Offreduccio, (July 16, 1194 – August 11, 1253) was one of the first followers of Francis of Assisi and founded the Order of Poor Ladies to organize the women who chose to take the Franciscan vow of poverty and celibacy. ... The Order of Poor Ladies, also known as the Poor Clares, the Poor Clare Nuns, the Clarisse, or the Minoresses is a Franciscan order founded by Saint Clare of Assisi. ... Events May 30 - In Florida, Hernando de Soto lands at Tampa Bay with 600 soldiers with the goal to find gold. ... The Dissolution of the Monasteries (referred to by Roman Catholic writers as the Suppression of the Monasteries) was the formal process, taking place between 1538 and 1541, by which King Henry VIII confiscated the property of the Roman Catholic monastic institutions in England and took them to himself, as the... Farming, ploughing rice paddy, in Indonesia Agriculture is the process of producing food, feed, fiber and other desired products by cultivation of certain plants and the raising of domesticated animals (livestock). ... Events March 1 - writs were issued in February 1628 by Charles I of England that every county in England (not just seaport towns) pay ship tax by this date. ... Full name Pembroke College Motto - Named after Countess of Pembroke, Mary de St Pol Previous names Marie Valence Hall (1347), Pembroke Hall (?), Pembroke College (1856) Established 1347 Sister College(s) Queens College Master Sir Richard Dearlove Location Trumpington Street Undergraduates ~420 Postgraduates 194 Homepage Boatclub Pembroke College is a... Illustration of the Black Death from the Toggenburg Bible (1411). ... 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...

The abbey and its land remained a farm until they were given in 1947 to the Ministry of Works, which later transferred them to English Heritage. The abbey, partially restored in the 1960s, is open to the public alongside the Farmland Museum, who manage the Abbey on behalf of English Heritage. The former farm buildings have been converted into a museum of local history and farming, which opened in 1997. The museum houses a 1940s farm labourer's cottage, a 1930s village shop, displays on local crafts and skills, and old farm tools and machinery. Both sites are open from April to October, and there are regular special event days. 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1947 calendar). ... The Ministry of Works was a department of the UK Government formed in 1943 to organise the requisitioning of property for wartime use. ... English Heritage is a United Kingdom government body with a broad remit of managing the historic environment of England. ... The outrageously crowded Woodstock festival epitomized the popular antiwar movement of the 60s. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Note: The spellings Denny and Denney appear with equal frequency in the historical literature. The former spelling seems to be in favour at the time of writing, and has been used throughout this article for consistency.

[Abbey House:[1]]

[Conan IV:[2]]

References

• Denny Abbey Guide, English Heritage 1990, ISBN 1850742634
• Liber Eliensis, charter 141, 1133-1169 (a translation into English, ISBN 1843830159, is in preparation)

Events Geoffrey of Monmouth produces the Historia Regum Britanniae Durham Cathedral is completed Construction of Exeter Cathedral begun June 4 - Lothair III is crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Innocent II Births March 5 - King Henry II of England (died 1189) Honen Shonin, Japanese founder of Pure Land Buddhism (died 1212... Events Nur ad-Din invades Egypt, and his nephew Saladin becomes the sultan over the territory conquered by Nur ad-Din. ...

External link

• The Farmland Museum and Denny Abbey