Editing Bisham Abbey

{{Short description|Listed manor house at Bisham in the English county of Berkshire}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}}
[[File:Bisham-29Ag9-wyrd1.jpg|thumb|Bisham Abbey Manor House Berkshire]]

'''Bisham Abbey''' is a Grade I [[listed building|listed]] [[manor house]] at [[Bisham]] in the English county of [[Berkshire]]. The name is taken from the now lost [[monastery]] which once stood alongside. This original Bisham Abbey was previously named '''Bisham Priory''', and was the traditional resting place of many [[Earl of Salisbury|Earls of Salisbury]]. The complex surrounding the extant manorial buildings is now one of three [[National Sports Centres]] run on behalf of [[Sport England]] and is used as a residential training camp base for athletes and teams and community groups alike. It is a wedding venue with a licence for civil ceremony and is used for [[Business conference|conferences]], [[team building]] events, corporate parties and private functions.

==Manor house==
[[File:Bisham-29Ag9-wyrd2.jpg|thumb|The Manor House]]
The manor house was built around 1260 as a community house for two [[Knights Templar]]. There was substantial rebuilding and alteration in later centuries.<ref>{{NHLE|num=1303584|desc=Bisham Abbey|accessdate=29 September 2015}}</ref> When the Templars were suppressed in 1307, King [[Edward II of England|Edward II]] took over the manorial rights, granting them to various relatives.
In 1310 the building was used as a place of confinement for [[Elizabeth de Burgh|Queen Elizabeth]] of the Scots, wife of King [[Robert the Bruce]], along with her stepdaughter [[Marjorie Bruce|Princess Marjorie]] and sister&ndash;in&ndash;law, Lady [[Christine of Carrick]]. They had been captured on the Isle of [[Rathlin]] during the [[Wars of Scottish Independence|Scottish Wars of Succession]], and were placed in the charge of the King's [[Yeoman]], John Bentley, for two years, until removed to [[Windsor, Berkshire|Windsor]].

In 1335 the manor was bought by [[William Montacute, 1st Earl of Salisbury]] and in 1337 he founded Bisham Priory alongside, within the year of his death 1344, and he was buried there.

[[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]] granted the manor house to [[Anne of Cleves]] as part of her divorce settlement from him, and it was later bought by the [[Thomas Hoby|Hoby family]], who lived there until 1768. [[Elizabeth I of England|Elizabeth I]] was a regular visitor in the time of the Hoby family. [[Anne of Denmark]] stayed in August 1610.<ref>E. K. Purnell & A. B. Hinds, [https://archive.org/details/reportonmanuscri0002grea_n4k0/page/358/mode/2up ''HMC Downshire'', vol. 2 (London, 1936), p. 358]</ref> Her arms with the motto ''La Mia Grandezza dal Eccelso'' and the arms of her husband [[James VI and I]] featured in the stained glass of the parish church, and were later installed in the house.<ref>John Gough Nichols, ''The Family Alliances of Denmark and Great Britain'' (London, 1863), p. 25.</ref> There is a long-standing legend that the house is haunted by the ghost of [[Elizabeth Cooke, Lady Russell|Dame Elizabeth Hoby]], as she purportedly beat her son to death for blotting his copy-book.<ref>{{Cite web |title=RBHy: The Ghost of Lady Hoby at Bisham (Berkshire), Part 2 |url=https://berkshirehistory.com/legends/bisham02.html |access-date=2024-03-13 |website=berkshirehistory.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-08-26 |title=The Ghost Of Dame Elizabeth Hoby – The Grey Lady Of Bisham Abbey |url=https://www.planet-today.com/2020/08/the-ghost-of-dame-elizabeth-hoby-grey.html |access-date=2024-03-13 |website=Planet Today |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Berkshire Federation of Women's Institutes |title=The Berkshire Book |publisher=The Berkshire Federation of Women's Institutes |year=1939 |location=Watlington House, Reading, Berks. |publication-date=1939 |pages=22}}</ref>

==Monastery==
'''Bisham Priory''' was built for the [[Augustinian Canons]]. The foundation stone laid in 1337, and the brass plaque once affixed to it, can still be seen at [[Denchworth]]. When the founder, the 1st Earl of Salisbury, died, he was buried at the priory, as were many later Earls of Salisbury, including [[Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick]], who was buried in April 1471.

Despite holding some relics of [[Saints Cosmas and Damian]], the priory never really became a centre of [[pilgrimage]]: many other churches also held relics of the same saints, including two different locations which both claimed to have their skulls.

Bisham Priory was [[Dissolution of the monasteries|dissolved]] on 5 July 1537, but six months later, on 18 December, it was refounded as a [[Order of St. Benedict|Benedictine]] [[abbey]]. This was not to last though as it was finally [[Dissolution of the monasteries|dissolved]] on 19 June 1538.<ref name="VCH">{{cite web | last = Ditchfield | first = PH |author2=Page, William | title = The Priory of Bisham | work = Victoria County History of Berkshire | url = http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=40062 | year = 1907 | access-date = 18 November 2008}}</ref> The [[abbot]] of Bisham, John Cordery, is said to have cursed the building thus: "As God is my witness, this property shall ne’er be inherited by two direct successors, for its sons will be hounded by misfortune", as he was dragged from it. Nothing remains of the abbey church or its associated buildings.

==Burials in the Priory/Abbey==
*[[Simon de Montagu, 1st Baron Montagu]], 1316
*[[William Montagu, 2nd Baron Montagu]], 1319
*[[William Montagu, 1st Earl of Salisbury]], 1344
*[[Catherine Grandison, Countess of Salisbury]], 1349
*[[William de Montagu, 2nd Earl of Salisbury]], 1397
*[[John Montacute, 3rd Earl of Salisbury]], 1400
*[[Eleanor Holland, Countess of Salisbury]], 1413
*[[Thomas Montagu, 4th Earl of Salisbury]], 1428
*[[Alice Montacute, 5th Countess of Salisbury]], 1462
*[[Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury]], 1463
*[[Thomas Neville (died 1460)]], 1463
*[[John Neville, 1st Marquess of Montagu]], 1471, and his wife [[Isabel Ingoldisthorpe]], 1476
*[[Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick]], 1471
*[[Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick]], 1485

==Sports centre==
The manor house is now run by [[Serco|Serco Leisure Operating Ltd]] on behalf of [[Sport England]], and is one of three [[National Sports Centres]]. Gym membership is open to the public.

The facilities include:-
*A £1.2 million international water based [[field hockey|hockey]] pitch
*An indoor tennis centre featuring four tennis courts
*Four outdoor "French Court" clay tennis courts and four floodlit outdoor acrylic tennis courts
*A fully equipped elite strength and conditioning facility
* Sauna and steam room
*A large community gym with cardio and free weights and full fitness class timetable
*Two [[Squash (sport)|squash]] courts
*A remodelled nine-hole par three golf course
*A sports therapy performance centre which enables elite level sports science and medicine services to be provided on site

The England [[association football]] men's senior team trained at Bisham Abbey for 40 years, up until early 2001. England Rugby had their training base at Bisham Abbey until 2005, when they moved to the [[University of Bath]]. Several football teams have trained at Bisham Abbey, most recently [[FC Barcelona|Barcelona]] and [[Portsmouth F.C.|Portsmouth]] before their 2008 FA Cup victory. For the last few years Non-League [[Marlow United F.C.]] use the pitches as their home ground. The facilities are frequently used by elite athletes and community groups for residential training camps such as the Rugby Sevens and England Hockey. There is an International High performance Tennis centre based on site managed by WIN Tennis. Some professional rugby players use the gym facilities. In February 2006 the [[England national futsal team|England futsal team]] played two international friendlies against [[Finland national futsal team|Finland]] at Bisham Abbey. Due to their regular training ground (Beversbrook) being out of use due to the weather [[Swindon Town F.C.]] have been using the centre (as of February 2020) while they attempt to find a more permanent facility.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/sport/18255260.swindon-towns-jerry-yates-discusses-impact-training-several-different-locations-along-m4-strip-game/|title = 'Driving to Bisham Abbey fills my time, I don't mind it,' Yates on Town's training ground inconsistencies}}</ref>

==Media==

Bisham Abbey is described in [[Jerome K. Jerome]]'s 1889 humorous novel ''[[Three Men in a Boat]]''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jerome |first=Jerome |title=Three Men in a Boat|oclc=457566372|publisher=J.W. Arrowsmith|place=Bristol|year=1889|quote=From Marlow up to Sonning is even fairer yet.  Grand old Bisham Abbey, whose stone walls have rung to the shouts of the Knights Templars, and which, at one time, was the home of Anne of Cleves and at another of Queen Elizabeth, is passed on the right bank just half a mile above Marlow Bridge.  Bisham Abbey is rich in melodramatic properties.  It contains a tapestry bed-chamber, and a secret room hid high up in the thick walls.  The ghost of the Lady Holy, who beat her little boy to death, still walks there at night, trying to wash its ghostly hands clean in a ghostly basin.}}</ref>

During the [[Nationwide Building Society]]'s summer advertising campaign of 2010, when they were official sponsors of the [[England national football team|England football team]] at the [[2010 FIFA World Cup|World Cup]], one of their television advertisements featured the England team playing on one of the pitches at Bisham Abbey. The [[Church of England parish church|parish church]] was clearly visible in the background.

== References ==
{{reflist}}
* Time-Life Books, ''Mysteries of the Unknown: Hauntings'', 1989, {{ISBN|0-8094-6352-0}}
* [http://www.berkshirehistory.com/castles/bisham_abbey.html Royal Berkshire History: Bisham Abbey]

== External links ==
* {{Official website|http://www.bishamabbeynsc.co.uk}}

{{Coord|51.556635|-0.779657|source:geograph.co.uk_region:GB_type:landmark|display=title}}

[[Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1260]]
[[Category:Christian monasteries established in the 1260s]]
[[Category:Christian monasteries established in the 1330s]]
[[Category:1337 establishments in England]]
[[Category:1537 disestablishments in England]]
[[Category:1537 establishments in England]]
[[Category:1537 in England]]
[[Category:1538 disestablishments in England]]
[[Category:Augustinian monasteries in England]]
[[Category:Benedictine monasteries in England]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead]]
[[Category:Grade I listed buildings in Berkshire]]
[[Category:Grade I listed houses]]
[[Category:Grade I listed monasteries]]
[[Category:Country houses in Berkshire]]
[[Category:Preceptories of the Knights Templar]]
[[Category:Monasteries in Berkshire]]
[[Category:Sports venues in Berkshire]]
[[Category:Sports academies]]
[[Category:Burial sites of the House of Neville]]
[[Category:Monasteries dissolved under the English Reformation]]
[[Category:Bisham]]
[[Category:Anne of Cleves]]