Richard I and Saladin in the British Museum tiles

Chertsey Abbey, dedicated to St Peter, was a Benedictine monastery located at Chertsey in the English county of Surrey.[1][2]

It was founded in 666 AD by Saint Erkenwald who was the first abbot, and from 675 AD the Bishop of London. At the same time he founded the abbey at Chertsey, Erkenwald founded Barking Abbey on the Thames east of London, where his sister Saint Ethelburga was the first abbess.

The Founder, St Erkenwald, depicted in a state at St Albans Cathedral

Most of north-west Surrey was granted to the abbey by King Frithuwald of Surrey. Dark Age saints buried here include Saint Beocca, a Dark Ages Catholic Saint from Anglo-Saxon England buried here around 870 AD, and ninth century Saint Edor of Chertsey.

In the 9th century it was sacked by the Danes and refounded from Abingdon Abbey by King Edgar of England in 964. In the eleventh century the monks engineered the Abbey River as an offshoot of the River Thames to supply power to the abbey's watermill. In late medieval times, the Abbey became famous as the burial place of King Henry VI (whose body was later transferred to St George's Chapel, Windsor). The abbey was dissolved by the commissioners of King Henry VIII in 1537, but the community moved to Bisham.

Remnants

The site was given to Sir William Fitzwilliam and now only slight traces remain amongst later buildings, although the abbey is remembered in many local names (for example: Abbey River, Monk's Walk, Abbey Fields). Some very fine medieval tiles from the abbey, some depicting the legend of Tristan and Iseult, may be seen in the British Museum.[3] From the ruins of the abbey, individual letter tiles dating to the second half of the 13th century were recovered.[4] They were assembled to form religious inscription texts on the floor and can be considered a forerunner of movable type printing.[5]

One of the Abbey's bells, cast by a Wokingham foundry circa 1380 and weighing just over half a ton, is still in use as the 5th of the ring of eight at St Peter's church, Chertsey, and is one of the oldest bells in current use in Surrey.

A medieval stained glass panel with the abbey's coat of arms is displayed in the Burrell Collection near Glasgow, and the two crossed keys (of Saint Peter) from the arms are also in the official Banner of Arms of Surrey County Council. Some illuminated manuscripts from the abbey survive in various collections. The Chertsey Breviary, c. 1300, is in the Bodleian Library in Oxford (Bodley Ms Lat. liturg. d. 42).

Chertsey Abbey is mentioned in William Shakespeare's Richard III, Act I, Scene 2, Line 27, where Lady Anne says, "Come now towards Chertsey with your holy load", referring to the body of Henry VI.

The Worshipful Company of Haberdashers holds the advowson of St Peter's, Chertsey, nowadays.

Later history of the site

After Sir William Fitzwilliam, Chertsey Abbey was owned by Dr John Hammond (c. 1555–1617), physician to the royal household under James I, who purchased the site of Chertsey Abbey in Surrey in 1602. Dr Hammond's son, Lt.Col. Thomas Hammond of Cromwell's New Model Army, was named as a Commissioner at the High Court of Justice for the trial of Charles I, and despite attending no fewer than fourteen of its sittings, he did not sign the death warrant.

In the mid-19th century the site of the abbey was excavated under the supervision of the architect and archaeologist Samuel Angell, who published an account of the investigations, accompanied by a ground plan of the abbey church, in 1862.[6]

Known Abbots of Chertsey

  • Erkenwald founder and first Abbot of Chertsey Abbey.
  • Abbot Beocca, monastery sacked 875 by Vikings.[7]
  • Ordbert of Chertsey 964.
  • Wulfwold, Abbot of Chertsey, died 1084.
  • John de Rutherwyk, 1307–46.
  • John Corderoy, 1537.

Burials

Gallery

References

  1. ^ Brekle 1997, pp. 58–63
  2. ^ Lehmann-Haupt 1940, pp. 93–97
  3. ^ Richard and Saladin; Combat Series; Chertsey tiles, British Museum page
  4. ^ Lehmann-Haupt 1940, p. 96f
  5. ^ Brekle 1997, pp. 61f.
  6. ^ "Proceedings at Meetings of the Archaeological Institute". The Archaeological Journal. 19: 167–8. 1862.
  7. ^ Chertsey Abbey Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine history.

Bibliography

Further reading

  1. Live @ Isle Of Wight Festival, UK 15 06 2019 - Fatboy Slim 01:12:50
  2. Live @ S2O Festival, Bangkok, Thailand 13 04 2019 - Fatboy Slim 01:08:38
  3. UK TOUR 2019 - Birmingham, UK [EXTRACTS] 22 02 2019 - Fatboy Slim 42:48
  4. Brighton Rooftop B2B Set 30 11 2018 - Fatboy Eats 01:40:26
  5. Live @ Creamfields 2018, UK 26 08 2018 - Fatboy Slim 31:37
  6. Live @ Tomorrowland, Freedom Stage (Week End 2) , Belgium 28 07 2018 - Fatboy Slim 01:27:45
  7. Live @ British Airways i360, Brighton, UK 30 07 2018 - Fatboy Slim 01:29:55
  8. Live @ Tomorrowland, Belgium 21 07 2018 - Fatboy Slim 01:26:30
  9. Live @ Tuesdays On Mars, Pacha Ibiza, Spain 03 07 2018 - Fatboy Slim 03:04:03
  10. All Night Long - Pacha Ibiza 19 05 2018 - Fatboy Slim 05:16:00
  11. Record Store Day Desert Island Disco Mix, BBC 6 Music, UK 15 04 2016 - Fatboy Slim 28:31
  12. Beat Up The NME 60 Knockout Minutes (1997) Fatboy Slim 01:00:47
  13. Live @ Electric Gardens, Serafino Winery, Adelaide, Australia [EXTRACTS] 26 01 2018 - Fatboy Slim 01:04:05
  14. Live @ Hultsfred, Sweden 14 06 1997 - Fatboy Slim 01:03:14
  15. Live @ Personal Fest '17, Buenos Aires, Argentina 12 11 2017 - Fatboy Slim 01:34:54
  16. Live @ Beats for Love 2017 Festival in Ostrava, Czech Republic 05 07 2017 - Fatboy Slim 01:14:04
  17. Live @ Ultra Music Festival 2012, Miami, USA 24 03 2012 - Fatboy Slim 58:51
  18. Live @ Float Your Boat, Ibiza, Spain 21 09 2017 - Fatboy Slim 01:30:48
  19. Live @ Brixton Academy, London, UK [EXTRACTS] 20 12 2014 - Fatboy Slim 01:00:00
  20. Live @ Creamfields 2017, Liverpool, UK 27 08 2017 - Fatboy Slim 01:31:43
  21. Live @ Café Mambo, Ibiza, Spain 05 08 2017 - Fatboy Slim 38:21
  22. Live @ Tomorrowland Festival 2017,Lost Frequencies & Friends Stage,Belgium 29 07 2017 - Fatboy Slim 01:25:04
  23. Live At National Cardiff 01 01 2000 - Fatboy Slim 01:13:23
  24. Live @ Super Bock Super Rock Festival, Lisbon, Portugal 15 07 2017 - Fatboy Slim 01:30:31
  25. Live @ Kappa Futur Festival, Torino, Italy 08 07 2017 - Fatboy Slim 01:29:26
  26. Live @ Electric Daisy Carnival, Tokyo, Japan 29 04 2017 - Fatboy Slim 30:25
  27. EDC Japan 2017 Mix Fatboy Slim 01:00:00
  28. Live @ Santa Cruz Boat Party, Ibiza, Spain 15 09 2016 - Fatboy Slim 01:40:46
  29. Live @ The O² Arena, London, UK 17 12 2016 - Fatboy Slim 01:28:37
  30. Beats 1 Radio Show #8 16 12 2016 - Fatboy Slim 01:58:20
  31. Beats 1 Radio Show #7 02 12 2016 - Fatboy Slim 01:58:56
  32. Beats 1 Radio Show #6 18 11 2016 - Fatboy Slim 01:58:33
  33. Beats 1 Radio Show #5 04 11 2016 - Fatboy Slim 01:58:25
  34. Beats 1 Radio Show #4 21 10 2016 - Fatboy Slim 01:58:43
  35. Beats 1 Radio Show #3 07 10 2016 - Fatboy Slim 01:51:05
  36. Beats 1 Radio Show #2 23 09 2016 - Fatboy Slim 01:58:05
  37. Beats 1 Radio Show #1 09 09 2016 - Fatboy Slim 01:49:55
  38. DJ SET WMF, Berlin, Germany 29 09 2000 - Fatboy Slim 01:49:50
  39. BACK TO THE ODD SCHOOL feat. FATBOY SLIM's Desert Eagle Disc top ten 27 11 2016 03:00:42
  40. Essential Millennium 1999 (Disc 2) Fatboy Slim 01:16:05
  41. Live @ Boiler Room, Brighton, UK 11 10 2016 - Fatboy Slim 02:55:40
  42. One Mix: Fatboy Slim - Ep27 20 01 2016 - Beats 1 59:55
  43. Live @ Bestival 2016, Essential Mix, BBC Radio 1, UK 17 09 2016 - Fatboy Slim 01:59:48
  44. Celebrating 20 years of Better Living @ The Social, London, UK 13 09 2016 - Fatboy Slim 29:09
  45. Live At Carl Cox: Music Is Revolution, Space, Ibiza, Spain 10 08 2016 - Fatboy Slim 01:57:43
  46. Live On A Night with Annie Nightingale, Maida Vale Studio, BBC Radio 1,UK 09 09 2010 - Fatboy Slim 21:29
  47. Live @ The House Of Blues, New Orleans, USA 25 03 2000 - Fatboy Slim 02:00:03
  48. Live @ Glastonbury 2016, UK 25 06 2016 - Fatboy Slim 01:25:32
  49. From Punk Get Funk, BBC Radio 2, UK 06 06 2016 - Norman Cook 56:20
  50. Live @ The Metro, Chicago, USA 03 03 1998 – Fatboy Slim 02:03:33
  51. Live @ Club Cream 10th Birthday Special, Liverpool, UK 12 10 2002 - Fatboy Slim 41:51
  52. Live @ The Ultimate FSTVL House Party, Brighton, UK 21 04 2016 - Fatboy Slim 01:30:20
  53. Live @ HARD Haunted Mansion, Shrine Expo Hall, Los Angeles, USA 28 10 2011 - Fatboy Slim 01:11:55
  54. We Are 30 Mixed By Fatboy Slim (2013) Mixmag 01:05:29
  55. Fatboy Slim - The Legend Returns (2010) Mixmag 50:59
  56. Live At Newquay Beach, Essential Selection, BBC Radio 1, UK 21 06 2002 - Fatboy Slim & Eric Morillo 01:29:08