Lacock Abbey monastery

It seems that the monastery's foundation was resolved upon by Ela, Countess of Salisbury in 1226. Ela was the only child and the heir of William FitzPatrick, 2nd Earl of Salisbury, and at his death, when still a child, she became Countess of Salisbury in her own right. At the age of nine she had been married to William Longespée, an illegitimate son of King Henry II. It was shortly after her husband's death that Countess Ela decided on the foundation. Her eldest son, also William, being a minor, the plan was delayed until he could give his consent. However, in 1229, the foundress made her move by giving her manor of Lacock, together with the moiety of the advowson of the church, to God and…

There are a number of surviving impressions of the Abbey's seal dating from the period from the 13th and 16th centuries. Its shape is a pointed oval showing the Virgin Mary wearing a crown and seated on a carved throne with the Child Jesus on her left knee. Above is a panelled and pinnacled canopy surmounted by a cross, and below a trefoiled arch above an unidentified kneeling figure with hands raised in prayer. The inscription is “S' CONVENT BEATE MARIE SANCTI B'NARDI DE LACOC”. The motif as regards the Virgin Mary is known as the Seat of Wisdom (Sedes sapientiae), which was a common motif for seals of nunneries in medieval England, though not the majority choice. The motif usually depicts…