| Author: | Terry Trainor | ISBN: | 9781476357645 |
| Publisher: | Terry Trainor | Publication: | April 13, 2012 |
| Imprint: | Smashwords Edition | Language: | English |
| Author: | Terry Trainor |
| ISBN: | 9781476357645 |
| Publisher: | Terry Trainor |
| Publication: | April 13, 2012 |
| Imprint: | Smashwords Edition |
| Language: | English |
The Abbey Grange
The first historical reference to Oxhey comes from the time that it was in the south-east corner of the kingdom of Mercia. King Offa II of Mercia (757-796) traditionally founded the Benedictine Abbey of St Albans. He gave the district of Oxengehaege to the Abbey, it was rumoured, in expiation for a murder for which he felt responsible.
The monks ran it as a grange on which, were mainly the lay brothers, worked to provide food, fodder and firing for the Mother church. For a time the land was seized by 'wicked men', but in 1007 Æthelred the Unready restored it to the then abbot, Leofric, and built a new monastery chapel to replace one which was in ruins following a Viking raid.
The monks are believed to have built the first bridge over the Colne, in what is now the Watford's Lower High Street, so that they could transport produce more easily to St Albans. In later mediaeval times, the land was farmed by tenants of the Abbot. A Cartulary (a set of official records) of about 1390, in the hands of Chatsworth trustees, relates to St Albans' property and mentions Oxhey.
The Abbey Grange
The first historical reference to Oxhey comes from the time that it was in the south-east corner of the kingdom of Mercia. King Offa II of Mercia (757-796) traditionally founded the Benedictine Abbey of St Albans. He gave the district of Oxengehaege to the Abbey, it was rumoured, in expiation for a murder for which he felt responsible.
The monks ran it as a grange on which, were mainly the lay brothers, worked to provide food, fodder and firing for the Mother church. For a time the land was seized by 'wicked men', but in 1007 Æthelred the Unready restored it to the then abbot, Leofric, and built a new monastery chapel to replace one which was in ruins following a Viking raid.
The monks are believed to have built the first bridge over the Colne, in what is now the Watford's Lower High Street, so that they could transport produce more easily to St Albans. In later mediaeval times, the land was farmed by tenants of the Abbot. A Cartulary (a set of official records) of about 1390, in the hands of Chatsworth trustees, relates to St Albans' property and mentions Oxhey.
