The "Abbey" Mysteries

In my research into the history of Belchamp Walter I often confuse myself as there are two Abbeys that are featured for which there is some speculation on what they represent. Their only commonality is that they are both part of the Belchamp Walter story. They are not really related as they are supposed to document different periods of the village's history.

However, they are both related as they are connected to the Norman Conquest:

• Battle Abbey - The Battle Abbey Roll - Duchess of Cleveland - names of those that came over with the Conqueror (of were connected to the Norman Conquest)
• Hailes Abbey - the recording of the descendants of Edward I at an abbey founded by Richard of Cornwall (King John's 2nd eldest son) - the succession of the Norman Kings, and nearly queens, from the Conquest.

The reason for this page

There are a couple of reasons. The first is that the tomb/memorial to Sir John de Boutetourt found in St. Mary's church was never really explained in the commonly available information on the church. The second is that in tracing the families that have been associated with the village from the time of the Conquest to the present, it helps to have an idea who was around at any particular time.

All that remains of both abbeys are just the ruins. The documents that they were famous have been lost and are subjects of speculation. Below is my best guess to the relevance of these documents.

The Battle Abbey Roll

This is the document that the monks of Battle Abbey, the William the Conqueror founded on the site of the Battle of Hastings. This Roll was reported to be a list of all those that helped William in his conquest of England. Later historians have "embelished" on this list and some may have used a far amount of their imagination when reproducing it. The Duchess of Cleveland is well reported to have done so and some have gone so far as to claim that a lot of it is little more than fiction.

With respect to works of fiction, many of the later historians have been accused of less than faithfull accounts. With resect to the Normans any French sounding name seemed to be "game" for inclusion. Burkes Peerage is another example of a work that some have criticised.

The Hailes Abbey Chronicals

The Hailes Abbey Chronicals were medieval manuscripts that were created by the monks of Hailes Abbey in Glocestershire.

The relevance to this website is the parentage of Sir John de Botetourt whose name was supposedly over-written another name in a geneological table of the descendants of Edward I.

A tomb/chantry dedicated to a Sir John de Botetourt can be found in the church of St. Mary Belchamp Walter. Previous histories had identified this Sir John as dying in 1324, I am now not so sure. However, it is this Sir John who could be the illegitimate son of Edward I.

Douglas Richardson cites Prestwick (Edward I 1997) who speculates that the scribe intended to put the name of Edward's daughter Elizabeth where Botetourt now features. In any case I am not sure that the Chronical still exists, the abbey is a ruin.

Richardson or Prestwick also makes an East Anglian connection to Mendlesham, which I believe was the grandson of the supposed bastard. This Sir John is associated with a 1360 date (36 years later).