Ramsey Abbey Cambridgeshie
Ramsey Abbey was founded in 969 by Saint Oswald, Bishop of Worcester through the gift of a local magnate, Æthelwine. The foundation was part of the mid-10th century monastic revival (when Ely and Peterborough were also refounded). It paid 4000 eels yearly in Lent to Peterborough Abbey for access to its quarries of Barnack limestone. The Abbey itself was then situated on a peninsula of gravel, known as Bodsey Island, with impassable fen to three sides. The chapel was replaced by a large, stone-built church over the next five years and thus remained until the Norman Abbot created a much grander project in the 12th century. It was thought to have been founded by Earl Ailwyn (Æthelwine), an effigy of whom is thought to be within the Abbey dating from 1230. Considerable damage was inflicted upon the Abbey by Geoffrey de Mandeville in 1143; he expelled the monks and used the buildings as a fortress.
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Keywords: abbey, medieveal, ramsey
