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113-562: Combermere Abbey is a former monastery , later a country house, near Burleydam , between Nantwich , Cheshire and Whitchurch in Shropshire , England, located within Cheshire and near the border with Shropshire. Initially Savigniac and later Cistercian , the abbey was founded in the 1130s by Hugh Malbank, Baron of Nantwich, and was also associated with Ranulf de Gernons , Earl of Chester . The abbey initially flourished, but by 1275

226-466: A bed and breakfast . Its park includes the large lake of Comber Mere, a Site of Special Scientific Interest . A total of around 400 hectares (990 acres) of the park are listed at grade II; several structures are also listed, including a game larder at grade II*. The name Combermere means "lake of the Cumbri" – from Cymru , the native Welsh name for Wales – and refers to an enclave of Britons surviving

339-502: A dwaitha philosopher. Jainism , founded by Mahavira c.  570 BC , had its own monasteries since 5th century BC. Islam discourages monasticism, which is referred to in the Quran as "an invention". However, the term "Sufi" is applied to Muslim mystics who, as a means of achieving union with Allah, adopted ascetic practices including wearing a garment made of coarse wool called "sf". The term " Sufism " comes from "sf" meaning

452-430: A "charming eyecatcher," stands to the west of Comber Mere at SJ581442 . Built as a model dairy , it was used as a gamekeeper 's cottage and is now a folly ; the pavilions to each end were formerly used as kennels . It is ornamented with battlements, pinnacles, pilasters, arrowslit windows and fancy brickwork. A sandstone obelisk dated 1890, which commemorates the first Viscount Combermere, stands at SJ576448 on

565-608: A 12th-century doorway, a 13th-century arcade and 14th-century aisle, as well as stained glass by Charles Eamer Kempe . It contains a brass war memorial plaque to local men who died serving in both World Wars, and another to Staff Sergeant Ronald Beckett who was killed on bomb disposal work in Northern Ireland in 1973. Child's Ercall Football Club is a member of the Mercian Regional League (that covers most of Shropshire) and they play their home games in

678-502: A convent denoted a house of friars (reflecting the Latin), now more commonly called a friary . Various religions may apply these terms in more specific ways. The word monastery comes from the Greek word μοναστήριον , neut. of μοναστήριος – monasterios from μονάζειν – monazein "to live alone" from the root μόνος – monos "alone" (originally all Christian monks were hermits);

791-523: A cupboard in the house, and pieces of carved stone have been found in the grounds. The existing house, a grade I listed building , incorporates a building from the west range of the monastery, generally considered to represent the Abbot's House. It has a timber frame with a late-medieval false hammerbeam roof , described by de Figueiredo and Treuherz as "extremely fine" and "exceptionally grand." The timbers are decorated with coats of arms , including those of

904-672: A firm doctrinal basis to the Vishishtadvaita philosophy which had existed since time immemorial. He ensured the establishment of a number of mathas of his Sri Vaishnava creed at different important centres of pilgrimage. Later on, other famous Sri Vaishnava theologians and religious heads established various important mathas such as Nimbarka Sampradaya of Nimbarkacharya is popular in North, West and East India and has several important Mathas. Ashta matha (eight monasteries) of Udupi were founded by Madhvacharya (Madhwa acharya),

1017-779: A further list of Buddhist monasteries see list of Buddhist temples . Buddhist monasteries include some of the largest in the world. Drepung Monastery in Tibet housed around 10,000 monks prior to the Chinese invasion in 1950–1951. As of 2020 the relocated monastery in India houses around 8,000. According to tradition, Christian monasticism began in Egypt with Anthony the Great . Originally, all Christian monks were hermits seldom encountering other people. A transitional form of monasticism

1130-593: A grand staircase to access the Hall, which is on the first floor. The room's existing screen is believed to date from somewhat later; it is known to have been moved at some point from its original northern position to the south side of the Hall, where it now stands. William III stayed at the house in 1690, while travelling to the Battle of the Boyne , and his visit may have been the cause of internal reorganisation. The room where

1243-410: A long entrance hall (since partly demolished), which protruded from the east face. Restoration work was carried out by John Tarring in 1860. The first viscount died in 1865, and 25 years later, a monumental obelisk was erected in his memory on the edge of the park, under the terms of his widow's will. His son, Wellington Stapleton-Cotton, 2nd Viscount Combermere , did some further work on the house in

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1356-400: A long straight drive running perpendicular to the house; another small garden with cross-shaped paths lies to the south. Westbury Manor , Long Island , USA now has a gate screen thought to be by Robert Bakewell , originally from Combermere's gardens. The painting shows a summer house on Summerhouse Island, believed to date from around 1700. The main access to the park at that date was from

1469-480: A long time, and with them, their respective monasteries, called mathas . Important among them are the chatur-amnaya mathas established by Adi Shankara which formed the nodal centres of under whose guidance the ancient Order of Advaitin monks were re-organised under ten names of the Dashanami Sampradaya . Ramanuja heralded a new era in the world of Hinduism by reviving the lost faith in it and gave

1582-498: A love of empty-headed show." The first viscount later commissioned two projects to remodel the abbey completely; the first, of around 1829, employed Irish architects Sir Richard and William Vitruvius Morrison , and the second, Edward Blore . Neither were carried out, although the Morrisons built Stone Lodge and probably some service buildings, while Blore designed the stable block. Further alterations in 1854 included constructing

1695-557: A maze of fruit trees was created in the 1990s. The park contains several buildings and structures which are listed at grade II. A sandstone sundial near the house is believed to incorporate the remains of a Romanesque column from the 12th-century abbey. Stone Lodge, formerly the gate lodge at the main (south-east) entrance to the park, has recently been converted into a holiday cottage. The sandstone Elizabethan -style building, by William Vitruvius Morrison , dates from around 1828 and bears two Cotton coats of arms. Brankelow Cottage ,

1808-487: A monastery is called a wat . In Burma , a monastery is called a kyaung . A Christian monastery may be an abbey (i.e., under the rule of an abbot ), or a priory (under the rule of a prior ), or conceivably a hermitage (the dwelling of a hermit ). It may be a community of men ( monks ) or of women ( nuns ). A charterhouse is any monastery belonging to the Carthusian order. In Eastern Christianity ,

1921-470: A monk named Notker of St Gall , and was spread to musicians throughout Europe by way of the interconnected monasteries. Since monasteries offered respite for weary pilgrim travellers, monks were obligated also to care for their injuries or emotional needs. Over time, lay people started to make pilgrimages to monasteries instead of just using them as a stopover. By this time, they had sizeable libraries that attracted learned tourists. Families would donate

2034-465: A portion of their yearly crop to the resident monks in the monastery, just as they would to a feudal landlord. In Sri Lanka and in Tibetan Buddhism , the ownership of a monastery often became vested in a single monk, who would often keep the property within the family by passing it on to a nephew ordained as a monk. In Japan , where civil authorities permitted Buddhist monks to marry,

2147-915: A respected elder teacher. While the wandering lifestyle practised by the Buddha and by his disciples continues to be the ideal model for forest-tradition monks in Thailand , Myanmar , Sri Lanka and elsewhere, practical concerns - including shrinking wilderness areas, lack of access to lay supporters, dangerous wildlife, and dangerous border conflicts - dictate that increasing numbers of "meditation" monks live in monasteries, rather than wandering. Tibetan Buddhist monasteries or gompas are sometimes known as lamaseries , with their monks sometimes (mistakenly) known as lamas . Helena Blavatsky 's Theosophical Society named its initial New York City meeting-place "the Lamasery". Famous Buddhist monasteries include: For

2260-411: A rise at the north-west edge of the park. The park includes the natural lake of Comber Mere. Covering an area of around 132 acres (53 ha), it is the largest lake in a private English park. An area of 169 acres (68.5 ha) of the mere and its surrounding land has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest for its swamp and fen environments, as well as its importance for birds. The mere

2373-439: A romantic ivy-clad vision of battlements and pinnacles. But its detail is coarse, its massing inept..." Most of the exterior remains coated in grey cement render, in part painted white. The windows throughout feature Y-tracery and are headed with cusped arches. The parapets all have battlements and the roofs are of slate. The east (entrance) face has three storeys. In the centre is a projecting gabled single-storey porch bearing

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2486-534: A royal visit in 1245, and at that time the abbey was granted a market and fair at what is now known as Market Drayton in Shropshire. Combermere established granges before 1237 at nearby Acton and Burland , Wincle in east Cheshire, and Cliff and Shifford in Shropshire. Wincle was a particularly large holding of pastureland in Macclesfield Forest , given by Ranulf de Blondeville. By the end of

2599-553: A similar ascetic discipline, and even their religious habit is the same (though nuns wear an extra veil, called the apostolnik ). Unlike Roman Catholic monasticism, the Eastern Orthodox do not have distinct religious orders, but a single monastic form throughout the Eastern Orthodox Church. Monastics, male or female, live away from the world, in order to pray for the world. Monasteries vary from

2712-538: A son in return for blessings. During the plagues , monks helped to till the fields and provide food for the sick. A Warming House is a common part of a medieval monastery, where monks went to warm themselves. It was often the only room in the monastery where a fire was lit. A number of distinct monastic orders developed within Roman Catholicism: While in English most mendicant Orders use

2825-613: A stone panel with the Cotton family arms; it is flanked by octagonal turrets . To the south (left) is an octagonal turret. The projecting wing to the south has been reduced to two storeys. To the north (right) of the entrance porch was the Wellington Wing, now demolished. Parts of the render on the north wing have fallen off, revealing the timber frame to the upper storeys, which has ornamental panelling including roundel designs, and carved quatrefoil and fleur-de-lys motifs to

2938-588: A very small monastic community can be called a skete , and a very large or important monastery can be given the dignity of a lavra . The great communal life of a Christian monastery is called cenobitic , as opposed to the anchoretic (or anchoritic) life of an anchorite and the eremitic life of a hermit . There has also been, mostly under the Osmanli occupation of Greece and Cyprus, an "idiorrhythmic" lifestyle where monks come together but being able to own things individually and not being obliged to work for

3051-526: A wooded hill about a mile from the abbey subsided into a salt pit, and the abbot started to make salt; however, objections from the local salt industry soon put a stop to the practice. Production appears to have restarted after the dissolution, but largely ceased during Elizabeth I 's reign. The abbey's revenues in the Valor Ecclesiasticus of 1535 amounted to £258 6 s 6 d , including £15 3 s 4 d of salt revenues from Nantwich. The net income

3164-516: A young man. Soon the Egyptian desert blossomed with monasteries, especially around Nitria ( Wadi El Natrun ), which was called the "Holy City". Estimates are that upwards of 50,000 monks lived in this area at any one time. Eremetism never died out though, but was reserved only for those advanced monks who had worked out their problems within a cenobitic monastery. The idea caught on, and other places followed: The life of prayer and communal living

3277-455: Is a somewhat more specific definition of the term and many related terms. Buddhist monasteries are generally called vihara ( Pali language el). Viharas may be occupied by men or women, and in keeping with common English usage, a vihara populated by females may often be called a nunnery or a convent. However, vihara can also refer to a temple . In Tibetan Buddhism, monasteries are often called gompa . In Cambodia , Laos and Thailand ,

3390-417: Is also said to have designed Brankelow Cottage on the west side of the lake, built in 1797. The modern estate extends to 1,110 acres (450 ha), mainly in Cheshire and extending into Shropshire, and is run as an organic dairy farm. The National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens lists 990 acres (400 ha) of the park at grade II. The gardens include a walled garden of 5 acres (2 ha), in which

3503-418: Is an important overwintering ground for wildfowl , and also has one of the largest heronries in Cheshire. Monastery In English usage, the term monastery is generally used to denote the buildings of a community of monks. In modern usage, convent tends to be applied only to institutions of female monastics (nuns), particularly communities of teaching or nursing religious sisters . Historically,

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3616-489: Is believed to be the earliest country house poem , "To Richard Cotton, Esq.," composed by Geoffrey Whitney in 1586. It compares the abbey to a beehive: Richard Cotton's alterations to the Great Hall (now the library) are thought to include concealing the hammerbeam roof with a plaster ceiling and putting in a fireplace. Timbers in one of the bedrooms have been dated to around this time. It is unclear whether he installed

3729-480: Is located in a rural area between the small towns of Market Drayton and Newport : the civil parish had a total population of 599 at the 2001 census, rising to 732 at the 2011 Census. The closest neighbouring village is Ollerton , around 1 mile to the west. The second part of its name, recorded in the forms "Archelou" and "Erkalwe" in the 13th century, has been suggested as derived from a Celtic word, perhaps an old Welsh name Ercal . An Old English root based on

3842-486: Is socially separate from the surrounding populace can also vary widely; some religious traditions mandate isolation for purposes of contemplation removed from the everyday world, in which case members of the monastic community may spend most of their time isolated even from each other. Others focus on interacting with the local communities to provide services, such as teaching, medical care, or evangelism . Some monastic communities are only occupied seasonally, depending both on

3955-508: The Earl of Derby , William FitzAlan, William FitzRanulph and Ivo Pantulf , and later Ranulph de Blondeville (also Ranulph III), the Earl of Chester, Roger of Ightfield, Gilbert de Macclesfield, James de Audley and Robert de Baskerville. The early history of Combermere is obscure as most of its records were destroyed before the 17th century. For the first hundred or so years after its foundation,

4068-541: The Heritage Conservation Trust , has focused on the library, after structural problems were discovered in the east wall. As of 2013, the empty north wing is described as in a "parlous condition" and assessed as "very bad," the most at risk grade. Based on an inspection in May 2012, English Heritage fears that the north wing is in considerable danger of falling down, which would be likely to seriously damage

4181-548: The Perpendicular Gothic style, which de Figueiredo and Treuherz liken to those in the early-19th-century version of Eaton Hall by William Porden . Originally the Great Hall, the library on the first floor remains the principal reception room of the house. It is separated from the landing at the south end by a "magnificent" carved wooden screen, which probably dates from the early 17th century. The "handsome and boldly-carved design" includes pilasters with lions on

4294-598: The Wirral Peninsula was founded in 1178 by John FitzRichard, Baron of Halton , later moving to Whalley Abbey in Lancashire , and in 1219, a small daughter house was founded at Hulton in Staffordshire by Henry de Audley. In 1220, the abbot was reprimanded for unauthorised building, but an inspection by Abbot Stephen of Lexington in 1231 found no particular problems with the abbey. Combermere received

4407-533: The sangha . Over the years, the custom of staying on property held in common by the sangha as a whole during the vassa retreat evolved into cenobitic monasticism , in which monks and nuns resided year-round in monasteries. In India , Buddhist monasteries gradually developed into centres of learning where philosophical principles were developed and debated; this tradition continues in the monastic universities of Vajrayana Buddhists , as well as in religious schools and universities founded by religious orders across

4520-613: The 13th century, Chesthill, Ditchley, Dodcott, Newton, Smeaton, Wilkesley (Heyfields) and Yarlet were also included among its granges. The abbey is known to have been farming sheep by the mid-13th century, earlier than the other major Cheshire monasteries. Combermere was producing six sacks of wool annually, worth 10 1 ⁄ 2 –21 marks per sack, which were being sold at the fair at Boston in Lincolnshire , and also exported abroad. These figures are, however, much lower than monasteries in neighbouring counties. The mid-13th century saw

4633-462: The 15th-century custodians included Henry Beaufort , the Bishop of Winchester . The abbey's impoverished state persisted throughout the 14th and 15th centuries; in 1496, it was exempted from tax for this reason. The reasons for the abbey's abrupt descent into debt are unclear. The monks and abbot attributed their situation in 1328 to financial mismanagement by earlier abbots, who had leased out many of

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4746-611: The 1870s, but the family's fortunes declined in the later 19th century. The second Viscount twice rented the abbey to the Empress Elisabeth of Austria in 1881 and 1882. A total of £10,000-worth of alterations were made for her stays, including installing hot water and an electric bell system; the costs were met by the Emperor . A keen huntswoman, the Empress's 80-strong retinue included 25 grooms, and she hunted frequently with

4859-419: The 18th or 19th century stands near the stables. It consists of a barrel-vaulted passage leading to a chamber with a domed roof. Both buildings are listed at grade II. In the early 18th century, the abbey had large formal gardens. The c. 1730 painting shows the west face, then the entrance front, with a walled forecourt and prominent entrance gates. Formal gardens extend at the rear (east) with trees, ponds and

4972-402: The 18th or early 19th century stands adjacent to the house on the south-east side; the ranges are both listed at grade II. The north range features lancet windows , cross-shaped arrowslits and a parapet with battlements; it includes an octagonal turret and a water tower , both with battlements. The south range includes a square clock tower , built in 1815 to celebrate the Battle of Waterloo ;

5085-467: The Abbot's House, was converted into a country house for the Cotton family . The hammerbeam roof timbers of the Great Hall have recently been dated to 1502, confirming the incorporation of a monastic building. Sir George's son, Richard Cotton, redesigned the house in 1563. His remodelling is commemorated by a stone tablet, uncovered in 1795, which reads: The abbey under his ownership is the subject of what

5198-636: The Anglo-Saxon conquest of the area. Combermere Abbey was the earlier of the two great Cistercian abbeys in Cheshire, the other being Vale Royal . The abbey was dedicated to the Virgin Mary and Saint Michael , and originally belonged to the Savigniac order, which merged with the Cistercian order by 1147. Hugh Malbank, the second Baron of Wich Malbank (now Nantwich ), was the founder, and

5311-618: The Buddhist world. In modern times, living a settled life in a monastery setting has become the most common lifestyle for Buddhist monks and nuns across the globe. Whereas early monasteries are considered to have been held in common by the entire sangha, in later years this tradition diverged in a number of countries. Despite vinaya prohibitions on possessing wealth, many monasteries became large landowners, much like monasteries in medieval Christian Europe. In Chinese Buddhism , peasant families worked monastic-owned land in exchange for paying

5424-507: The Cheshire Hunt. The second viscount died in 1891. While his funeral was taking place, Sybell Corbet, Lady Combermere's sister, took a photograph in the abbey's library that became famous as "Lord Combermere's Ghost Photo", said to show his ghost sitting in a chair. Parapsychologist Sir William Barrett , who investigated the photograph in 1895, surmised that the "ghost" was a servant, but the late viscount's daughter-in-law stated that

5537-655: The Christian Church the beginnings of growth of monasticism among Protestant denominations. The center of this movement was in the United States and Canada beginning with the Shaker Church, which was founded in England and then moved to the United States. In the 19th century many of these monastic societies were founded as Utopian communities based on the monastic model in many cases. Aside from

5650-675: The Holy Cross at St Augustine's House in Michigan is a Lutheran order of monks and there are Lutheran religious communities in Sweden and Germany. In the 1960s, experimental monastic groups were formed in which both men and women were members of the same house and also were permitted to be married and have children – these were operated on a communal form. There is a growing Christian neo-monasticism , particularly among evangelical Christians. In Hinduism, monks have existed for

5763-619: The Open Countryside." The decision was overturned on appeal in January 2013. Many of the abbey's outbuildings were derelict in the late 20th century. The stables were restored and converted into luxury holiday cottages in 1994–97. Restoration of the game larder and clock tower was completed in the early 21st century, removing the former from the at risk register. Little remains of the original monastic buildings, although remnants of medieval stonework from an arch are concealed in

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5876-703: The Resurrection ), Nashdom Abbey ( Benedictine ), Cleeve Priory ( Community of the Glorious Ascension ) and Ewell Monastery ( Cistercian ), Benedictine orders, Franciscan orders and the Orders of the Holy Cross, Order of St. Helena. Other Protestant Christian denominations also engage in monasticism, particularly Lutherans in Europe and North America. For example, the Benedictine order of

5989-678: The Shakers, there were the Amanna , the Anabaptists , and others. Many did allow marriage but most had a policy of celibacy and communal life in which members shared all things communally and disavowed personal ownership. In the 19th-century monasticism was revived in the Church of England , leading to the foundation of such institutions as the House of the Resurrection , Mirfield ( Community of

6102-439: The abbey and its estates, which had been revalued at £275 17 s 11 1 ⁄ 2 d , were granted to Sir George Cotton, an esquire of the body to Henry VIII , and his wife, Mary. The abbey site at that time included a church with a steeple or bell-tower, and a cemetery. After the abbey's dissolution, the church and part of the monastery buildings were demolished. A building in the west range, usually now considered to represent

6215-505: The abbey appears to have been reasonably prosperous. In 1146–53, Abbot William successfully founded a daughter house at Poulton , which was endowed by Robert Pincerna (also Robert the Butler); it later moved to a site near Leek , Staffordshire, becoming Dieulacres Abbey . Both Combermere and Poulton are mentioned in about 1195 as Cistercian foundations in the area surrounding Chester . Several other daughter houses followed. Stanlow Abbey on

6328-472: The abbey in around 1795, perhaps to his own designs; Robert Mylne was employed at this time. The existing abbey largely owes its appearance to the alterations of diplomat and military leader, Sir Stapleton Cotton . He was created Baron Combermere in 1814 (later Viscount Combermere ) and awarded an annual pension of £2,000 for his service during the Napoleonic Wars . Between 1814 and 1821, he faced

6441-557: The abbey's estates to tenants, often at poor terms. Local historian Frank Latham has speculated that the abbey's proximity to the Chester – Shrewsbury road proved an intolerable drain on its resources:the abbey was one of four to complain to Edward, the Black Prince in 1351 about the cost of providing hospitality to guests and their servants, horses and hunting hounds. In the early 15th century, previous abbots were again blamed for

6554-573: The abbey's poverty, this time for disposing of timber from the abbey's woods and allowing its buildings to fall into disrepair. The abbots and monks were involved in many violent disputes with outsiders from the 13th century onwards. In 1281, a feud with the Abbey of Saint-Evroul in Orne over the church at Drayton , which Combermere was leasing from the French abbey, culminated in a group of monks, including

6667-422: The abbey, and elaborate bosses to the centre of the trusses . Hammerbeam roofs are rare in Cheshire; the only other known examples are at Vale Royal Abbey and St Nicholas' Chapel in the park of Cholmondeley Castle . The north end of the Great Hall retains the abbey's dais canopy, and in the centre is a smoke bay and louvre . De Figueiredo and Treuherz write: "Seen from a distance, Combermere appears as

6780-478: The abbey, met with substantial opposition and were turned down in 2005. A subsequent scheme to build 43 houses on a greenfield site south of the nearby small village of Aston , as an "enabling development" to fund repairs to the north wing, again met with opposition; it was rejected by Cheshire East in April 2012 for having "insufficient public benefit ... to outweigh the harm in terms of new residential development in

6893-468: The abbot's ejection, while in 1360, it was the abbot who was accused of retaliating against Sir Robert Fullshurst. In 1365, long-standing tensions with the abbey's daughter house at Whalley escalated into Combermere occupying the Lancashire abbey, and attempting to eject its abbot. Several conflicts between the abbey and its tenants were recorded in the 15th century, with the most serious incident being

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7006-514: The abbot, being excommunicated for guarding the church "like a castle" and stopping the Archbishop of Canterbury from entering. In 1309, a dispute between Richard of Fullshurst and the abbot had to be mediated by Edward II . The abbot was twice assaulted, and Fullshurst led two raids on the abbey, murdering the prior, burning buildings, stealing goods and laying ambushes to prevent the abbot's return. The attacks were repeated in 1344, leading to

7119-445: The bases flanking paired double doors with arched heads and satyrs in the spandrels , and also incorporates carved cherubs and grotesques , and painted panels to the external (landing) face; it is surmounted by a central emblem. The carved wooden panelling above the stone fireplace incorporates four painted portraits, including Henry VIII and Sir George Cotton, and dates from the 16th and 17th centuries. The remaining panelling in

7232-504: The centre of the façade. The second is an oil painting of around 1730, which depicts an aerial view of the house and gardens, including the west face of the house, then the entrance front. The ground floor is partly stone, with half-timbering in a herringbone pattern on the first storey, and three gables above forming attics. The roof is topped by a cupola above the entrance, both slightly off-central. The entrance (west) face has paired projecting gabled wings, and another wing projects at

7345-426: The church and most of the buildings, and converted part of the abbey into a country house. The house was remodelled in 1563 by Sir George's son, Richard Cotton, altered in 1795 by Sir Robert Cotton , and Gothicised in 1814–21 by Stapleton Cotton, Viscount Combermere . It remained in the Cotton family until 1919, and is still in private ownership. The abbey is listed at grade I, with its North Wing now operating as

7458-528: The church of Child's Ercall in Shropshire and the Cheshire churches and chapels of Baddiley , Church Coppenhall , Church Minshull and Wrenbury . Numerous other grants of land followed in the 12th and early 13th centuries, mainly in the south of Cheshire and the adjacent counties of Staffordshire and Shropshire , but also in Derbyshire . Other benefactors included William Malbank, who confirmed his father's grant and added further land, Robert de Ferrers ,

7571-463: The clock is by JB Joyce & Co . The tower is decorated with arrowslits and capped by an octagonal timber bell cote . Standing in the courtyard is a grade-II*-listed game larder , probably by the Irish Morrison family, which dates from the early 19th century. The octagonal structure is topped with an octagonal wooden lantern . The original ironwork on which game was hung remains in

7684-408: The common good. In Hinduism monasteries are called matha , mandir , koil , or most commonly an ashram . Jains use the Buddhist term vihara . In most religions, life inside monasteries is governed by community rules that stipulate the gender of the inhabitants and require them to remain celibate and own little or no personal property. The degree to which life inside a particular monastery

7797-542: The contemporary abolition of monasticism in France in the wake of the French Revolution . Convents for female monastics, or nunneries, were often portrayed as punishments for women unable or unwilling to marry. In the 1880 novel The Brothers Karamazov , Fyodor Dostoyevsky was heavily inspired by real-life accounts of Orthodox monasticism. Parts of the novel focus in particular on the controversy surrounding

7910-428: The day took place around noon, often taken at a refectory table , and consisted of the most simple and bland foods e.g., poached fish, boiled oats. While they ate, scripture would be read from a pulpit above them. Since no other words were allowed to be spoken, monks developed communicative gestures. Abbots and notable guests were honoured with a seat at the high table, while everyone else sat perpendicular to that in

8023-512: The demolition of Wellington's Wing and part of the 19th-century south wing, and reduction of the remainder of the south wing to two storeys. The present owner (as of 2013), Lady Lindsay's daughter, Sarah Callander Beckett, took over the estate in 1992. Combermere Abbey was entered on English Heritage 's " Buildings at Risk " register in 1998, when it was first compiled. The abbey is partially occupied. Restoration work in 2010–12, supervised by Andrew Arrol and funded by grants from English Heritage and

8136-425: The early 19th century. The room is crossed by two screens, each flanked with clustered columns whose "delicate" capitals are decorated with lilies and leaves, described as acanthus or lotus . Similar columns also flank the room's marble chimneypiece . The leaf design is repeated on the coving of the modern entrance hall and internal passage. The passage also has clustered columns rising to cast-iron arches in

8249-573: The estate to Sir Kenneth Crossley of Crossley Motors . An aircraft enthusiast, Sir Kenneth often flew his Tiger Moth from the estate. During the Second World War , the house was used as a hospital and school, and the Wrenbury Home Guard – of which Sir Kenneth was a member – did fieldcraft training exercises in the park. His only son, writer and MP Anthony Crossley , had been killed in an aeroplane crash shortly before

8362-560: The following churches), Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church , Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church , Indian Orthodox Church , and Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch. The monasteries of St. Macarius ( Deir Abu Makaria ) and St. Anthony ( Deir Mar Antonios ) are the oldest monasteries in the world and under the patronage of the Patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church. The last years of the 18th century marked in

8475-537: The fourth century BCE from the practice of vassa , a retreat undertaken by Buddhist monastics during the South Asian wet season . To prevent wandering monks and nuns from disturbing new plant-growth or becoming stranded in inclement weather, they were instructed to remain in a fixed location for the roughly three-month period typically beginning in mid-July. These early fixed vassa retreats took place in pavilions and parks that wealthy supporters had donated to

8588-454: The house in 1820. On the interior, he redesigned the library. In 1821, a visitor described the house as "recently coated and ornamented in the pointed Gothic style." The first Viscount Combermere is said to have been the model for W. M. Thackeray 's Sir George Tufto in The Book of Snobs , and architectural historians Peter de Figueiredo and Julian Treuherz consider his alterations to "exhibit

8701-428: The house with cement render and added Gothic ornamentation, including castellations and pointed arches surrounding the windows. The rendering was put on timber battens , which were fixed "like stage scenery" to the original timber frame. A large service wing with bedrooms was thrown out to the south, and a north wing including a dining room, known as Wellington's Wing, was also built to mark Wellington 's visit to

8814-552: The institution of "elderhood" in Orthodox Monasticism. Dostoyevsky's understanding of the tradition of elderhood is taken largely from Life of Elder Leonid of Optina by Father Kliment Zeder-gol'm, from which he quotes directly in chapter 5, book 1 of the Brother's Karamazov. Child%27s Ercall Child's Ercall ( / ɑːr k əl / AR -kəl ) is a village and civil parish in Shropshire , England. It

8927-462: The interior. The Elizabethan -style stable block dates from 1837 and was designed by Edward Blore . It forms a quadrangle surrounding a rectangular courtyard and incorporates two cottages and a former carriage house . It has stone dressings and features lancet windows, square lead -roofed turrets and an octagonal-flued chimneystack. The arched main entrance is flanked by narrow octagonal turrets topped with spirelets. A ruined icehouse dating from

9040-520: The king is thought to have slept, known as the Orange Bedroom, is adjacent to the Great Hall; its timbers have been dated to 1546–81. There is also evidence for building work in around 1725. The house during this period is known mainly from two 18th-century pictures. The earliest, an engraving by Samuel and Nathaniel Buck dating from 1727, shows the east face, formerly the monastery's cloisters , arcades from which are still present attached to

9153-462: The library is not original. The hammerbeam roof is concealed by a decorated plasterwork ceiling, probably dating from the 17th century. It has broad coving decorated with painted coats of arms , probably added in the 19th century. The surviving service buildings to the abbey mainly date from the 18th and 19th centuries, and are predominantly constructed in red brick. Many feature Gothic ornamentation. A service court consisting of two ranges dating from

9266-466: The main timbers. The west (lakeside) face has eight bays, with projecting wings at each end, which each have triple windows to the ground floor. The bays on this face have full-height recessed arches and are separated by pilasters . The single-storey Gothic-style porch is set asymmetrically and consists of three arches; above it is a slight gable. To the south (right) of the southern wing is a further recessed wing which has been reduced to two storeys, with

9379-448: The male servants in the house were all much younger in appearance and the outside servants were attending the funeral. Robert Stapleton-Cotton, 3rd Viscount Combermere led a "rackety life" and further eroded the family's wealth; he tried without success to sell the estate in 1893. Katherine, Duchess of Westminster leased the abbey in 1898–1917. In 1919, Francis Stapleton-Cotton, 4th Viscount Combermere sold Combermere Abbey and part of

9492-438: The monastery buildings was a wooded area by the large lake of Comber Mere, a peaceful and isolated location near the Shropshire border, suitable for the austere Savigniac order. Little or nothing is known of the early abbey buildings. The first abbot was named William. A copy of the foundation charter survives. The original grant included the manor of Wilkesley, comprising two Domesday manors worth 18 shillings pre-Conquest;

9605-503: The monastery; it ran so low on food stores in 1283 that it was exempted from providing supplies for the army and once again removed from the abbot's management. Burnell contributed £213 towards the abbey's needs – a sum considerably in excess of its annual income, estimated in 1318 at £130 14 s 11 d – receiving lands in Monks Coppenhall (now Crewe ) in return. Royal custody was renewed in 1315–21, from 1328, and again from 1412;

9718-579: The monastic terms of monastery or priory , in the Latin languages , the term used by the friars for their houses is convent , from the Latin conventus , e.g., ( Italian : convento ) or ( French : couvent ), meaning "gathering place". The Franciscans rarely use the term "monastery" at present, preferring to call their house a "friary". In the Eastern Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholic Church , both monks and nuns follow

9831-437: The murder of Abbot Richard Alderwas in 1446 by John Bagh of Dodcot, a labourer, who shot the abbot with a bow and arrow. The Black Death pandemic of 1348–49 is likely to have affected Combermere. The abbey's numbers are known for the first time in 1379, when there were nine monks, plus the abbot. Discipline appears to have broken down and the abbey had an unsavoury reputation, which it retained up until its dissolution. One monk

9944-465: The name of a hill, ear "gravel" plus the adjective calu(w) "bare", has also been proposed. The affix "child" may come from its mediaeval sense , meaning " knight ". A possible etymology suggested by the toponymist Margaret Gelling , is that Child's Ercall was named as it belonged to a younger member of the Strange family, who owned much of the area in the mediaeval period. The village church has

10057-413: The oldest parts of the abbey. The north wing has been protected since around 2001 by scaffolding bearing a roof, which has slowed but not halted its deterioration. The repair work necessary has been estimated as costing £2 million. Attempts to gain planning permission to build a village of a hundred houses on 14 acres (57,000 m) of greenfield estate land, with the stated aim of funding restoration of

10170-511: The order of seniority. This practice remained when some monasteries became universities after the first millennium, and can still be seen at Oxford University and Cambridge University . Monasteries were important contributors to the surrounding community. They were centres of intellectual progression and education. They welcomed aspiring priests to come and study and learn, allowing them even to challenge doctrine in dialogue with superiors. The earliest forms of musical notation are attributed to

10283-441: The original donation occurred early in the 12th century. It was confirmed in 1130 by Ranulf de Gernons (also Ranulf II), the fourth Earl of Chester , who was one of the witnesses of its foundation charter. Other witnesses included Hugh Malbank's son, William , and Roger de Clinton , the Bishop of Coventry . Building of the abbey commenced slightly later, possibly in 1133, often stated as the date of foundation. The site given for

10396-400: The other Cheshire abbeys, Combermere leased many properties on very long leases during its last few years, several within its final months. The last abbot, John Massey, seems not to have contested the dissolution particularly vigorously. He visited London in May 1538, bearing a letter of support from Rowland Lee , the Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield , but his visit was to no avail. The abbey

10509-631: The person, who wears "sf". But in the course of time, Sufi has come to designate all Muslim believers in mystic union. Matthew Lewis ' 1796 Gothic Novel The Monk has as parts of its setting both a fictional monastery and nunnery in Spain at the time of the Inquisition . Many have interpreted Lewis' novel as a critique of Catholicism . Jane Austen sets the latter half of her 1818 novel Northanger Abbey in an out of use monastery, reflecting on Henry VIII 's abolition of monasticism in England and

10622-612: The population of the Holy Mountain is around 2,200 men only and can only be visited by men with special permission granted by both the Greek government and the government of the Holy Mountain itself. The Oriental Orthodox churches, distinguished by their Miaphysite beliefs, consist of the Armenian Apostolic Church , Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria (whose Patriarch is considered first among equals for

10735-589: The position of head of a temple or monastery sometimes became hereditary, passed from father to son over many generations. Forest monasteries – most commonly found in the Theravada traditions of Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka – are monasteries dedicated primarily to the study and cultivation of Buddhist meditation , rather than to scholarship or ceremonial duties. Forest monasteries often function like early Christian monasteries, with small groups of monks living an essentially hermit-like life gathered loosely around

10848-640: The rear. Samuel Johnson stayed at the abbey in July 1774 with Hester Thrale , who was related to the Cottons. He writes: The house appears to have remained little altered from its 16th-century form when Johnson visited, possibly in part because the Cottons had acquired by marriage the much larger property of Lleweni Hall in Denbighshire , Wales. Sir Robert Salusbury Cotton moved to Combermere Abbey in 1773, and later sold Lleweni. He remodelled and extended

10961-786: The religion, which in the past formed the traditional support of monasteries. There has been a long tradition of Christian monasteries providing hospitable, charitable and hospital services. Monasteries have often been associated with the provision of education and the encouragement of scholarship and research, which has led to the establishment of schools and colleges and the association with universities. Monastic life has adapted to modern society by offering computer services, accounting services and management as well as modern hospital and educational administration. Buddhist monasteries, known as vihāra in Pali and in Sanskrit , emerged sometime around

11074-505: The render removed to expose red brick; it has a two-storey canted bay window . Over the last 25 years, the abbey has undergone extensive restoration, with the Nina Campbell -designed North Wing now accommodation for guests. On the ground floor, the main room is the former entrance hall to the west porch, which was adapted into a narrow dining room after the main entrance was moved to the east side. Its interior features date from

11187-586: The start of the abbey's decline, with a succession of financial problems and scandals. In 1253, its creditors were prevented from seizing its flocks, if the debt could be settled by another means. In 1275, the abbey's debts were so great that its management was assigned to the Lord Chancellor and Bishop of Bath and Wells , Robert Burnell , and the following year it was placed under royal protection for two years. Edward I 's war against Wales of 1282–83 drew heavily on Cheshire and placed additional strain on

11300-637: The suffix "-terion" denotes a "place for doing something". The earliest extant use of the term monastērion is by the 1st century AD Jewish philosopher Philo in On The Contemplative Life, ch. III. In England, the word monastery was also applied to the habitation of a bishop and the cathedral clergy who lived apart from the lay community. Most cathedrals were not monasteries, and were served by canons secular , which were communal but not monastic. However, some were run by monasteries orders, such as York Minster . Westminster Abbey

11413-412: The traditions involved and the local climate, and people may be part of a monastic community for periods ranging from a few days at a time to almost an entire lifetime. Life within the walls of a monastery may be supported in several ways: by manufacturing and selling goods, often agricultural products; by donations or alms ; by rental or investment incomes; and by funds from other organizations within

11526-409: The two were acquitted, Hoggeson and another monk were later outlawed. In 1520, a monk was murdered by a servant of Abbot Christopher Walley; the prior was accused of covering up the murder and sheltering the murderer, because of the abbey's "evil name for using of misrule." Shortly before its dissolution, Combermere had a brief period of salt production. John Leland records in around 1535 that part of

11639-551: The very large to the very small. There are three types of monastic houses in the Eastern Orthodox Church: One of the great centres of Eastern Orthodox monasticism is Mount Athos in Greece , which, like Vatican City , is self-governing. It is located on an isolated peninsula approximately 20 miles (32 km) long and 5 miles (8.0 km) wide, and is administered by the heads of the 20 monasteries. Today

11752-562: The villages of Dodcott, Lodmore and Royal; land at Burleydam ; a mill and fishery at Chorley ; and woods at Brentwood, Light Birchwood and Butterley Heyes. It also included a quarter of Nantwich, the largest salt producer in the county until the 17th century, with a tithe of the barony's salt revenues. The abbey was also given the church at Acton and its associated chapel of Nantwich, as well as two churches in Staffordshire , at Sandon and Alstonfield . The abbey later appropriated

11865-456: The war, and when Sir Kenneth died in 1957, the estate passed to his granddaughter, Penelope Callander, later Lady Lindsay . The 19th-century rendering led to problems with dry rot . By the early 1970s the house had become so dilapidated that Raymond Erith and Quinlan Terry proposed the radical solution of rebuilding it entirely. This was rejected but maintenance problems eventually led to work carried out by A. H. Brotherton in 1975, including

11978-442: The west, via a narrow strip of land which formerly separated the main lake from a smaller one to the south. This was excavated during the second half of the 18th century to extend the lake nearer the west face of the house. It is unknown when the park was first landscaped, but it is believed to have contained many mature trees by the 1790s. Sir Robert Salusbury Cotton landscaped the park in 1795–97, possibly employing John Webb . Webb

12091-446: Was accused of theft in 1385, and later described as being "vagabond, apostate and obdurate". In 1414, Abbot William Plymouth was accused of forging gold coins; he had been demoted by 1418. There seem to have been internal power struggles around this time: two monks, Roger Hoggeson of Holyhurst and Richard Tenche of Lodmore, were accused of various crimes, including forcibly taking over the abbey and making off with books worth £100; although

12204-418: Was dissolved by Layton on 27 July 1538 (1539 in some sources). Combermere then had twelve monks, plus the abbot, an increase on the 14th-century numbers. It held 22,000 acres (89 square kilometres (34 sq mi)) of land in Cheshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire and Derbyshire. Massey received a pension of £50 per annum (which he was still taking in 1563), and the monks also received pensions. In August 1539,

12317-604: Was for a short time a cathedral, and was a Benedictine monastery until the Reformation , and its Chapter preserves elements of the Benedictine tradition. See the entry cathedral . They are also to be distinguished from collegiate churches, such as St George's Chapel, Windsor . The term monastery is used generically to refer to any of a number of types of religious community. In the Roman Catholic religion and to some extent in certain branches of Buddhism , there

12430-502: Was later created by Ammonas in which "solitary" monks lived close enough to one another to offer mutual support as well as gathering together on Sundays for common services. It was Pachomius the Great who developed the idea of cenobitic monasticism : having renunciates live together and worship together under the same roof. Some attribute his mode of communal living to the barracks of the Roman Army in which Pachomios served as

12543-583: Was one of rigorous schedules and self-sacrifice. Prayer was their work, and the Office prayers took up much of a monk's waking hours – Matins , Lauds , Prime , Terce , daily Mass, Sext , None , Vespers , and Compline . In between prayers, monks were allowed to sit in the cloister and work on their projects of writing, copying, or decorating books. These would have been assigned based on a monk's abilities and interests. The non-scholastic types were assigned to physical labour of varying degrees. The main meal of

12656-431: Was sufficiently deeply in debt to be removed from the abbot's management. From that date until its dissolution in 1538, it was frequently in royal custody, and acquired a reputation for poor discipline and violent disputes with both lay people and other abbeys. It was the third largest monastic establishment in Cheshire, based on net income in 1535. After the dissolution it was acquired by Sir George Cotton, who demolished

12769-537: Was £225 9 s 7 d , after expenses including rent, charitable donations and payments to a steward, an auditor and several bailiffs. This net income placed it as the third wealthiest monastic establishment in Cheshire, after St Werburgh's Abbey in Chester (£1030) and Vale Royal Abbey (£518). Combermere received its visitation from Thomas Cromwell 's commissioners, Richard Layton and Thomas Legh , in February 1536, at which time its debts were assessed at £160. As with

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