Thanks to Steve Brine MP a group from Hyde900 was able to visit The National Archives (TNA) in Kew to examine key documents in the history of Hyde Abbey.

Hosted by Adrian Ailes, Principal Records Specialist at the TNA, the Chairman of Hyde900, Steve Marper, and Founder, Edward Fennell, along with five colleagues and Alison Lawrence from the University of Winchester, were able to look closely at some of the most important sources of information about Hyde in the sixteenth century.

The highlight of the display was the Valor Ecclesiasticus which was commissioned by Henry the Eighth so he would know how much wealth the Church had in England and Wales. This information was used to decide which monasteries should be closed and effectively sealed the fate of the abbey at Hyde because it revealed the considerable assets held within the monastic establishment (including those of the hospitality department!). The next step in the Hyde Abbey story was then represented by the ‘surrender document’ signed by the Abbot of Hyde, John Salcot, and the remaining monks when they departed leaving the abbey to be pillaged and pulled down by Thomas Wriothesley, a favoured henchman of the king. Read the rest of this entry »