Gundulf

GUNDULF was born in Normandy, now part of France.  Four years after the conquest of England in 1066, while he was a monk of Caen, Gundulf was called to England to assist Lanfranc, the Archbishop of Canterbury, in the administration of that diocese.  Gundulf was appointed Bishop of Rochester in 1077.  As a skilled architect he rebuilt the almost ruined Cathedral in the Norman style and founded a community of Benedictine monks to serve there.  In 1078 King William I appointed Gundulf to oversee the building of the White Tower of London.  He was responsible for the building of St Leonard’s Tower, here in West Malling, and many churches in the Medway Towns.  In about 1090 Gundulf founded this Abbey (St. Mary's)  for Benedictine nuns, one of the first post-conquest monasteries for women; it is the home of Benedictine nuns today.  Gundulf was famous for his care of the poor and his devotion to prayer.  He died on 8th March 1108 aged 85, and is still honoured as the patron of the Royal Engineers.

 

St Leonard of Noblac was a very popular saint in England and Europe in the11th century.  He died c.559 AD and was the Patron Saint of Justice and all those suffering confinement such as prisoners, the mentally ill and pregnant women.  French legends state St Leonard, who lived as a hermit in the forest of Limousin in France, was going to the Yule (Ewell) celebrations, and met a beggar who asked for wine.  St Leonard had wine and gave him some, but then had no gift.  The beggar told him to fill his flask from the spring and the water was turned to wine.  St Leonard also saved the life of the French King’s wife in childbirth and the King gave him woodland where he built an oratory and lived with two monks.  Water in the French story was 1000 yards away at an Abbey dedicated to St Mary. The legend states St Leonard dug a great pit and filled it with his tears. He divided the King’s woodland and supported the needy.  St Leonard’s Day was a compulsory public holiday in Worcestershire in the 13th century.  

Now look at West Malling.  The Ewell Spring here in West Malling rises below St Leonards Tower. The Abbey here is also dedicated to St Mary and is 1000 yards away from the tower.  The lake is clearly excavated.  Perhaps the whole complex in West Malling was modelled on the Norman French Legend?  The story match is remarkable.