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 West wall |
 Church foundations |
Haughmond Abbey Photo's by Jamie Wilson
My local Abbey of Haughmond, otherwise known as the Abbey of Saint John, is of special interest to me because it was a place the le Stranges of the Shropshire March frequented on a long-term basis and over many generations. There are also two graves here. Firstly, one is the grave of Ankaret Howard le Strange, (whose genealogical connection I have not found) and the second one is where John fitz-Alan's 13th century grave lies next to his wife's.
The Abbey was established by William fitz Alan, a friend of John le Strange's, circa 1135. John was canon and made patron of the Abbey in 1176, near the end of his life. The le Stranges made grants to this, their favourite, sacred place, among other major sites in Shropshire & Norfolk and it is here that the Family are well documented.
Today, its ruins face west over Shrewsbury, overlooking the Battle field of 1403 which Shakespeare famously depicted in one of his plays. Over the centuries it grew and was modernized until its part demolition in 1539, in the dissolution of the monasteries, when it became privately owned.