Abbot's House, Robertsbridge

Performance Spaces

Overview

History

Bibliographic Sources

Events
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Other Images

13th c. roof
19th c. view
Abbot's House farm
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Venue Type & Location

Monastic residence

Site Name: Abbot's House
Location: Robertsbridge Abbey
County: Sussex
Location Type: Countryside - at determined location

Overview

The Cistercian abbey of St Mary, Robertsbridge, was located on the S side of the River Rother, not far from a main NS road and a few miles N from the important Abbey of Battle. The remains of the stone rubble abbot's house in the W range of the cloister have been renovated to serve as a farmhouse, with an early 17th c. wing added on the S side and a 20th c. kitchen wing at the E end. The 13th c. undercroft, king-post roof of the hall, and a pointed stone medieval door and small ogee-headed window in the W wall remain. Most of the other abbey buildings are gone although there are some ruins of the refectory SE of the house (DOE, List of Buildings: District of Rother 384).

Performance History

A few surviving abbey accounts from the early 15th c. record visits by various entertainers. The players of the Lord (ie, Abbot) of Robertsbridge performed at Rye in 1517--18, and it is likely they performed at the abbey for their patron as well.

Current Status

Incorporated in a farmhouse and much altered. Private property with no public access.

History of the Venue

ca. 1176 Abbey founded in the vill of Robertsbridge within the parish of Salehurst by Alvred de St Martin.

1198 Royal charter granted by Richard II. ca.

1250 Abbot's House built.

1314 A charter indicates that the abbey had at some time previous moved from its original to the present site.

1538 Abbey surrendered by Abbot Thomas Taylor and dissolved.

1539 Site of the abbey granted to Sir William Sidney of Penshurst.

1541--2 Ironworks built on the site (Cleere and Crossley, Iron Industry 125--6).

early 17th c. Residence of the Hawes family. New wing added at S side of the former abbot's house.

18th c.--19th c. Sold to John Sambroke of London (1720), Sir Thomas Webster (1725) and Edward Allfrey (1822), but leased to tenants and most of the other buildings demolished, being used as a local quarry.

20th c. Kitchen wing added at E end.

Record Source

REED Sussex 186--7

Patrons who owned this venue

Name Dates Titles
Robertsbridge, William of 0-0

Bibliographic Sources

View a list of abbreviations.

  • Cleere, Henry and David Crossley. The Iron Industry of the Weald. Leicester: Leicester University Press, 1985.
  • Cooper, George Miles. 'Notices of the Abbey of Robertsbridge.' Sussex Archaeological Collections 8 (1856): 141–76.
  • Department of the Environment. List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest: District of Rother, East Sussex (area of the former rural district of Battle). Np: Department of the Environment, 1987.
  • Hodson, Leonard J. A Short History of the Parish of Salehurst (Sussex). Robertsbridge: The Author, 1914.
  • Horsfield, Thomas Walker. The History, Antiquities, and Topography of the County of Sussex. 2 vols. Lewes: Nichols & Son, 1835.
  • Knowles, David, and J.K.S. St Joseph. Monastic Sites from the Air. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1952.
  • Lower, Mark Antony. A Compendious History of Sussex, Topographical, Archaeological & Anecdotal. 2 vols. Lewes; London: Geo. P. Bacon; John Russell Smith, 1870.
  • Nairn, Ian, and Nikolaus Pevsner. Sussex. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth, Midd: Penguin Books, 1965.
  • Rouse, James. The Beauties and Antiquities of the County of Sussex. 2 vols. London: The Author, 1825.
  • Salzman, L.F., C.R.J. Currie and T.P. Hudson. The Victoria History of the County of Sussex. Victoria History of the Counties of England. 8 vols. London: Oxford UP, 1905–7 [vols 1–2], 1935 [3], 1953 [4], 1997 [5], 1980–7 [6], 1940 [7], 1937 [9].
  • Wilson, David M., and D. Gillian Hurst. 'Medieval Britain in 1966.' Medieval Archaeology 11 (1967): 262–319.