The Spanish Ancient Monastery

Description

The origins of the monastery of Sacramenia date back to the reign of Alfonso VII (1105-1157), who supported the Cistercian monks by promoting their foundations. In 1141, he desired the Order to establish itself in Sacramenia (Segovia) and did everything possible to bring in monks to found a new community. Although the official document certifying the foundation date has not been preserved, it is recorded in a Tumbo: 29 February 1144. Following the laying of the first stone, the construction of the monastery began, which underwent various phases and continued until the last third of the 18th century (Martín Postigo, 1970). In 1835, the community was dissolved, and the premises were dismantled as a result of the disentailment (Merino de Cáceres, 1991). The state of the building caught the attention of an American art collector, William Randolph Hearst, who was in the early 20th century constructing an ambitious palace in San Simeon, California (Martínez Ruiz, 2008). His goal was to decorate it with medieval pieces, and one of his agents, Arthur Byne (Merino de Cáceres, 2010), saw the monastery of Sacramenia as the ideal piece for the magnate. Thus, in 1925, the building began to be dismantled, stone by stone, for transport. However, in 1937, Hearst's finances suffered, and he was forced to sell many of his possessions. Raymond Moss and William Edgmon acquired the crates containing the stones of the monastery, but when they attempted to reassemble it, they realised it was too complex and costly a task (Merino de Cáceres, 1978-1988; Merino de Cáceres, 2003). Finally, in 1962, the Episcopal Diocese of South Florida purchased the monastery and renamed it the Church of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, which is now known as The Spanish Ancient Monastery.

Bibliography

• MARTÍNEZ RUIZ, María José (2008): La enajenación del patrimonio en Castilla y León (1900-1936), tomo I, Junta de Castilla y León, Salamanca.
• MERINO DE CÁCERES, José Miguel (2021): Santa María de Sacramenia. Un monasterio en dos continentes, Diputación de Segovia, Segovia.
• MERINO DE CÁCERES, José Miguel (2003): El monasterio de Santa María de Sacramenia, Real Academia de Historia y Arte de San Quirce, Segovia.
• MERINO DE CÁCERES, José Miguel (1978): "El exilio del monasterio de Santa María de Sacramenia", vol. 29, nº 85, Boletin de la Real Academia de Historia y Arte de San Quirce de Segovia.
• MERINO DE CÁCERES, José Miguel (1991): "El traslado del claustro de Sacramenia. Arthur Byne y su planimetría sobre el monasterio", Segovia cisterciense. Estudios de historia y arte sobre los monasterios segovianos de la orden del Císter, Monasterio de Santa María y San Vicente el Real, Segovia.
• MERINO DE CÁCERES, José Miguel y MARTÍNEZ RUIZ, María José (2012): La destrucción del patrimonio artístico español. W. R. Hearst “el gran acaparador", Cátedra, Madrid.
• SANTONJA, Gonzalo (1994): "Lo que se llevaron de esta tierra", El Norte de Castilla.
• SANTONJA, Gonzalo (2004): Museo de niebla: el patrimonio perdido de Castilla y León, Ámbito, Valladolid.