The Abbey of Abingdon-on-Thames Education Pack
About the Pack
This education pack contains information and activities to complement the teaching of local history
at Key Stage 2. There are both on-site activities for the students to participate in while at the abbey
and indoor activities for once the students have returned to the classroom.
This pack includes:
Historical and Archaeological information about the abbey
Heritage aspects – the abbey’s restoration to the Victorian era and
historical information on Queen Victoria
Conservation information on the abbey’s grounds and the
nationally scarce water vole
The History of the Abingdon Abbey
Abingdon-On-Thames is said to be the earliest continuously occupied town in England, dating back
to the start of the Iron Age around 700 BC.
What is an abbey?
An abbey or a monastery is where monks lived, separated from the outside world and all its
distractions. They wanted to spend all their time worshiping God and followed a religion called
Roman Catholicism.
A monk is a man who has chosen to devote his life to prayer. They dressed in loose
brown robes, tied at the waist with a cord. The chief monk and head of the abbey
was called the abbot.
It is thought the abbey existed as early as the 10th century. At this time, the Abbot
Ethelwold made the monastery follow the Rule of St. Benedict. This was a book
which told monks how to worship God and manage the monastery.
Benedict's influence was very strong. All monks had to take three vows:
1. Vow of poverty. This meant he had to give up all his worldly goods.
2. Vow of chastity. This meant he had to stay single.
3. Vow of obedience. This meant he had to promise to obey the church and the rules of the
monastery.
About the Abingdon Abbey
The abbey was one of the largest and wealthiest in the whole of England and dominated the life of
the town for over 800 years.
Because these religious churches were built ‘for the glory of God’ their size and
magnificence showed the devotion of those who built them. Each new abbot
wanted to add something of their own to make the building even more
magnificent.
To do this they needed money, which they were granted from either the king or
other donors. In return the king expected the abbey to supply and finance
knights for his wars, and the other people who gave the abbey money expected
the monks to pray to God on their behalf to help them get into heaven.
For much of the medieval period, the abbey was the only provider of charity,
education and medical care to the poor.
Through monastic schools poor boys could sometimes rise to high office.
Think who provides these services today?
In 1327 King Edward II was removed from the throne. The country was left in chaos. There were riots
against the abbey as traders were angry about the taxes the abbey charged them. Many monks,
including the abbot, were forced to run away. The rioters stole everything of value and burned the
rest. But the abbot returned with armed men to arrest the rioters.
Many of the rioters were hanged at Wallingford Castle as punishment.
King Henry VIII began to move away from Roman Catholicism as the
national religion because the pope would not let him divorce his wife. In
1534 he separated the Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church
and began to close all the large monasteries in the country in 1538.The
Abingdon abbey was the first of the large monasteries to be closed. He
ordered the removal of materials from the abbey to build his own palaces,
and now very little of the abbey remains visible.
Living by the rules
Life in a monastery was very different from our lives today. The abbey belonged to an Order, or
family, of Roman Catholic monasteries called Benedictine. They followed a set of rules such as:
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There should be 8 services to worship God each day, including one a night-time
The monks should live separately from the outside world
They must not get married
They must not have belongings
They must not hit another person, even in self-defence
Everyone should have chores to do as well as worshiping God
They should only talk when necessary
They must help the poor, sick, young and old
There must be only two meals a day, and only the sick are allowed to eat meat
(Why might these rules have been in place?)
The monks made a promise called a ‘vow’ to follow these rules when they joined the monastery.
Over time monks changed the rules by interpreting them differently. This made the rules less strict.
For example, many monks had servants to do their chores for them.
Discussion:
What do the students think about the monastery rules?
What rules do they have to follow at school or at home?
St. Benedict created these rules because he thought it would help the monks to worship God. Why do
we need rules at school?
The Monastery as a business
The monastery needed to make money and grow food. It had to feed and house the monks as well
as help the poor. The Abingdon abbey was a well run business. It became one of the six wealthiest
monasteries in England. It did this in several ways:
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Farming – the monastery owned farmland outside the boundaries
of its walls. Sometimes the monks farmed the land, sometimes it
was leased out to tenant farmers. On the land the monastery grew
crops and kept animals.
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Millstream - The millstream was built by Abbot Ethelwold in 954 AD.
It was a mile long and was used both to remove drainage and
sewage from the abbey, as well as to power the abbey mills. By the
16th century the abbey mill was making significant profits!
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Fisheries – the demands of a primarily meat-free diet meant that fish
was an important food source.
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Markets and fairs – local markets and fairs had to pay a toll to the
abbey. At times the citizens rebelled against these taxes in riots and
uprisings against the abbey.
Abingdon Abbey Dragons and Ladders Game:
Explore the history of the Abingdon abbey. The ladders represent some of the great events that have
happened but some disasters have befallen it too, so watch out for the dragons!
Instructions:
Print out the History Cards and the Game Counters.
Use one or two dice per game.
Number of players: 2 -4 per board.
Rules of the Game:
The rules are similar to those for normal Snakes and Ladders
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A player rolls the dice and moves forward that number of spaces
If a player lands on a square with a magnifying glass symbol, they must pick up a History
Card and do what the card tells them
If a player lands on the bottom of a ladder they move up it
If a player lands on the tail of a dragon they must move down it
The first to reach ‘You discovered the history of Abingdon Abbey’ box is the winner!
Abbey Grounds Heritage Aspects
In 2009, following a 5 year restoration project, the Abingdon abbey garden’s have been transformed
to the way it looked in the Victorian era (1837-1901).
The Heritage Trail
1. Abbey Gateway – the abbey gateway was the main entrance into Abingdon
Abbey. The present gateway dates from the 15th century. Can you spot the
Abingdon County Hall opposite?
2. St. Nicolas Church – the little church at the abbey gate was built in 1170 for
the abbey’s servants and tenants. Can you find the church garden to the
side?
3. Roysse Court – the gothic gateway led into the yard of the old town
grammar school re-founded by John Roysse in 1563. It occupied parts of
the former St. John’s Hospital founded in the 12th century as a lay
infirmary.
4. Abingdon Bridge – Abingdon Bridge dates from 1416 and ensured
Abingdon’s prosperity by putting it on the main trade route from London
to the West. Can you name the river that flows beneath it?
5. Abbey Buildings – this was the south range of abbey buildings where
business activities were carried out and includes the Checker and Long
Gallery.
6. Trendell’s Garden – The gardens were laid out by E. J. Trendell, a wealthy
wine merchant, in the 1850s. The ruins and walls are all Victorian follies – a
folly is a building built just for decoration.
7. Abingdon Abbey – there are no visible remains of the abbey church and
religious buildings. The outline of the church sis marked in stones on the
grass – can you spot them?
8. Mill Stream – the mill stream was dug in the tenth century to supply the
abbey mills. It powered corn and cloth fulling mills. Can you spot the
sculpture nearby the millstream?
Queen Victoria
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Victoria was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
from 1837 until her death in 1901. Her eldest son then became King
Edward VII. Her reign was the longest of any monarch in British history.
Can you think who the second longest is?
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Victoria was part of a family of Germans who came from Hanover.
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Victoria’s first language was German! But she also spoke English, French
and Hindustani, as she was the Empress of India.
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Victoria became the Queen when she was only 18 years old!
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She married at the age of 21 and set the world-wide trend of wearing a
white wedding dress. She married her cousin, Albert, a German Prince.
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Queen Victoria had 9 children, 40 grandchildren and 37 greatgrandchildren. The current Queen, Elizabeth II, is Victoria’s great-greatgranddaughter.
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Her husband, Albert, died in 1861, at the age of 42. She mourned his
death for almost 10 years. For the rest of her reign she wore black.
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In 1897, Queen Victoria celebrated her Diamond Jubilee, which
celebrated her 60 years on the throne.
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Queen Victoria had many homes. She lived at Buckingham Palace,
Windsor Castle, Osborne House and Balmoral Castle. She was the
first monarch to live at Buckingham Palace.
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Whilst Victoria was queen there was a tremendous change in the live
of British people:
Britain became the most powerful country in the world, with the
largest empire that had ever existed, ruling a quarter of the world’s
population. Have you heard the saying “the sun never set on the
British Empire”?
The number of people in Britain more than doubled, causing a huge rise
in demand for food, clothes and housing.
Factories and machines were built to meet this demand and new towns
grew, changing the landscape and the way people lived and worked in
Britain forever.
Railways, originally built to transport goods, meant people could travel
easily around the whole of the country for the first time.
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Victorian Era Word Search
Complete the word search below and see if you can find all 16 words!
Conservation
The ornamental lake that lies at the eastern end of the Abbey
Gardens is home to the nationally scarce water vole.
The Water Vole
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Water voles are the largest voles in Britain!
They are often mistaken for rats – in the story ‘Wind in
the Willows’ Ratty was actually a water vole.
They live close to water and spend a lot of time swimming
and eating plants on the banks of the river.
Water voles have:
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Very thick, special hair which traps air when they dive under
the water. The trapped air keeps the cold water away from
their body so they stay warm.
Small ears and inside the ear is a special flap of skin which
closes when the water vole dives under the water.
Although the character Ratty in Wind in the Willows ate chicken
sandwiches and went fishing, water voles don’t eat animals, and
instead feed on leaves, roots, bulbs and bark. They collect and store
their food inside their burrows and are very fond of apples!
Water vole facts:
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Water voles are rodents like rats, mice and hamsters.
They grow to about the size of a large hamster (12-20cm long)
Their fur is a glossy brown or black
They live for about 2 years
Females can have up to 5 litters a year between April and September with up to 6 babies in
each litter. Can you work out how many baby water voles one water vole could have in a
year?
Water voles have a lot of predators such as owls, rats, stoats and mink.
Mink:
American mink are a big problem for water voles. Mink were
brought to Britain for fur farms but many escaped and found the
British countryside very much to their liking. There were many
water voles at that time and the mink like to live along the side of
rivers where water voles like to live too. Unfortunately, water voles are the perfect size for mink to
hunt and eat!
Tree Trail
See if you can follow the tree trail and match all the trees you pass to the right pictures!
1. Enter the abbey grounds and find the statue of Queen Victoria. Which
direction is she looking? Follow the path in the direction she is looking.
2. You pass by a tree with purple or copper coloured leaves on you left.
What is the name of this tree?
3. Find the tree that looks like a ‘U’ shape. What is the name of this tree?
Which direction is its trunk facing? Walk in that direction until you come
to the wall at the other end of the grounds.
4. Find the bit in the wall that looks out of place. What is the name of the
trees on either side of you?
5. Can you see the sculpture on the other side of the wall? Now face back
into the abbey grounds. Go over to the tree that is the same shape as
the sculpture.
6. Now sit on the bench nearest to you. Can you see the largest tree in the
grounds ahead of you? Go over to this tree. What is its name?
7. Behind this large tree there are some logs on the ground. Follow the
logs to the lake. What is the tree in the middle of the lake?
8. Now sit on the nearest bench with a bin next to it. If you take a break,
don’t forget to put all your rubbish in the bin!
9. Walk towards the statue of Queen Victoria on the other side of the
grounds, but keep an eye out for the foundations of the abbey
beneath your feet. Once you hit the foundations, follow them
clockwise all the way, crossing over the path, until the foundations
come to an end. Can you name this tree with spiky leaves nearby?
10. Trendell’s Folly is close by. Go to it and then follow the Italian walk.
Walk up the stairs and see the two trees straight in front of you that
are twins. Can you name these?
11. Now, turn right through the arch and name the tree just on your right.
12. Finally find the tree that has heart shaped leaves on your left. Do you
know its name?
Here are the trees you pass by on the Tree Trail. See how many you can find.
Common
Lime
Yew
Indian Bean
Copper Beech
Holly
Willow
Deodar Cedar
Giant Redwood
Horse Chestnut