thumb|upright=1.4|right|Ruins of the chapter house of Thornton Abbey

Thornton Abbey was a medieval abbey located close to the small North Lincolnshire village of Thornton Curtis, near Ulceby, and directly south of Hull on the other side of the Humber estuary. Its ruins are a Grade I listed building, including notably England's largest and most impressive surviving monastic gatehouse.

It was founded as a priory in 1139 by William le Gros, the Earl of Yorkshire, and raised to the status of abbey in 1148 by Pope Eugene III. It was a house for Augustinian or black canons, who lived a communal life under the Rule of St Augustine but also undertook pastoral duties outside the Abbey. Officers within the abbey included a cellarer, bursar, chamberlain, sacrist, kitchener and an infirmer. A medieval hospital also operated near the abbey, founded no later than 1322.

Due to its involvement in the area's burgeoning wool trade, Thornton was a wealthy and prestigious house, with a considerable annual income in 1534 of . The abbey was closed in 1539 by Henry VIII as part of the Dissolution of the Monasteries. It survived by becoming a Secular College, until Secular Colleges were also closed, in 1547.

Thornton Abbey railway station is nearby.

Later history

Since the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the site has been owned by: Henry Randes (the Bishop of Lincoln); Sir Robert Tyrwhitt of Kettleby; Sir Vincent Skinner of Westminster (in 1602); Sir Robert Sutton; George Appleby; and in 1816 Charles, 1st Baron Yarborough.

In May 1859, members of the Lincoln Diocesan Architectural Society visited the site and were given a guided tour by the Rev. J. Byron of North Killingholme. A report of the tour, published by the Stamford Mercury, records that access to site had been restricted due to damage "by bands of modern Vandals". Brass effigies, some in place, others "strewed amongst the growing grass", and the entrance to a subterranean passageway were also observed.

Archaeology

Thornton Abbey was relatively under-examined for its size and importance, until English Heritage launched a programme of research beginning in 2007. This initial non-invasive research was followed by excavations performed by the University of Sheffield Department of Archaeology between 2011 and 2016, directed by Hugh Willmott.

In 2013, continuing excavation work uncovered a Black Death plague pit in the cemetery of the abbey's hospital, containing the remains of at least 48 individuals including the skeletons of 27 children. DNA was successfully extracted and tested positive for Yersinia pestis, the bacterium responsible for the plague, making this the first instance in Britain of a Black Death mass grave found in a rural, rather than urban, area.

Burials at the abbey

  • William le Gros, 1st Earl of Albemarle
  • Aveline de Montfichet, wife of William de Forz, 3rd Earl of Albemarle

References

  • Page on English Heritage's website
  • Blog post on the plague pit excavation, including video clips