Orc, Tola and the founding of the abbey

Remains of the abbey. Photo: Michael Garlick, geograph, CC BY-SA 2.0.

The name is older than the abbey. A charter of King Edmund's, in the 900s, already calls the place Abbedesburi, the abbot's fortified place, so the name was in use a century before Orc's monks arrived. The abbey proper dates from the early years of Edward the Confessor. It was founded by Orc, a thegn who had served King Cnut and been given these lands by him in 1023 or 1024 (the village marked the thousandth anniversary in 2024), and by his wife Tola. They handed the Benedictines the site of an existing small church, a generous endowment, and a guild to look after the house's interests. It was dedicated to St Peter and it grew rich quickly. By Domesday in 1086 it held more than 65 hides of land and eight manors, and the village had 62 households.