Boxley Abbey [SEP] religious order
Boxley Abbey
Boxley Abbey in Boxley, Kent, England was a Cistercian monastery founded c.1146 by William of Ypres, leader of King Stephen's Flemish mercenaries, and colonised by monks from Clairvaux Abbey in France. Some of its ruins survive, some four miles north-east of Maidstone.
Notable events.
In 1171, the then abbot was one of those responsible for the burial of the murdered archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket. In 1193 the abbots of Boxley and Robertsbridge journeyed to the continent to search for King
. During the dissolution of the monasteries, 1536-1540, the reformist-leaning government used the Rood as one argument among many to denounce superstitious religion practices within English Catholicism. From 1539 he the swung back to Catholicism less the 'superstitions' until his death in 1547 while the various religious factious vied for power and influence to promote their viewpoints.
According to tradition, the Rood was brought to Boxley Abbey on a stray horse. Considering that a miracle, the monks of the abbey took the crucifix. William Lambarde