Brentwood: Remembering the last abbot of St John’s Abbey, Colchester

The Abbey Gatehouse

On Sunday 30th November at midday, the Rt Rev Alan Williams, Bishop of Brentwood, will unveil a plaque commemorating the death of Blessed John Beche, the last abbot of the 11th century Benedictine Abbey of St John in Colchester. Situated outside the Gatehouse, the last part of the Abbey remaining, the plaque is the work of the Colchester & Ipswich Museum Service. It is being unveiled at the instigation of English Heritage and records the execution of the abbot on the green on 1st December 1539, after his refusal to acknowledge Henry XIII as head of the church. Abbot Beche was beatified by Pope Leo XIII in 1895.

The Gatehouse itself, with its flushwork lilies, a symbol of the Virgin Mary, is being renovated after recent vandalism and will be used for religious services in the future. Colchester Catholic Heritage Group has been instrumental in the process of fundraising and gaining the permissions necessary for its use. Jennie Guthrie-Stevens, a member of the group, said: “I am delighted that Abbot Beche is at last getting the recognition he deserves and that our hard work with the Gatehouse refurbishment is coming to fruition.”

Bishop Alan, the former director at the Walsingham Shrine, was ordained as Bishop of Brentwood in July 2014. He will celebrate Mass at the nearby Priory Street parish of St James the Less and St Helen at 10.30am, before going to the Gatehouse green with parish priest Fr Tony McKentey. Deputy Mayor Teresa Higgins will also be present at the unveiling. The plaque features pictures of the beautiful pectoral cross worn by the Abbot and an engraving of the building from the 17th century. The cross now resides with Benedictine monks at Buckfast Abbey in Devon.

The 900th anniversary of the dedication of the Abbey, once the fourth largest in England, will fall on 10th February 2015, and plans are being made for celebrations next year.

The abbey was founded in 1095 by Eudo Dapifer, William the Conqueror’s High Steward and Constable of Colchester Castle. The abbey made a major contribution to the development of medieval Colchester and became a wealthy and privileged house, despite losing part of its buildings to fire in 1133.

In the late 14th and early 15th centuries, perhaps as a result of the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381, the abbey strengthened its defences and the gatehouse was added as part of this revamping around 1400.

St John’s was one of a handful of abbeys that refused to surrender to Henry VIII’s Commissioners during the Dissolution, succumbing only after the execution of Abbot Beche for treason. Abbot Beche was also known as Thomas Marshal.

St John’s Abbey Gatehouse is in the care of English Heritage and managed by Colchester Borough Council.

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