1130s in England

Events from the 1130s in England.

Incumbents

Monarch – Henry I, then Stephen

Events

1130

* New choir of Canterbury Cathedral completed.1131
* 8 September – the barons swear allegiance to Matilda, now countess of Anjou, as the true heir of her father, Henry I of England.
* Cistercians found Rievaulx Abbey in Yorkshire.
* Gilbertine Order of nuns founded by Gilbert of Sempringham in Lincolnshire, the only completely English religious order.1132
* Benedictines found Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire.1133
* August – King Henry I leaves England for the last time for Normandy.
* A royal charter establishes the first annual Bartholomew Fair at Smithfield, London; later to become England's largest cloth fair.
* First Bishop of Carlisle consecrated.
* Rebuilt Exeter Cathedral consecrated.1135
* 26 May – the Great Fire of 1135 destroys the wooden London Bridge and seriously damages St Paul's Cathedral.
* 1 December – King Henry I dies having nominated Matilda as his heir.
* 22 December – Stephen of Blois, nephew of Henry I, claims the throne.
* 26 December – coronation of Stephen of England at Westminster Abbey by William de Corbeil, Archbishop of Canterbury.
* Bruton Abbey, Buildwas Abbey and Byland Abbey founded, the latter in January by the Congregation of Savigny.1136
* 1 January – revolt in Wales; Welsh capture Swansea and Cardigan from the Normans.
* 4 January – Henry I is buried in his foundation, Reading Abbey.
* 5 February – by the Treaty of Durham, Stephen concedes Cumberland to David I of Scotland.
* Hospital of St Cross, an almshouse in Winchester, is established by Bishop Henry of Blois; it will still be functioning in the 21st century.
* Geoffrey of Monmouth writes Historia Regum Britanniae.1137
* March – Stephen fails in his attempt to re-capture Normandy from Matilda.
* 3 June – a fire severely damages Rochester Cathedral, but it is soon rebuilt.
* 4 June – a fire destroys much of the city of York, including 39 churches and York Minster, but the latter is soon rebuilt.
* 27 June – a fire severely damages the city of Bath, Somerset.1138
* January-February – King David I of Scotland raids Northumberland, taking the Bishop of Durham's Norham Castle, and besieges the castle at Wark on Tweed.
* 10 April – Robert Warelwast is nominated as Bishop of Exeter.
* May – The Anarchy: Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester, leads a rebellion against King Stephen in favour of his half-sister Matilda.
* 10 June – Battle of Clitheroe: Having harried Craven in Yorkshire, David I of Scotland's nephew William fitz Duncan meets and defeats an English force on the edge of the Bowland Fells.
* 22 August – Battle of the Standard: English army defeats that of David I of Scotland at Cowton Moor near Northallerton in Yorkshire.
* December – Legatine conference in Westminster led by Alberic of Ostia.
* Alcester Abbey and Bourne Abbey established.1139
* 8 January – Theobald of Bec enthroned as Archbishop of Canterbury.
* 9 April – the second Treaty of Durham between King Stephen of England and David I of Scotland; David's son Earl Henry takes control of most of Northumberland, excluding Bamburgh and Newcastle upon Tyne.
* June – Stephen orders the arrest of Roger of Salisbury, Justiciar and Bishop of Salisbury, and Alexander of Lincoln, Bishop of Lincoln.
* 30 September – The Anarchy: Empress Matilda lands near Arundel to begin her campaign to regain the throne from Stephen.
* 7 November – The Anarchy: Gloucester's army sacks Worcester.
* King's School, Pontefract, founded.

Births

Deaths

year unknown, after 1130

*Robert of Bellême, 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury
1130
*Maud, Countess of Huntingdon
1134
* 28 March – Stephen Harding, Abbot of Cîteaux and saint
* Biddenden Maids, supposed earliest known conjoined twins
1135
* 1 December – King Henry I of England
1136
* 15 April – Richard de Clare, 1st Earl of Hertford
* 21 November – William de Corbeil, Archbishop of Canterbury
1137
* 10 July – Pain fitzJohn, nobleman and royal administrator
* c. 26 September – William Warelwast, Bishop of Exeter and diplomat
1138
* 11 May – William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey
1139
* 11 December – Roger of Salisbury, bishop and Lord Chancellor