In 1414, Henry V began an ambitious project to rebuild Shene Palace (Richmond Palace, see CA 193) as his Lancastrian dynastic seat, and to establish three great religious houses on the banks of the River Thames within sight of the royal residence. One was Shene Charterhouse, a Carthusian priory founded in September 1414, while Syon Abbey, a Bridgettine house, was founded in February 1415 in Twickenham, on the riverbank opposite the palace. But the site of the abbey was cramped and damp, so in 1431 the Bridgettines moved to Isleworth, in what is now Syon Park. It is the remains of the re-established abbey that we will explore here. Henry also began construction of a French Celestine monastery, but the outbreak of war with France put an end to this initiative.
When Henry died in 1422, Shene Charterhouse may have been substantially finished, but he did not live to see the relocated Syon Abbey, as work did not begin at Isleworth until 1426. It was left to his son, Henry VI, and other benefactors to see its completion. Syon’s church was finally consecrated in October 1488, by which time all the essential elements of the abbey were in place.
A Swedish model for Syon
What is a Bridgettine house? The Bridgettine Order was founded by Birgitta (Bridget) Birgersdotter (1304-1373), a Swedish noblewoman who was canonised in 1391. Birgitta embraced the religious life after her husband’s death, establishing an abbey at Vadstena, Sweden, whose community followed the Augustinian Rule, albeit modified by the ‘Rule of the Saviour’ revealed to her by Christ in a vision. St Bridget’s Rule influenced the size and layout of daughter-houses like Syon Abbey, for it specified that each Bridgettine monastery should comprise 60 sisters and 25 brothers, and that the abbess should rule both communities in worldly matters, while the confessor general provided spiritual guidance.
Tintagel: Excavating the CA archive