Last week, we looked at the establishment of Stoneleigh Abbey. This week we will see how the grange at Bockendon was developed to become a supporting farm for the Abbey.
Bockendon was one of several granges, or farms, built to provide for the monks of Stoneleigh Abbey. It was constructed on the site of land converted from forest to arable use (assarts) at Hurst and was built within a moat. According to the Historic England report on this site, following its Scheduling in 2018, the inclusion of a moat was likely to be a status symbol and not defensive; moats being “…important for the understanding of the distribution of wealth and status in the countryside”. However, it could be argued that defence was also of great importance, since Westwood/Bockendon was a remote area and a moat would offer significant protection. In fact, at Bockendon there are the remains or earthworks of a total of three moats in a triangular formation, within 200 m of each other. This is highly unusual and raises yet more questions: Why three moats in this formation? The expense required to provide materials and manpower for these would have been considerable, so do these, in fact, pre-date the medieval period? Across Bockendon Road is the site of the “extensive medieval fishponds”, which “provided the water source for the moat”. They were dammed and drained in the 19th Century and are now dry and wooded.
Life on a Cistercian Grange
Cistercian Abbeys were self-sufficent, as they received no tithe payments. The grange would have been inhabited and worked by lay brethren. Cistercian monks were known as the White Monks, due to their undyed attire; the lay brethren, however, wore brown. In the interests of austerity, they were forbidden to wear underwear or breeches. The principle of daily life on the grange followed that in the religious house – a simple life with the emphasis on private prayer as opposed to ritual; strict discipline; a lack of comfort; and manual labour, believed to bring spiritual benefits. The lay brethren came from the local peasantry and although they were uneducated, they were accustomed to hard physical work.
The Cistercian monks seem to have been innovative people who used marginal land to its fullest extent. At some abbeys, they forayed into industries such as coal mining and metallurgy. They also proved to be good farmers, managing a mixed economy of cereals and livestock. The granges often specialised in cattle or sheep as well as often producing fish. Although Cistercian brethren followed a largely plant-based diet, they did include eggs and fish on feast days. They would be able to sell surplus locally, augmenting their income.
Bockendon was not the only grange associated with Stoneleigh Abbey. Cryfield became the Home Grange for Stoneleigh. This was the most important grange attached to Stoneleigh Abbey in 1291. There was a grange at Kings Hill (Kings Hulle), Radway Grange, which also had fishponds; and Millburn Grange. So, Bockendon was part of a significant network of granges which supported the existence and running of Stoneleigh Abbey. Images
Cistercian monks at prayer and at work in the fields. From a 12th– Century manuscript held at the University Library at Cambridge (image in the public domain via the Web Gallery of Art). Map showing location of the 2 moat sites, the modern house on the site of a third moat, The Pools, Bockendon Grange Farm. Site of a moat at Bockendon (www.ourwarwickshire.org.uk) Post-medieval fishponds at Bockendon Grange (www.ourwarwickshire.org.uk)
Sources
www.ourwarwickshire.co.uk www.historicengland.org.uk Warwickshire Historic Environment Record