Croxton Abbey

Croxton Abbey

Location within Leicestershire
Monastery information
Order	Premonstratensian
Established	Land donated before 1159 Canons in residence from 1162
Mother house	Newhouse Abbey
Dedicated to	St John the Evangelist
Diocese	Diocese of Lincoln
Controlled churches	Ault Hucknall, Derbs Croxton Kerrial, Leics Finedon, Northans Lowne, Derbs Mellinge, Lancs South Croxton, Leics (one half) Sproxton, Leics Tunstall, Lancs
People
Founder(s)	William, Count of Boulogne and Mortain
Important associated figures	King John of England (reign: 1199 – 1216): His heart was buried within the abbey church.
Site
Location	Near Croxton Kerrial, Leicestershire, United Kingdom
Coordinates	52°51′5.59″N 0°45′27.96″W / 52.8515528°N 0.7577667°W / 52.8515528; -0.7577667Coordinates: 52°51′5.59″N 0°45′27.96″W / 52.8515528°N 0.7577667°W / 52.8515528; -0.7577667

Croxton Abbey, near Croxton Kerrial, Leicestershire, was a Premonstratensian monastery founded by William I, Count of Boulogne.

Croxton Abbey was founded by William, Count of Boulogne and Mortain, who donated the land for the abbey and endowed it the advowsons of the church of Croxton Kerrial in Leicestershire, and the churches of Ault Hucknall and Lowne in Derbyshire. The donation of the land must have happened before the Count's death in 1159, however, canons were not resident until 1162. Croxton was under the control of their motherhouse, Newhouse Abbey in Lincolnshire.

Later donations brought Croxton the advowsons of the church of Sproxton and one half of the church of South Croxton, both in Leicestershire. The abbey also gained the advowsons of the churches of Mellinge and Tunstall in Lancashire. In the early 13th century Philip D'Aubigny donated the manor of Waltham-on-the-Wolds in Leicestershire, to the abbey.

For a short time the abbey also controlled several daughter houses: acquiring Blanchland Priory in Northumberland, Cockersand Priory in Lancashire, and Hornby Priory in Lancashire.Cockersand was only under the Abbey's control for around 8 years until it was elevated to abbey status itself in 1192. Blanchland remained a daughter house until the 13th century, when it too became an independent abbey. Hornby Priory was the exception, and remained under Croxton until dissolution.