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In 1336 March 15, Abbas de Evesham (Abbot and convent) were granted, by Edward III, (In year 10 of his reign) a Royal licence to crenellate Evesham (Evesham Abbey)
Licence for the abbot and convent of Evesham, in enlargement of the late licence given them to crenellate their house beyond the abbey gate, to crenellate the chapel and other houses adjacent to the said house, and the abbey as well. By K. (CPR)

Abbas de Evesham ... domum extra portam Abbathiae ... Evesham, Wigorn. (Turner and Parker)

Granted at Westminster. Grant by King.

Comments

The abbey was the site of the tomb of Simon de Montfort, which was a pilgrimage site, although attempts to have de Montfort canonised were blocked by the monarchy. By the 1330s the de Montfort cult was long past its prime and the abbey may well have lost pilgrims. Was this licence part of trying to re-build a pilgrimage centre or perhaps about establishing better relations with the king?

Original source is;

(In fact, the original source given is usually a transcription/translation of what are precious medieval documents not readily availably. It should be noted that these transcription/translations often date to the nineteenth or early twentieth centuries and that unwitting bias of transcribers may affect the translation. Care should also be taken to avoid giving modern meaning to the medieval use of certain stock words and terms. Licentia is best translated as 'freedom to' not 'permission'.)

Significant later sources are;

More information about licences to crenellate can be found here.

Please do inform Gatehouse if you see any errors, can add information or can otherwise help to improve this resource. Please contact Gatehouse.

Record created by Philip Davis. This record last updated on Sunday, October 4, 2015.


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