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Cistercian Abbeys: SIBTON Name: SIBTON Location: nr Sibton
village County: Suffolk Sibton Abbey, dedicated to the Blessed
Virgin,
was founded in 1150 by William de Chesney (sometimes called William
fitz Robert), who died in 1174 and was sheriff of Norfolk and
Suffolk. It was one of three daughter-houses of Warden and
was the only Cistercian
abbey to be established in East Anglia.(1) The
abbey was colonised by the usual thirteen monks and numbers
increased during the
thirteenth century, at which time there was also a large number
of lay-brothers.(2) The abbey owned
considerable areas of land scattered
throughout south-east England. By the end of the thirteenth century
Sibton held estates in Norfolk, on the borders of Suffolk and
Cambridgeshire,
and in up to ten parishes in the city of Norwich. From the first
half of the thirteenth century the abbey was also responsible
for
a hospital at the precinct gate which cared for the poor and the
sick.(3) At the time of the Dissolution
the net annual income of the
house was valued at £250 and thus the abbey should not have
fallen for another two years. However, it seems that the recently
appointed abbot, William Flatbury, had been elevated to this position
through the influence of the duke of Norfolk and with the involvement
of Cromwell, for the purpose of bringing about a speedy surrender.(4) The
house was afterwards sold to Thomas Howard, duke of Norfolk
(d. 1554), which seems to reinforce his involvement. The site is
situated in a wooded area in the village of Sibton. The remains
include parts of the refectory and the south wall of the nave but
these are heavily overgrown. The land is privately owned and is
not accessible to the public.
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