Sibton Abbey Estates, 1325-1509

Built in 1150, Sibton Abbey was the only Cistercian abbey in Suffolk County. Though the larger and more ancient abbey of Bury St. Edmunds often overshadowed the smaller monastic houses of Suffolk, the smaller houses still played an important role in the agrarian economy of the county. This database contains transcripts of a collection of documents from Sibton Abbey. These transcripts are categorized into the following three groups: (1) fragments of two registers of 1325, (2) manorial administrative documents including an incomplete series of compoti in book form extending from 1455 to 1525, and (3) a register containing miscellaneous material from 1325 onwards. Documents found among these three groups include Extents of demesne land from 1325 and rentals of 1328, rental of 1484, and compotus of 1363-1364 and 1508-1509. Through these documents one may study the agrarian economy of the county as well as the monastic history of the area.