Delapre Abbey, Northampton
Dating back 900 years, the Abbey and grounds have recently been restored and opened to the public.
Founded between 1136 and 1154, it was the only house of Cluniac nuns in England. It consisted of about 40-50 nuns through most of it's life as a Convent.
The house was surrendered to the Royal Commissioners on Dec 16th, 1538, there only being 8 nuns then. 10 years later it was sold to Lady Anne Longvyle, Andrew Wadham, her husband, and Bartholomew Tate, her son. They soon built a range of rooms along side the nunnary. Lady Longvyle outlived all 4 of her husbands and died in 1565, leaving the estate to Bartholomew.
1573 - Life in the Kitchyn
March 2018
Marking the opening of the Abbey to the public, we were part of a large event to celebrate the renovations. We were asked to populate the kitchen which dates back to pre-Tudor times.
Although we know that the abbey was owned by Sir Bartholomew Tate by this year, and the names of some of his family, we don't know any staff names. Based on knowledge of the time, we have created Thomas Owain, (Clerk of the Kitchen,) Mary Gardner, (Housekeeper,) Thomasine Morris, (Cook,) William Chater, (Liveried Servant) and other charaters to tell of life in the kitchen and show off their cooking skills.
