Which came first,the monks or the swans?
The first written record of the swannery was in a report of an incident in 1393. It's likely that the monks were managing the swan colony before that. It's also likely that it was the existence of the huge flock of swans, happily munching the eel grass of the Fleet that drew the Benedictines to the spot in the first place.When Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries in 1539, Abbotsbury was sold to the Strangways family who later became Earls of Ilchester. The same family still owns the estate and manages the swan colony.
Not the Monarch's swans
Traditionally, all England's unmarked swans belong to the Monarch, with a small number of swans on the Thames belonging to the Guild of Vintners and the Guild of Dyers. The apparently quaint custom of Swan Upping - counting the swans on the Thames - was once a measurement of wealth. Today, it is still practiced as a way of keeping track of swan population and health. When the Strangways family bought Abbotsbury, the King gave them the right to all swans hatched there. The swans are ringed to indicate ownership.No one eats them anymore, but the Swannery still produces the quills used by Lloyds to record shipping accidents in the Doom Book, and provides small feathers to The Plumery for the ceremonial helmets of the Gentlemen at Arms.
