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Pilgrims flocked to Abingdon Abbey during the Middle Ages for it held the great Nail of the Holy Cross, inherited from St. Helen's. The Abbey also held the relics of St. Vincent. During King Canute's reign, the monks had stolen them from their brethren of Glastonbury whilst they were staying at the Abbey. The King approved and gave them a fine silver & gold shrine in which to house the bones. It was inscribed with the names of the King, his wife & Abbot Aethelwin. Aethelwin gave another shrine for relics he had collected & a splendid silver cross. Abingdon also acquired relics of St. Edward the Martyr during Canute's reign. The young saint had visited the shrine of Our Lady of Abingdon during his short time as king. Later, his own shrine at Shaftesbury Abbey was sending out parts of his body to Glastonbury, Salisbury, Leominster & Durham. On travelling through Berkshire, the relic bearers were miraculously halted at Abingdon. As the saint evidently wanted to stay in the town, they decided to leave many of his bones in the Abbey Church. Abingdon venerated the relics of many other saints too.
King Cissa of Upper Wessex, d.c.680
Prince Abbot Hean of Abingdon, nephew of King Cissa of Upper Wessex, d.740
Ansfrida, widow of Anskill, Lord of Seacourt, & mistress of King Henry I. She was buried at the entrance to the Cloister
Brother Fulk, a monk & illegitimate son of King Henry I by Ansfrida of Seacourt, d.pre.1100
Princess Margaret, d.1361, wife of John Hastings, Earl of Pembroke & daughter of King Edward III
Princess Mary, d.1362, wife of John De Montfort, Duke of Brittany & daughter of King Edward III
Many members of the Bessels family of Besselsleigh.
One wonders if any of the fabulous memorials, that must have existed within the Abbey Church, were made by Alexander of Abingdon. Also known as Alexander the Imager, this local man was among the greatest of medieval English sculptors. Unfortunately, only three pieces of work, definitely known to be his, still exist: the statues of Queen Eleanor of Castile from the Eleanor Cross at Waltham in Hertfordshire, for which he was paid 5 marks each (£3 6s 8d). These can be seen in the Victoria and Albert Museum (those on the cross are now copies). The Eleanor Crosses were put up by Edward I to show where his beloved wife's body had rested on its journey from Lincolnshire to Westminster Abbey in the Winter of 1290. Alexander also worked on the great Charing Cross and Queen Eleanor's monuments in Lincoln Cathedral and the Blackfriars' (London). Such Royal commissions clearly show his pre-eminence in the medieval Art World. He is thought to have been the principal sculptor of the Westminster or Court School of Art. Other monuments attributed to him are those to:
Princess Aveline, wife of Prince Edmund Crouchback, Earl of Lancaster (d.1273). Monument erected 1293 at Westminster Abbey.
Prince Edmund Crouchback, Earl of Lancaster (d.1296) at Westminster Abbey.
Archbishop Percham of Canterbury (d.1298) at Canterbury Cathedral.
Bishop William De Luda of Ely (d.1298) at Ely Cathedral.
Bishop William De Marchia of Wells (d.1302) at Wells Cathedral
Earl Henry Lacy of Lincoln (d.1310) at Old St. Paul's Cathedral (London). Now destroyed
Alexander may have made his way to London through his association with the King's painter, Walter of Durham. Walter is known to have undertaken work at Abingdon Abbey and Alexander probably learnt his craft from Abbey masons there. They appear to have been quite a centre for sculptural inspiration, for there were other Abingdon sculptors abroad, like John of Abingdon who worked on Merton College Chapel (Oxford).