{"id":{"repo_id":"uwtsd","oai_identifier":"oai:repository.uwtsd.ac.uk:4150"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/uwtsd/oai:repository.uwtsd.ac.uk:4150","repository":{"repo_id":"uwtsd","name":"University of Wales Trinity Saint David","base_url":"https://repository.uwtsd.ac.uk/cgi/oai2"},"display":{"title":"The Life of the Nuns at West Malling Abbey: Social and Religious Dynamics from the Middle Medieval Period to the Reformation","abstract":"This thesis examines historical texts and archaeological evidence to explore the lives of the nuns of St. Mary’s Abbey and their impact on the growth of the town of West Malling. These resources are few and widely scattered across archives. There are two short books exclusively about the abbey, one written by the nuns themselves and a second by Anne Oakley. For research on Benedictine nuns, while not specific to St. Mary’s at West Malling, it is the works of Janet Burton, Sally Thompson, Eileen Power, Roberta Gilchrist and Maralyn Oliva which give a more general understanding of the life of a nun. This thesis aims to collate the existing works and original manuscripts to construct a chronological picture of 450 years of abbey life. Research has shown both the scarcity and ambiguities of sources while equally placing the abbey and town within the tumultuous natural and political events of the time. The thesis highlights a period when monastic life was at its height, before ending with the Dissolution. Nonetheless, life continued in West Malling whose town and abbey site still bear visible reminders of this inheritance. The enduring legacy of Gundulf, the Bishop of Rochester, would no doubt amaze him: but over a thousand years later the town, people and nuns of Malling remain a remarkable reminder of his vision to create a monastic place of worship for women.","abstract_html":"This thesis examines historical texts and archaeological evidence to explore the lives of the nuns of St. Mary’s Abbey and their impact on the growth of the town of West Malling. These resources are few and widely scattered across archives. There are two short books exclusively about the abbey, one written by the nuns themselves and a second by Anne Oakley. For research on Benedictine nuns, while not specific to St. Mary’s at West Malling, it is the works of Janet Burton, Sally Thompson, Eileen Power, Roberta Gilchrist and Maralyn Oliva which give a more general understanding of the life of a nun. This thesis aims to collate the existing works and original manuscripts to construct a chronological picture of 450 years of abbey life. Research has shown both the scarcity and ambiguities of sources while equally placing the abbey and town within the tumultuous natural and political events of the time. The thesis highlights a period when monastic life was at its height, before ending with the Dissolution. Nonetheless, life continued in West Malling whose town and abbey site still bear visible reminders of this inheritance. The enduring legacy of Gundulf, the Bishop of Rochester, would no doubt amaze him: but over a thousand years later the town, people and nuns of Malling remain a remarkable reminder of his vision to create a monastic place of worship for women.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Thorndycraft, Janet"],"institution":"University of Wales Trinity Saint David","degree_name":"ma","degree_level":"masters","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2026,"date_issued":"2026-02","date_published":"2026-02","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:53:11Z","subjects":["BX Enwadau Cristnogol"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.grantnumber","label":"Dc Identifier Grantnumber","values":["UWTSD"],"render_values":[{"text":"UWTSD","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://doi.org/10.82227/repository.uwtsd.ac.uk.00004150","outbound_label":"DOI","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.doi"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.sponsor","label":"Sponsor","values":["University of Wales Trinity Saint David"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Thorndycraft, Janet"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2026-02-18"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2026-02"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.commercial","label":"Dc Publisher Commercial","values":["University of Wales Trinity Saint David"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.department","label":"Dc Publisher Department","values":["Traethodau Meistr","Institute of Education and Humanities: Humanities and Social Sciences"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.institution","label":"Dc Publisher Institution","values":["University of Wales Trinity Saint David"]},{"key":"dc:relation.isreferencedby","label":"Dc Relation Isreferencedby","values":["https://repository.uwtsd.ac.uk/id/eprint/4150/"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Gosodiad"]},{"key":"dc:type.qualificationlevel","label":"Dc Type Qualificationlevel","values":["masters"]},{"key":"dc:type.qualificationname","label":"Dc Type Qualificationname","values":["ma"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["BX Enwadau Cristnogol"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.doi","label":"DOI","values":["10.82227/repository.uwtsd.ac.uk.00004150"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.grantnumber","label":"Dc Identifier Grantnumber","values":["UWTSD"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://repository.uwtsd.ac.uk/id/eprint/4150/1/Thorndycraft_J_MA_Thesis.pdf"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This thesis examines historical texts and archaeological evidence to explore the lives of the nuns of St. Mary’s Abbey and their impact on the growth of the town of West Malling. These resources are few and widely scattered across archives. There are two short books exclusively about the abbey, one written by the nuns themselves and a second by Anne Oakley. For research on Benedictine nuns, while not specific to St. Mary’s at West Malling, it is the works of Janet Burton, Sally Thompson, Eileen Power, Roberta Gilchrist and Maralyn Oliva which give a more general understanding of the life of a nun. This thesis aims to collate the existing works and original manuscripts to construct a chronological picture of 450 years of abbey life. Research has shown both the scarcity and ambiguities of sources while equally placing the abbey and town within the tumultuous natural and political events of the time. The thesis highlights a period when monastic life was at its height, before ending with the Dissolution. Nonetheless, life continued in West Malling whose town and abbey site still bear visible reminders of this inheritance. The enduring legacy of Gundulf, the Bishop of Rochester, would no doubt amaze him: but over a thousand years later the town, people and nuns of Malling remain a remarkable reminder of his vision to create a monastic place of worship for women."]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["text"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Life of the Nuns at West Malling Abbey: Social and Religious Dynamics from the Middle Medieval Period to the Reformation"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.sponsor":["University of Wales Trinity Saint David"],"dc:creator":["Thorndycraft, Janet"],"dc:date":["2026-02-18"],"dc:date.issued":["2026-02"],"dc:description.abstract":["This thesis examines historical texts and archaeological evidence to explore the lives of the nuns of St. Mary’s Abbey and their impact on the growth of the town of West Malling. These resources are few and widely scattered across archives. There are two short books exclusively about the abbey, one written by the nuns themselves and a second by Anne Oakley. For research on Benedictine nuns, while not specific to St. Mary’s at West Malling, it is the works of Janet Burton, Sally Thompson, Eileen Power, Roberta Gilchrist and Maralyn Oliva which give a more general understanding of the life of a nun. This thesis aims to collate the existing works and original manuscripts to construct a chronological picture of 450 years of abbey life. Research has shown both the scarcity and ambiguities of sources while equally placing the abbey and town within the tumultuous natural and political events of the time. The thesis highlights a period when monastic life was at its height, before ending with the Dissolution. Nonetheless, life continued in West Malling whose town and abbey site still bear visible reminders of this inheritance. The enduring legacy of Gundulf, the Bishop of Rochester, would no doubt amaze him: but over a thousand years later the town, people and nuns of Malling remain a remarkable reminder of his vision to create a monastic place of worship for women."],"dc:format":["text"],"dc:identifier.doi":["10.82227/repository.uwtsd.ac.uk.00004150"],"dc:identifier.grantnumber":["UWTSD"],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://repository.uwtsd.ac.uk/id/eprint/4150/1/Thorndycraft_J_MA_Thesis.pdf"],"dc:publisher.commercial":["University of Wales Trinity Saint David"],"dc:publisher.department":["Traethodau Meistr","Institute of Education and Humanities: Humanities and Social Sciences"],"dc:publisher.institution":["University of Wales Trinity Saint David"],"dc:relation.isreferencedby":["https://repository.uwtsd.ac.uk/id/eprint/4150/"],"dc:subject":["BX Enwadau Cristnogol"],"dc:title":["The Life of the Nuns at West Malling Abbey: Social and Religious Dynamics from the Middle Medieval Period to the Reformation"],"dc:type":["Gosodiad"],"dc:type.qualificationlevel":["masters"],"dc:type.qualificationname":["ma"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:53:11Z"}