Editing Abbey (section)

=== Premonstratensians (Norbertians) ===
{{Main article|Premonstratensians}}
The Premonstratensian regular canons, or "White canons", were of an order founded in 1119 AD by [[Norbert of Xanten]]. The order was a reformed branch of the [[Augustinians|Augustinian canons]]. From a marshy area in the Forest of Coucy in the [[diocese of Laon]], the order spread widely. Even in Norbert's lifetime, the order had built abbeys in [[Aleppo]], [[Syria]], and in the [[Kingdom of Jerusalem]]. Of the Abbey of Saint Samuel, [[Denys Pringle]] wrote, "The Premonstatensian abbey of Saint Samuel was a daughter house of Prémontré itself. Its abbot had the status of a [[suffragan]] of the [[Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem|patriarch of Jerusalem]], with the right to a cross, but not to a [[mitre]] nor a ring."<ref>Pringle, Denys, ''The Churches of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem: L-Z (excluding Tyre)'', Cambridge University Press, New York, 1998, p.86</ref> It long maintained its rigid austerity, though in later years the abbey grew wealthier, and its members indulged in more frequent luxuries.

Just after 1140 AD, the Premonstratensians were brought to England. Their first settlement was at [[Newsham Abbey|Newhouse Abbey]], [[Lincolnshire]], near the [[Humber]] tidal estuary. There were as many as thirty-five Premonstratensian abbeys in England. The head abbey in England was at [[Welbeck Abbey]] but the best preserved are [[Easby Abbey]] in [[Yorkshire]], and [[Bayham Old Abbey]] in [[Kent]].

The layout of Easby Abbey is irregular due to its position on the edge of a steep river bank. The cloister is duly placed on the south side of the church, and the chief buildings occupy their usual positions around it. However, the cloister garth (quadrangle), as at [[Chichester]], is not rectangular, and thus, all the surrounding buildings are positioned in an awkward fashion. The church follows the plan adopted by the Austin canons in their northern abbeys, and has only one aisle to the north of the nave, while the choir is long, narrow and without an aisle. Each transept has an aisle to the east, forming three chapels.{{sfn|Venables|1911}}

The church at Bayham Old Abbey had no aisles in the nave or the choir. The latter terminated in a three-sided apse. The church is remarkable for its extreme narrowness in proportion to its length. While the building is {{convert|257|ft|m|abbr=on}} long, it is not more than {{convert|25|ft|m|abbr=on}} wide. Premonstratensian canons did not care to have congregations nor possessions. Therefore, they built their churches in the shape of a long room.{{sfn|Venables|1911}}