Waverley Abbey was founded by Bishop William Giffard on 24 November 1128. The first
abbot and 12 monks were brought from
L'Aumône Abbey in
Normandy, France. Giffard endowed the new abbey with all the land within the parish of Waverley, two acres of meadow at
Elstead, and gave the monks permission to cut wood from his woodland at
Farnham. Giffard's successor as Bishop of Winchester,
Henry of Blois (younger brother of
King Stephen) donated a
virgate (30 acres) of land at Wandford, and gave further rights at Farnham, with permission to "dig turf, heath, stone and sand". Henry's brother King Stephen granted the abbey land at Neatham, and ("at the request of his brother") freed the abbey from the military obligations usually required of feudal landlords (
Frankalmoin), and excused the abbey from the payment of certain taxes including the
Danegeld. The abbey was freed from further taxes (tithes) by a papal bull issued by
Pope Eugenius III in 1147. Construction on the new abbey church began in March 1203–04, financed by William, Rector of Broadwater; however, the abbey's monks were struck by famine and forced to beg food from other monastic houses. Following a dispute with the pope, in 1208 King John confiscated all ecclesiastical property; however, the same year he spent "the last days of Holy Week" at Waverley Abbey, and allowed the return of its possessions to allow them to continue the reconstruction of the church. Two years later, after the Cistercian order refused to give in to John's demands for money, John withdrew all of the abbey's privileges. Many of the monks fled the abbey and, in fear, the abbot "fled away by night". King John then issued a decree forbidding any Cistercians to enter or leave the country. In 1212 John confiscated all of the Cistercian Order's property using "false letters" which "reigned their property to him". The situation improved when John's dispute with the pope ended. The persecution of Waverley appears to have ended by October 1214, when the abbot was sent on official business on behalf of the King. The church's construction appears to have carried on throughout the difficult period, as on 10 July 1214 five altars were consecrated by
Albin, Bishop of Ferns. In 1225 the abbey was visited by
King Henry III; he took communion at the abbey on 16 December 1225. Construction of the church was not completed, however, until 1278 (74/5 years after it began), when
Nicholas de Ely, Bishop of Winchester blessed the church in honour of the Virgin Mary. The blessing was followed by a feast supposedly attended by 7,066 people; including six abbots and many knights and ladies. The abbey's difficult century continued with further floods in 1233; up to 8 ft in height, the flood destroyed several of the abbey's bridges and property. Another flood on 28 November 1265 flooded the abbey's lower buildings forcing the monks "to take refuge in the church". In 1291 the abbey was described as in "grievous poverty" after their crops had failed. The
Annals of Waverley, written by the monks, records notable national and international events from the 10th to the late 13th centuries.
Dissolution The
Valor Ecclesiasticus of 1535 records the abbey as having a clear annual income of £174 8s. 3½d. As such it was dissolved with the lesser (poorer) monasteries in 1536, as part of
King Henry VIII's
Dissolution of the Monasteries. There were only thirteen monks in the community at the time.
Abbots of Waverley The following is a list of the abbots of Waverley Abbey. • John, died 1128 • Gilbert, 1128–9 • Henry, died 1182 • Henry of Chichester, 1182, resigned 1187 • Christopher (abbot of Bruerne, Oxfordshire), 1187, removed from office 1196 • John II. (hospitaller), 1196, died 1201 • John III. (cellarer), 1201, died 1216 • Adam (sub-prior), 1216, resigned 1219 • Adam II. (abbot of
Garendon Abbey, Leicestershire), 1219, resigned 1236 • Walter Giffard (abbot of Bittlesden, Bucks), 1236, died 1252 • Ralph (abbot of Dunkewell, Devon), 1252, resigned 1266 • William de London, 1266 • William de Hungerford, resigned 1276 • Hugh de Leukenor, 1276, died 1285 • Philip de Bedwinde, 1285 • William, occurs 1316 • Robert, occurs 1335 • John III., 1344 • John IV., 1349, died 1361 • John de Enford, occurs 1385–6 • William Hakeleston, 1386, died 1399 • John Brid, 1399–1400 • Henry, occurs 1433 • William, occurs 1452 • William Martyn, 1456 • Thomas, occurs 1478 and 1500 • William, occurs 1509 • John, occurs 1529 • William Alyng, occurs 1535 ==History after the Dissolution==