Ramsey as a market town grew up around the Abbey, which had been founded on an island in the marshes  in 969 A D coinciding roughly with the date of the second foundation of Ely.  The Abbey became known as ‘Ramsey the Rich’ or ‘Ramsey the Golden' on account of its vast wealth and power. 

By the time of the Domesday Book it ranked as one of the top monastic houses in the country.  The Abbot was mitred and sat in the House of Lords as Baron Broughton.  Ramsey Abbey had, at its height, some 80 monks and even at its dissolution in 1539 there were 34 monks in residence. 

A weekly market was held together with an annual three-day fair on the feast of St Benedict, (the founding order of the Abbey).  Fishing, fulling, tanning and weaving were all carried out under the watchful eyes of the Abbot.

The Dissolution of the Monasteries was an event of enormous importance and destruction!  The great houses, Ely, Ramsey, Thorney, Peterborough, Barnwell and lesser sites such as Chatteris, Denny, Swaffham and Bulbeck had greatly influenced the religious and economic life of the region.

Monasteries were the lords of many manors especially in Fenland.  They also exercised patronage over dozens of church benefices.  All these passed into other ownership, the Bishops, Colleges and richer laity being the main beneficiaries.  The Dissolution itself was eagerly pursued by Bishop Goodrich and carried out smoothly, with monks and nuns being compensated with annual pensions. But lay brothers who had done so much of the work maintaining the monasteries were not so lucky. (Ref11)

The Abbey's Foundation

The History of the founding of Ramsey Abbey comes to us through the words of the Ramsey Chronicler, an unknown Monk, in the form of the 'Liber Benafactorum' book of Benefactors.  Written and compiled according to the Chronicler in the reign of King Stephen?, when the Abbey was under control of Abbot Walter.  He tells us that after the struggles the Abbey had had at that time, it was decided to collect all the scraps of the charters of privilege and documents that had been rescued from the 'ruin of antiquity' and put them all into one volume ( after changing what had been written in English into the Latin language)

  There is also mention of a third rebuilding of the Church (Abbey)?

These had been turbulent times for the Abbey, this is around the time of the expulsion of the Monks of Ramsey Abbey by Geoffrey de Mandeville.   

The Liber Benefactorum of Ramsey Abbey is one of the oldest and finest of our national monastic chronicles.  Up to now this chronicle has been available to readers only in a scarce and expensive Latin text, but now thanks to the hard work of Dr Susan Edgington and colleagues there is a inexpensive translation of Ramsey Abbey book of Benefactors 'The Abbey's Foundation' part one for people to read.  (Ref 8)
Also 'The Early Years' part two is now available.  (Ref 9)

The following descriptions of the founding of the Abbey are given by the Chronicler, taken from 'The Book of Benefactors' part one 'The Foundation' (Ref 8) and 'Ramsey Abbey' its rise and fall by Noble and Wise. (Ref 7)

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