3. St Augustine's
Abbey
By far the wealthiest of Bristol's monastic houses was St Augustine's
abbey, which was later to become Bristol cathedral. It was founded in
1140 by Robert Fitzharding, a major landowner in Bristol, who later became
Lord Berkeley. The Berkeley family were to be generous benefactors to
St Augustine's abbey and many members of the family were buried there.
St Augustine's Abbey The abbey was founded for Augustinian canons, and was endowed with numerous
estates and churches in Bristol, Somerset and along the Severn valley
in Gloucestershire. These estates were listed and described in detail
in the abbey's Cartulary which was compiled in 1270. (David Walker, ed.,
Cartulary of St Augustine's Abbey, Bristol', Gloucestershire Record Series,
10, 1998). The history of St Augustine's is summarised in Joseph Bettey,
St Augustine's Abbey, Bristol, Bristol Historical Association, 1996. The
abbey was the most important ecclesiastical institution in Bristol, especially
since the town did not have its own bishop or diocese, and did not become
a city until 1542. Throughout the Middle Ages most of Bristol was part
of the large diocese of Worcester which extended down the Severn valley.
The suburbs of Temple, St Thomas, Redcliffe and Bedminster which were
situated across the river Avon were part of the diocese of Bath and Wells.
The town was remote from episcopal supervision, and so the abbot of St
Augustine's was the most important ecclesiastical figure. An account of
St Augustine's wealth and economy at the end of the Middle Ages is given
in G. Beachcroft and A. Sabin eds., Two Compotus Rolls of St Augustine's
Abbey, Bristol', Bristol Record Society, IX, 1938. From this it is clear
that at the end of the Middle Ages, just over a dozen Augustinian canons
enjoyed an annual income of about £700.
The architecture of St Augustine's shows the wealth of the abbey. This
was derived from the rents which came from its widespread estates. One
of these estates survives almost completely unaltered at Ashleworth, on
the banks of the Severn, north of Gloucester. During the fifteenth century
successive abbots of St Augustine's provided a new manor house and manorial
court house, a large new barn to store the produce of the abbey lands
and a rebuilt parish church for the abbey's tenants. All this survives.
Tomb of Abbot John Newland, Bristol Cathedral During the fifteenth century much building work was also done on the abbey
itself, including the building of the central tower. A great deal of this
building work, both at the abbey itself and on the estates, was done under
the leadership of Abbot John Newland (abbot 1481-1515), who was one of
the greatest of the medieval abbots. He was known as Nailheart' from his
rebus' or symbol of a bleeding heart pierced by three nails, and this
emblem can be seen in various parts of the abbey. By careful management
of the abbey's resources, he was also able to finance the building of
several churches on the abbey's estates, as well as five new barns at
Berkeley and the fine barn which survives at Ashleworth. At the abbey,
he began the task of replacing the twelfth-century nave of the church,
a project which was not completed until the nineteenth century. Newland
also compiled a Roll or chronicle of the history of the abbey which provides
many valuable details about its foundation, development and the personalities
involved. (I.H. Jeayes, Abbot Newland's Roll', Transactions of Bristol
& Gloucestershire Archaeological Society, XIX, 1889-90, 117-30).
Bristol Record Office
Bristol Record Office