Notley Abbey

Notley Abbey was founded in between 1154 and 1164 by the second Earl of Buckingham, Walter Giffard and his wife, Ermengard. The house was dedicated to the Virgin Mary and Saint John the Baptist and was made to house Augustinian canons. Despite its lack of historical fame, Notley Abbey was one of the largest and richest Augustinian monasteries in the Oxford region. Notley Abbey was originally meant to fuse the lifestyles of monastic and apostolic people, forming a middle ground between monks and secular clergy; however, the monastic lifestyle dominated. The fact that Notley Abbey was constructed at Earl's park in Long Crendon suggests that Augustinians were becoming purely monastic by 1160.…

Notley Abbey was originally built based on the medieval architecture (12th and 13th century) popular during the era of its construction. The stone-built main residence is L-shaped and two-storied throughout. The reconstruction of Notley Abbey in 1890 introduced architecture more reminiscent of the late medieval period, specifically in the replacement of Georgian casement windows with those of the Tudor form. When Notley Abbey was excavated in 1937, only the abbot's house and portions of the western and southern claustral buildings were relatively intact. The church was nearly completely underground and, to the disappointment of the excavation team, its foundations had been previously dug up…