Rewley Abbey

The Cistercian Abbey of Rewley was a monastic institution situated in Oxford, England, founded in the 13th century. Its establishment was initiated by Edmund, 2nd Earl of Cornwall, who envisioned it as a college or 'studium' for Cistercian monks to pursue their studies at Oxford. This endeavor aimed to provide a center of learning within the university, granting the college privileges similar to those of the well-established College of St. Bernard in Paris.

Foundation and Purpose

Edmund's father, Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall, had initially intended to establish a chantry for secular priests. However, Edmund substituted this plan with the establishment of a community of six Cistercian monks, expressing greater confidence in their spiritual efficacy. The general chapter of the Cistercian order accepted Edmund's offer in 1280 to found a college for Cistercians at Oxford. The chapter decreed that this new institution would share the same privileges as the College of St. Bernard in Paris and would be overseen by the Abbot of Thame. Further decrees in 1281 honored the Earl of Cornwall by allowing the Abbot of Thame to appoint an abbot of his choice for the Oxford house of study and mandated a daily remembrance of the late Earl at Mass.

Landholdings and Inmates

The abbey acquired substantial landholdings and assets from its founder, including the Manor of Yarnton, mills in Cassington, the hamlet of Wyllanston, two parks in Nettlebed, tenements in London, and the advowson of churches in Cornwall. By 1324, the abbey held the appropriation of the church of St. Wendron. Later, Edward the Black Prince granted them the advowson of St. Stithians, Cornwall. Possessions in Chesterton, Oxfordshire, were also acquired, likely through the founder. By 1535, records indicate rents in Coventry, though little new beyond original endowments had been acquired. The number of inmates at Rewley Abbey was initially fifteen, raised to sixteen by 1294. An order from the Abbot of Cîteaux in 1292 stipulated that one student from each Cistercian house with twenty monks in the province of Canterbury should be sent to the 'studium Oxonie' at Rewley.

Transition and Dissolution

It is uncertain how long Rewley Abbey functioned primarily as a place of study. Disputations in 1300 regarding the precedence of Rewley monks in university processions suggest they were still students then, and a 1315 record refers to the 'monks residing there are scholars.' The abbey likely ceased to be a dedicated place of study with the construction of Bernard College. King Henry VIII, who was the patron of Rewley Abbey, appears to have directed that a grammar master be maintained at Rewley, with one or two monks supported at Bernard College.

Rewley Abbey met its end during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539. Abbot Nicholaus Austen made an offer of £100 to Thomas Cromwell in early 1536 in an attempt to save the monastery, even proposing its conversion into a college. However, these efforts proved futile. Abbot Nicholas was subsequently granted a pension and retired to Trinity Hall, Cambridge. Today, a Catholic priest holds the title of Abbot of Rewley Abbey.

Surviving Traces

Little physical evidence of Rewley Abbey endures. Stones from the abbey were repurposed for the base of the tower of St Mary Magdalen's Church in Oxford. The site of the abbey was occupied by Oxford Rewley Road railway station, built in 1851, which ceased railway use in 1984. The only remaining trace of the abbey is a section of wall and a gate located alongside the Castle Mill Stream, near the terminus of the Oxford Canal. This remnant once marked the perimeter of the rail yard at Oxford railway station. The land where Rewley Abbey stood is now occupied by a housing estate.