an Extra-parochial Liberty, three and a half miles N.E. from Shrewsbury,
contains 1,564A. 0R. 3P. of land, and at the census of 1841 had 27 houses
and 169 souls. This place forms a portion of the Sundorne demesne, which
comprises 8,634A. 1R. 26P., and is the property of Andrew William Corbet,
Esq. The stately pile of HAUGHMOND ABBEY is now fallen into almost total
decay, but the magnificent ruins have an imposing appearance; they stand
on rising ground, backed by woods, and command an extended view the plain
of Shrewsbury, its town, and castle, and the fine demesne of Sundorne.
From the extent of the ruins it must have been a place of great
magnitude. Of the Abbey Church few remains exist: the south door of the
nave, which opened into the cloister, exhibits an elegant specimen of
Anglo-Norman architecture. The outer walls of the chapter house are in a
perfect state of preservation. The entrance is by a finely ornamented
round arch, with a window on each side, divided into small lights.
Southward of the chapter house are the remains of the refectory, and
beyond it the shell of a noble hall, measuring eighty-one feet by
thirty-six feet. The windows were formerly filled with Gothic tracery.
The ruins of the cloister and abbots’ lodging may also still be traced.
The monastery was founded in the year 1110, by William Fitz Alan, for
canons of the order of St. Augustine. It was richly endowed with lands
by the founder, and other individuals, and had many valuable privileges
and immunities granted by the Popes Honorus III., Nicholas III., Boniface
IX., and Martin IV. The yearly revenues of the abbey at the dissolution
were £269. 13s. 7d., according to Dugdale, and £294. 13s. 9d. according
to Speed. Leland says, “There were an hermitage and chapel on this spot
before the abbey was built.” William Fitz Alan and other members of the
family were buried here.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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