Wooden carving of the seal of Elstow Abbey, over a door of the Abbey Church of & in Elstow, Bedfordshire, England
Elstow Abbey was founded by Judith, Countess of Huntingdon (perhaps, it has been speculated, as an act of repentance at her role in the downfall of her husband, Waltheof, who was executed by her uncle, King William I (William the Conqueror) in 1076). The abbey's royal connections were a mixed blessing. It attracted nuns from very wealthy families, ensuring the abbey became rich, but it never had a good reputation for spirituality. In the Middle Ages, many unmarried woman entered a nunnery simply as a social convention rather than through any special vocation, and it seems this became a particular problem at Elstow. A letter survives from as early as 1270 in which the then Bishop of Lincoln complains about the behaviour of the nuns, but neither he nor his successors were able to make the leopard change its spots; a late report from 1530 makes it clear they were by then living a very secular life. The abbey also became involved in numerous legal cases, often against other monasteries, in which it was by no means always the innocent party. Nevertheless, it survived until it was surrendered on 26th August 1539. There was a proposal to create a cathedral for Bedfordshire, which may have used Elstow Abbey, but in the event the plan was dropped, and only the nave survived to serve as the parish church (a small part of the western range of the communal buildings also survives and is used as the vestry). John Bunyan was born in the parish, and the abbey church played a major role in his early life. The wooden carving over the west door is a facsimilie of the seal on the abbey's act of surrender, and shows and , to whom the abbey church was and is dedicated. The carving and the doors below date from 1963.
Size: 3386px × 5100px
Location: Elstow, Bedfordshire, England
Photo credit: © David Knighton / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: abbey, bedfordshire, benedictine, britain, british, bunyan, carved, carving, church, elstow, england, english, john, july, kingdom, mediaeval, medieval, nuns, seal, summer, topographical, uk, united, wood
