Record Details

Summary

The site of a chapel erected by St. Modwen and dedicated to the Saint Andrew. The chapel is thought to have been erected between the 7th and 9th centuries, and the body of St. Modwen is thought to have been buried there before being moved to the Abbey.

Monument Type(s):

• CHURCH (Early Medieval to Anglo Saxon - 600 AD? to 1004 AD?)

Protected Status:

Full description

Cell / Church / Holy Well: The Burton Abbey Chronicles are said to quote Abbot Geoffrey Malleterre's "Life of St Modwen" where it is claimed that Modwen founded a chapel and built a well to " God and St Andrew" on the island of "Andressey" towards the end of the 7th century. Reputedly she was buried there before her remains were removed to the Abbey. <1>

It is not uncommon for religious houses to either invent of embroider traditions of links with early Christian figures. <not sourced>

St Modwen, an Irish saint, lived as an anchorite on Andredesy Island and was buried there, but was later enshrined in Burton Abbey. (SB, 21-11-2003) <2>

The ecclesiastical history of Burton is assumed to commence with the erection of a church or chapel on the island of Andressey, by a Irish lady called Modwen, towards the latter part of the 9th century. (SB, 21-11-2003) <3>

Modwen is thought to have died around about the year 900 and been buried in the chapel which she had erected on Andressey. Subsequently her remains were removed to the Abbey (PRN 00223) opposite. (SB, 21-11-2003) <4>

From the 7th century or later, St Modwen had a religious house at Burton-on-Trent. (SB, 21-11-2003) <5>

It is also referred to as 'St Modwen's Nunnery', and thought that Burton Abbey was founded (in 1004 A.D.) in place of it. (SB, 21-11-2003) <6>

There is every reason to believe that St. Modwen's well and chapel were situated on the flat meadow opposite the churchyard as this spot is still known as Annesley or Andressey, and the part of the river dividing the island from the shore is called 'The Modwens' or 'Mudwins. (SB, 21-11-2003) <7>

The authority of the dedication of the chapel (founded by St. Modwen) to 'God and St, Andrew' is Abbot Geoffrey de Malleterre's 'Life of St. Modwen' quoted from the Chronicles of Burton Abbey. (SB, 21-11-2003) <8>

The site of St Andrew's Chapel at St Modwen's Orchard. Saint Modwen, an Irish abbess, is said to have come to England in the 7th century, and to have built a church on an island in the Trent at Burton, that became known as Andressey, evidently because the church was dedicated to Saint Andrew. The saint is supposed to have been buried on the island and her bones were later transferred to Burton Abbey. It is likely that any surviving religious house would have been destroyed during the Danish incursion of the 870s. There is every reason to believe that the well and chapel were situated on the flat meadow opposite the churchyard, as this spot is still known as Annesley or Andressey, and the part of the river dividing the island from the shore is called 'The Modwens' or 'Mudwins'. The authority for the dedication of the chapel founded by Saint
Modwen to 'God and Saint Andrew' is Abbot Geoffrey de Malleterre's Life of Saint Modwen, quoted in the Chronicles of Burton Abbey. In 1975 it was noted that there were no visible archaeological remains to be seen on Andressey Island, which at the time was described as a low-lying pasture in the middle of the Trent. (SB, 18-Feb-2014) <9>

Sources and further reading

---	SST390 - Index: Ordnance Survey. See cards. Ordnance Survey Card Index. SK 22 SE - 4 ('Holy Wells of Staffordshire' by FJ Cope in Trans.of the Old Stafford Soc. 1944-5 p12).
<1>	SST390 - Index: Ordnance Survey. See cards. Ordnance Survey Card Index. SK 22 SE - 4.
<2>	SST390 - Index: Ordnance Survey. See cards. Ordnance Survey Card Index. SK 22 SE - 4 (Notitia Monastica' 1787, Tanner, Staffordshire - Chapter III).
<3>	SST390 - Index: Ordnance Survey. See cards. Ordnance Survey Card Index. SK 22 SE - 4('Burton-on-Trent: Its History, its Waters & its Breweries' by W. Molyneux, 1869 p24-25).
<4>	SST390 - Index: Ordnance Survey. See cards. Ordnance Survey Card Index. SK 22 SE - 4 (Bush, 1956).
<5>	SST390 - Index: Ordnance Survey. See cards. Ordnance Survey Card Index. SK 22 SE - 4 (Monasticism in Staffordshire' by F. A. Hibbert, 1910, p10).
<6>	SST390 - Index: Ordnance Survey. See cards. Ordnance Survey Card Index. SK 22 SE - 4 ('Transactions of the Old Stafford Society' by F.J. Cope, 1928 p30).
<7>	SST390 - Index: Ordnance Survey. See cards. Ordnance Survey Card Index. SK 22 SE - 4 ('A History of Burton on Trent' by W. Wesley, 1848 - Page 11).
<8>	SST390 - Index: Ordnance Survey. See cards. Ordnance Survey Card Index. SK 22 SE - 4 (Wain, C.1959).
<9>	SST12 - Map: National Monument Record. 1993. National Forest Project Maps / Pastscape Records. SK 22 SE 4.

Related records

00223	Parent of: Burton Abbey / The Abbey of Mary and Saint Modwen, Burton-upon-Trent (Monument)
50595	Related to: St Andrew's Well, St. Modwen's Orchard, Burton-upon-Trent (Monument)

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