Interior of the Abbey, showing the unusual watching-loft projecting above the nave.

Malmesbury Abbey, at Malmesbury in Wiltshire, England, was founded as a Benedictine monastery around 676 by the scholar-poet Aldhelm, a nephew of King Ine of Wessex. ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (1500x1089, 449 KB) Malmesbury Abbey interior, showing the triforium level of the nave. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (1500x1089, 449 KB) Malmesbury Abbey interior, showing the triforium level of the nave. ... Malmesbury is an old-established south Cotswold town in south west England in the county of Wiltshire. ... Wiltshire (abbreviated Wilts) is a large southern English county. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London (de facto) Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2006 est. ... A Benedictine is a person who follows the Rule of St Benedict. ... Monastery of St. ... Events November 2 - Donus becomes Pope. ... Saint Aldhelm (c. ... Ine (died 728) was the King of Wessex from 688 to 726, noted particularly for his code of laws. ... Map of the British Isles circa 802 Wessex was one of the seven major Anglo-Saxon kingdoms (the Heptarchy) that preceded the Kingdom of England. ...

History

In 941, King Athelstan was buried in the Abbey. By the 11th century it contained the second largest library in Europe and was considered one of the leading European seats of learning. It was one of the few English houses with a continual history from the seventh century through the Dissolution of the Monasteries.^[1] It is dedicated to Saint Peter and Saint Paul. The 12th-century historian William of Malmesbury was of the community. Events Oda the Severe becomes Archbishop of Canterbury Births Charles dOutremer son of Louis IV of France Deaths Categories: 941 ... Athelstan (c. ... As a means of recording the passage of time, the 11th century was that century which lasted from 1001 to 1100. ... The Dissolution of the Monasteries, referred to by Roman Catholic writers as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the formal process during the English Reformation by which King Henry VIII confiscated the property of the monastic institutions in England between 1538 and 1541. ... Saint Peter, also known as Simon ben Jonah/BarJonah, Simon Peter, Cephas and Kepha — original name Simon or Simeon (Acts 15:14) — was one of the Twelve Apostles whom Jesus chose as his original disciples. ... Paul of Tarsus (b. ... William of Malmesbury (c. ...

The Abbey in the 14th century. Only the brightened area is now used, following collapses of the spire and West Tower

The Abbey was substantially completed by 1180. The 431 feet (131.3 metre) tall spire, and the tower it was built upon, collapsed in a storm around 1500 destroying much of the church, including two thirds of the nave and the transept. The west tower fell around 1550, demolishing the three western bays of the nave. As a result of these two collapses less than a half of the original building stands today. Image File history File links Malmesbury. ... Image File history File links Malmesbury. ... A modern spire on the Lancaster University Chaplaincy Centre A spire is a tapering conical or pyramidal structure on the top of a building, particularly a church tower. ... Events April 13 - Frederick Barbarossa issues the Gelnhausen Charter November 18 - France Emperor Antoku succeds Emperor Takakura as emperor of Japan Afonso I of Portugal is taken prisoner by Ferdinand II of Leon Artois is annexed by France Prince Mochihito amasses a large army and instigates the Genpei War between... A modern spire on the Lancaster University Chaplaincy Centre A spire is a tapering conical or pyramidal structure on the top of a building, particularly a church tower. ... 1500 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Links to full descriptions of the elements of a Gothic floorplan are also found at the entry Cathedral diagram. ... Cathedral ground plan. ... Events February 7 - Julius III becomes Pope. ...

The Abbey was closed at the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539 by Henry VIII and was sold, with all its lands, to William Stumpe, a rich merchant. He returned the Abbey to the town for continuing use as a church. Nearby Calcot Manor was an annex of Kingswood Abbey^[2] and suffered a similar privatisation. Today Malmsbury Abbey is in full use as the parish church of Malmesbury, in the Diocese of Bristol. The remains still contain a fine parvise which holds some examples of books from the Abbey library. The Anglo-Saxon charters of Malmesbury, though extended by forgeries and improvements executed in the abbey's scriptorium, provide source material today for the history of Wessex and the West Saxon church from the seventh century. The Dissolution of the Monasteries, referred to by Roman Catholic writers as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the formal process during the English Reformation by which King Henry VIII confiscated the property of the monastic institutions in England between 1538 and 1541. ... Events May 30 - In Florida, Hernando de Soto lands at Tampa Bay with 600 soldiers with the goal to find gold. ... Silver groat of Henry VIII, minted c. ... Calcot Manor is an English farmhouse dating from the 14th century near the township of Tetbury in Gloucestershire. ... Kingswood Abbey was a Cistercian abbey, located in the village of Kingswood near Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire, England. ... A parish church is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches. ... Parvise or Parvis A room over the porch of a church - quite often found in Norman Churches in England. ... A Scriptorium was a room or building, usually within a Christian monastery where, during medieval times, manuscripts were written. ... Map of the British Isles circa 802 Wessex was one of the seven major Anglo-Saxon kingdoms (the Heptarchy) that preceded the Kingdom of England. ...

During the English Civil War it was the site of a massacre, reflecting heavy combat in this region of Gloucestershire; Beverston Castle, a few miles north, was the site of two Civil War battles. The pock marks left by bullets can still be seen on the Malmsbury Abbey walls. The English Civil War consisted of a series of armed conflicts and political machinations that took place between Parliamentarians (known as Roundheads) and Royalists (known as Cavaliers) between 1642 and 1651. ... Beverston Castle south tower of western range Beverston Castle, also known as Beverstone Castle, was originally constructed as a medieval stone fortress and is situated in the village of Beverston, Gloucestershire, England. ...

The Abbey was the site of an early attempt at human flight when, in 1010, Monk Eilmer of Malmesbury flew a primitive hang glider from an Abbey tower. Eilmer flew over 200 yards before landing, breaking both legs. He later remarked the only reason he did not fly further was the lack of a tail on his glider. Events The Ly Dynasty in Vietnam is established (or 1009). ... Stained glass window showing Eilmer, installed in Malmesbury Abbey in 1920 in memory of Rev. ... Hang gliding is one of the windsports. ...

Today much of the Abbey survives. The existing third of the nave has been restored as an active place of worship and there are plans to build a visitor centre on the site. No charge is made for visitors to view the interior of the abbey.

Images

Abbey Church and Church Interior: [1], [2]

Abbey Treasures: [3], [4], [5]

Line note references

Pictures

The fine parvise Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 450 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (1536 × 2048 pixel, file size: 717 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) The Parvise at Malmesbury Abbey (Wiltshire) - picture by R Neil Marshman (c) 2006 File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link... Parvise or Parvis A room over the porch of a church - quite often found in Norman Churches in England. ...

The main entrance (the South Porch) seen from the graveyard. This picture shows the modern extent of the Abbey Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1500x1030, 403 KB) Malmesbury Abbey exterior, showing the South Porch and graveyard. ... Bold textTHIS IS THE PAGE THAT A.S. REALLY NEEDS!! THIS IS NOW MARKED!!! ] ps i like A.O. This article is about an abbey as a Christian monastic community. ...

The Abbey interior. The ruined area lies beyond the blank wall rising above the altar ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (1500x1122, 463 KB) The interior of the Abbey. ... Look up Altar in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

General References

• Smith, M Q: The Sculptures of the South Porch of Malmesbury Abbey: A Short Guide, 1975