THORNEY. THE ABBEY CHURCH OF ST MARY THE VIRGIN AND ST BOTOLPH.
A bright Saturday morning in late November 2008. An early start and I was at Thorney by just after 9AM. This was absolutely freezing! Definitely the coldest day of the year thus far, and possibly the coldest that I had felt whilst out with the camera. Thorney used to be called "Thornie" which means Island Of Thorns. Island of winds would have been more appropriate on the day as a strong and freezing wind blasted through the fens.
I have fond memories of Thorney. Although not politically correct these days, I was taken a few times by my parents to Thorney Wildlife Park in the early 1970's and remember being veryi nterested in the Abbey whilst sat in the car as my dad popped in to the Newsagents for a paper. Sadly, the Newsagents is no more, a fairly recent victim of the Credit Crunch it appears, but my interest in the Abbey is still keen, more than 35 years later!
Obviously, this is one of the most historic building covered by this site. A hermitage was set up here as long ago as 662. Along with many other buildings in the area, this was sacked by the Danes. In the year 972, a Benedictine Abbey was founded by Ethelwold, the Bishop of Winchester. This had a hospital for the poor attached to it.
The Abbey used to be much bigger in size than it is today. I was told that at one point in time it would have been as big as nearby Peterborough Cathedral. At one point the Abbey was 290 feet long, as opposed to the 117 feet today. Much of the building was destroyed during the 16th Century, during the dissolution of the monasteries. By 1574 the Abbey roof had collapsed and half the steeple was down, regular processions of horse drawn vehicles were seen to be carrying away materials of wood and stone. Much of the Abbey fabric was purchased for the building of Corpus Christi college, Cambridge in 1579. What was left of the building became the parish church of Thorney in 1638, this is the date carved in to the west porch.
Much of the present building was originally re-built between the years 1089 and 1108. Work was done on the church in the 1840's, when the transepts were added. The interior was restored in 1888. The large stained glass windows on the East wall is a copy of one found in Canterbury Cathedral and details the miracles performed by Thomas A Becket.
At the top of the West wall, in between the two octagonal towers, are some ancient looking carvings. Two photographs enclosed below. These are very weathered and facial features have either been worn away of erased. I was told that one of the effigies was that of Guthlac. Inside, I was delighted to see a floor memorial to George Smith, steward to the Earl of Bedford. He passed away in October 1651. Photograph included below, and just look at the old spelling!
Regular visitors to this site will probably know that I have an interest in elaborately carved gravestones from the 18th Century. I found the church grounds at Thorney fascinating, so much so that I have decided to create a page purely to show as many of the graves here as possible. This page can be found immediately under this page in the Cambs S-Y section of the site.
Thorney is interesting as it was the place that many French Huguenot refugees flocked to in the 17th Century. These people were victims of religious persecution in their own country and they arrived at Thorney and nearby Whittlesey in order to help drain the fens. Both Thorney and Whittlesey had French churches founded. Thorney has a baptism register in French. Some of these Huguenots did very well for themselves and some built substantial stone houses and barns using stone from the dissolved Abbey. A monument in the church commemorates the first French minister who preached to the refugees.
The Abbey was open, and there is a bookstall selling histories of the Abbey. A lovely building and a warm welcome was had here.. although perhaps the word "warm" shouldn't be used on a bitterly cold day like this! A delight to visit, but try it in the Summer!
