# 1130s in England

Events from the 1130s in England.

## Incumbents

* Monarch – Henry I (to 1 December 1135), then Stephen

## Events

* 1130
** New choir of Canterbury Cathedral completed.
* 1131
** 8 September – the barons swear allegiance to Matilda as the true heir of 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 (Æthelwold) 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 (at Lyons-la-Forêt in Normandy) 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 (tomb dedicated 1 December).
** 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 (garrisoned only by nine), 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

* 1130
** Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke (died 1176)
* 1133
** 5 March – King Henry II of England (died 1189)
* 1136
** William of Newburgh, historian (died c. 1198)

## Deaths

* year unknown, after 1130
** Robert of Bellême, 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury (born 1052)
* 1130
** Maud, Countess of Huntingdon (born 1074)
* 1134
** 28 March – Stephen Harding, Abbot of Cîteaux and saint (born c. 1050)
** Biddenden Maids, supposed earliest known conjoined twins (born 1100)
* 1135
** 1 December – King Henry I of England (born c. 1068)
* 1136
** 15 April – Richard de Clare, 1st Earl of Hertford (born 1094)
** 21 November – William de Corbeil, Archbishop of Canterbury (born c. 1070 in the Île-de-France)
* 1137
** 10 July – Pain fitzJohn, nobleman and royal administrator (killed in ambush)
** 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