William D'Aubigny

     William D'Aubigny, son of Roger D'Aubigny and Amicia de Mowbray, was born in 1072 in St. Martin d'Aubigny, Manche, Normandy, France. He was pincerna to King Henry I.

William married Maud Bigod circa 1101 in Norfolk, England. She was the daughter of Roger Bigod and Adeliiza de Toeni, and was born at Belvoir Castle.

In 1107, William now a prominent Norfolk landowner with estates in Wymondham and nearby New Buckenham, founded the Wymondham Abbey as a Priory of the Benedictine Monastery of St. Albans. William was the nephew of Richard D'Albini, Abbot of St. Alban's. The priory was relatively small, initially for some twelve Benedictive monks, but grew in influence and wealth over the coming centuries. In 1448 the Pope granted Wymondham the right to become an Abbey in its own right. It was suppressed by Henry VIII in 1538 and since then it has served as the Anglican parish church of Wymondham.

The building was on an ambitious scale. Stone was shipped across the English Channel from Caen, in Normandy, and the original Nave-- a scaled down version of the Nave of Norwich Cathedral-- was twelve bays long. The church and monastery were substanially complete by 1130. In 1174 the founders son, also called William d'Aubigny, established a chapel in town dedicated to Thomas Becket and served by two monks from the priory.¹

William D'Aubigny died in 1139. He was buried in Wymondham Abbey, Norfolk, England.