The Haunted Abbey’s of Shropshire.

There are a number of stunning ruined religious buildings in Shropshire- which serve as a reminder of their former glory. There were no real regular monastic foundations in Shropshire before the Norman conquest, only smaller minster churches, Thus with the advent of Norman rule, a series of new establishments were formed. Shrewsbury abbey was founded in 1083, Buildwas around 1148 and many others during the later 12^th century. These were places of learning, religious instruction as well as areas of great agriculture and even small-scale mining. Monasteries, abbeys, and priories were important in medieval Shropshire. To the Norman knighthood, their purpose extended beyond being the destination of their second sons. Indeed, the monks and their monasteries served as a solution to the pesky problem of penance. As killing was a sin (we will hear more about murders later) which required 120 days penance, A knight could pay a monk to serve his penance for him, all whilst going about their knightly business. The monk would complete the penance and absolve the knight of any wrongdoing in the eyes of god. This would be incredibly useful in a border territory such as Shropshire, which frequently saw battles and fighting. Many of Shropshire’s religious buildings also saw themselves at the centre of pilgrimage, due to their saintly associations. An early monastery was set up on the site of the 7^th century Much Wenlock Priory, which benefited from its associations with St Milburga. Indeed, her remains were ‘rediscovered’ in the 11^th century, and they reinterred her near the high alter, allowing pilgrimages and thus money to flock to the area. This enterprise, as well as support from wealthy Salopians, taxes, and production such as mining saw these communities go from very basic facilities to impressive stone buildings, which despite their vows of poverty were both accommodating and worthy glorification of god. Thus, religion thrived in Shropshire, with at one point 9 orders of monks, cannons, friars as well as nuns all in operation in the area. They are ruins now, littered across vast open spaces, but once, these buildings hummed with the noise and energy of life. They were busy, important buildings – which saw both daily life and the machinations of power unfold, with political intrigue and questions of loyalty laid bare, so understandably, there are several ghosts left behind.

The Ghosts of Shropshire’s abbeys and religious buildings may seem like stock characters, spooky spectres of abbots, monks, and nuns somehow frozen in time- like the ghost of Haughmond abbey, who walks through the doorways and arches still, or the figures of white lady’s priory who can still be heard chanting, but these stories are far more than that. They are a window into the attitudes and ideas of the time, providing us with an intimate understanding of history. In them we see life and death, murder, and politics, as well as a good ghost story. I want to share with you two of them, one from Lilleshall Abbey, and the other from Buildwas Abbey in an attempt to demonstrate the roles both institutions played in Shropshire’s history, as well as sharing the ghosts that continue.

The Augustinian abbey of Lilleshall was founded in 1148 by a local landowner called Sir Richard de Blemeis. No expense was spared in its creation, and within 20 years a magnificent church of red sandstone around 228ft in length as well as impressive domestic buildings had been built. One of its most famous features is its processional doorway, which leads to the cloister. It is near the cloister that the ghost of the ‘Black Monk’ is seen. He is a recurrent apparition, and is said to be tall, middle aged and wearing the dark robes of the Augustinian order. Also, this monk appears solid, with his feet on the ground as you or I, rather than being translucent. He appears kneeling with his head bowed, as if in prayer or contemplation.

No sooner than you have seen this spectre, does he realise that you are there. He turns suddenly, lunging forward and asks directly

‘Have you found the secret?!?’

He stands for a moment or two, watching, trying to gage your reaction, then he disappears. There is a great deal of speculation regarding what this secret is. Some believe the phantom guards a fabulous treasure, which was hidden away from the hands of King Henry VIII’s men.

Other stories suggest this ghost was at the centre of a Medieval murder, with the finger of suspicion being pointed to Henry III- a very proud and stubborn king.

In 1244, the king was desperately short of money. Like many English Kings, he’d spent all his wealth on luxury living and wars with the French. Thus, he began trying to think of ways he could raise more money- so the king went to Lilleshall abbey on a ‘Hunting trip’. This shows the abbey was an important building- important enough to be on the royal itinerary and considered to have enough status to host the king. Though I am in no doubt hunting happened, this whole trip was just an excuse to pilfer some money from the local area. So, the king came to Lilleshall, and made an announcement. He informed the area that he’d been given top secret news. This news was that the pesky Welsh were gathering at an alarming speed, for war. Because of this, the men of Shropshire would have to pay a tax, to provide ‘wages’ for the soldiers that would protect Shropshire. Only there was no tax, and no Welshmen gathering at the borders. Despite this the king persisted, informing the Yeoman, Nobles, and notable men of the county the dire situation at their borders. But the Yeomen and Nobles refused to pay the tax. They said they were well equipped and skilled with their weapons, so they would do their own fighting. Lo and behold the day came, and they turned up fully armed at the doors of the abbey asking when the battle would be. The king, fearing insurrection told them that the Welsh had relented and gone home, as they feared they wouldn’t be able to win against the men of Shropshire.

After his close call, the King decided a safer way to raise money would be to sell titles and appointments. So, he did so, with some success, until he decided to sell the title of sheriff. The problem with this was there was already a sheriff. When he found out he was stupefied and rode out to Lilleshall abbey to try and find out what on earth was going on. Perhaps he thought he could get his role back, or change the king’s mind, so the former sheriff entered the abbey. Unfortunately, the sheriff never left the abbey.

It is believed that the ghostly monk is the abbot of the monastery, and the ‘secret’ is the sheriff’s murder. The abbot is said to have witnessed the murder and haunts the grounds still, perhaps he is trying to gain justice, or absolution for having been involved. One can be sure that such actions, even if he only witnessed the murder would be in direct opposition to the core tenants of his religious belief.

This story perfectly demonstrates the complexity of medieval kingship, and the interplay between church and crown, as well as the conflict between the two institutions. It also allows us to glimpse public opinion of the king, as Henry III is hardly painted in a very positive light. Furthermore, it shows that there was no clear-cut concept of Christian morality- which Is a theme we shall further in the following story.

Let’s head to Buildwas Abbey now and meet the spirits there. These impressive ruins are tucked away in a forested area near the River Severn. It was a Cistercian abbey once and can boast a beautifully vaulted and tile floored chapter house, crypt chapel as well as some extraordinary stonework. The Abbey was founded in 1135 by a local bishop, and though sparsely endowed it did enjoy periods of growth and prosperity throughout its long history, particularly under Abbot Ranulf in the 12^th century. It was a centre of learning, with a considerable library, and was the owner of many acres of peasant land, which grew crops and housed cattle.

Our story starts in 1342, which wasn’t a very good year for Buildwas abbey. Indeed, there was foul play afoot, and a series of events that would lead to murder.

The trouble began around 18 months earlier though, when a horrendous cattle disease struck Shropshire. This disease decimated the livestock population, with one manor not too far from the abbey seeing 62 of 154 cattle dead, and the rest of them too sick to give milk. Its not known how far this affected Buildwas Abbey’s lands, but it was enough to call into question the actions of the Abbot- John Burnell who was unrelenting with the pursuit of rent. The dispute eventually calmed, after church officials were sent, however, the following year things worsened after crops failed.

 With no crops and the county still in the grips of a cattle disease, many peasants left their land in search of work further afield, or died, leaving acres of abandoned arable land. This was a real crisis and put immense pressure on the peasants left behind. At the abbey, it seems that Abbot Burnell refused to acknowledge these serious economic problems. He had no pity for the peasants and insisted that the abbey should collect the full taxes of abbey land, even if empty. He said he expected full rents and refused to allow any remission of fees or fines. The details of what follows are lost to time, however it seems that the local peasants expressed their concern, and found a voice in a junior monk, by the name of Thomas Tong.

Tong sympathised with the peasants and wanted the abbot to start to act on the crisis. Its also said that the two clashed on a personal level, however a meeting was arranged to discuss the growing dissent amount the peasantry. This meeting was far from a pleasant affair, in fact it quickly turned violent, which saw Thomas Tong stabbing the abbot to death. The Bishop of Coventry was called in to sort the mess out, and had Thomas arrested. Being a monk- he was subject to church justice and escaped the death penalty. He was flogged, expelled from the church, and ordered to go on pilgrimage to gain forgiveness.

A new abbot was appointed to Buildwas, and the rent situation was resolved. However, this wouldn’t be the end of Buildwas Abbey’s strife. Five years later the Black Death struck the county, killing almost half of the population in Shropshire. The estate of Buildwas plummeted in value and was never really profitable again. To top it all off Thomas Tong returned to Buildwas abbey. Having completed his pilgrimage, he was forgiven in the eyes of God, and wanted to be a monk again. Thomas Tongs return seemed to be too much for the spirit of Abbot Burnell.

After resting for 5 years, his ghost was soon seen walking the monastery grounds, unhappy at his killer’s return. Thomas didn’t stay at the abbey long, (perhaps intimidated by his victim’s spectre) but Abbot Burnell never gained rest. His spirit is still reported to wander the remains of Buildwas abbey, restless, and understandably unhappy at his demise. To some, he is said to be an uncomfortable presence, however, not to all. In the 1980s Abbot Burnell’s ghost was reported to walk alongside another otherworldly monk, and seemed at peace, giving off a calming presence. He has been witnessed since, alone but appears in contemplation, and enjoying the serenity of the Abbey ruins.

This is an important story, taking place in a period of great instability for Shropshire. It demonstrates a great deviation away from Christian morality- both Abbot Burnell’s deviation from Christian charity and Thomas Tongs murderous intension. It can also be viewed as a contemporary criticism of church justice, which allowed murderers to escape real punishment, and portrays the abbey as a place of greed and violence, out of touch with the world around them.

 There are a number of stunning ruined religious buildings in Shropshire- and their ghosts serve as a reminder of the human story behind these buildings.