Newstead Abbey

Newstead Abbey is known today as the home of poet Lord Byron (1788-1824), but the original Abbey was founded by Henry II as an Augustinian priory in the 12th century. Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1540, the property was offered to the Byron family by Henry VIII and converted into a home. Over time, the estate has grown, but the original medieval structures survived, including the west front which was constructed in 1274 and the 15th century cloisters, and extensions of the building were made with the stone saved from the main church building.

The main building became neglected during William's (5th Baron Byron) ownership. He took out loans to pursue horse-racing, gambling and theatre trips. He couldn't afford to pay his debts so stripped the Abbey of its art, furniture and trees to raise cash. When Lord Byron then inherited the estate from William, he enjoyed the scale and the extravagance it showed, yet because of William, many repairs were needed that Byron could not afford. He only repaired a few rooms which he would use daily, and left the rest untouched. He and his mother soon left the estate to live in Southwell and neither lived permanently at Newstead, yet they kept Newstead to go back to occasionally. 

Newstead Abbey is now open to the public for them to experience the extravagance that the site is known for, and highlights many artifacts found in or around the grounds. Many huge paintings are exhibited as well as smaller objects such as a teapot, pistols and coins. 

Coins

What I chose to base my own art on was the coins found around Newstead. There are two collections of coins on display; Pennies of Henry II and Coins of Edward I. 

Henry II

Henry ruled England from 1154 to 1189 and founded Newstead Priory around 1170 after the death of Thomas Becket. Becket was a close friend of the king and was appointed the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1162. In 1170 Henry said 'Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?' after their relationship soured, and four of his knights did just that. Becket then became a saint, and a distraught Henry performed several acts of 'public atonement' for his part in the murder. Many people give the date of the 1160s as the date of Newstead Abbey's foundation, however it's believed he was moved to give an additional grant to the recently founded Priory. 

Edward I

Edward I ruled England from 1272 to 1307. He visited Newstead Priory twice, in order to hunt in the nearby royal forest of Sherwood. Shorty before he became king, Edward took an active part in the Crusades in northern Africa. The Crusades were a series of religious wars that were ordered by the Catholic Church, sending armies into northern Africa and the middles east.

A small religious community existed on the site until the dissolution of the monasteries in the 1530s and the Priory was surrendered on the 21st July 1539 and handed over to the ownership of Sir John Byron of Colwick for the sum of £840 (approximately £370,672 today). It is assumed that during this time, the Priory buildings became known as Newstead Abbey. It remained in the possession of the Byron's until 1817 when it was sold to Colonel Thomas Wildman for £94,500 (approximately £4,396,631 today). 

The dissolution of the monasteries began in 1536 when Henry VIII was refused a divorce by the pope. Henry then set up the Church of England and this 'act of supremacy' confirmed the break from Rome, declaring Henry as the Supreme Head of the Church of England. The monasteries were a reminder of the power of the Catholic Church and were also the wealthiest institutions in the country. Monasteries owned over a quarter of all the cultivated land in England, and by destroying the monastatic system, Henry would acquire all its wealth and property. 

Monastatic land and buildings were confiscated and sold off to families who sympathised with Henry's break from Rome, including Newstead Priory and the Byron family. When Sir John Byron bought the property, he had used the Chapter House as a form of chapel but with minimum alterations. Colonel Wildman however commissioned major alterations and a chaplain was appointed in 1864, and for the first time in 3 centuries worship could be practiced on the site.

After worship became possible, estate workers and their families from the surrounding 'village' of Newstead attended, but segregated. The Colonel and wife and their guests would be in the gallery, the butler with the men behind him on one side of the aisle and the housekeeper with the women behind her on the other.

I chose to focus on the coins when creating my art because Newstead Abbey has a huge history of fluctuating monetary value and passing of ownership between families and the country which I felt would be interesting to create  visual representation about.