Syon Abbey

About

Syon Abbey , also called simply Syon, was a dual monastery of men and women of the Bridgettine Order, although it only ever had abbesses during its existence. It was founded in 1415 and stood, until its demolition in the 16th century, on the left (northern) bank of the River Thames within the parish of Isleworth, in the county of Middlesex, on or near the site of the present Georgian mansion of Syon House, today in the London Borough of Hounslow. It was named after the biblical holy "City of David which is Zion" (1 Kings 8:1), built on the eponymous Mount Zion (or Sion, Syon, etc.).

At the time of the dissolution, the abbey was the wealthiest religious house in England. Syon Abbey maintained a substantial library, with a collection for the monks and another for the nuns. Religious texts were also copied and produced at Syon Abbey. One of these texts was A ryght profytable treatise, which was written by Syon librarian Thomas Betson. When Catherine of Siena's Dialogue of Divine Revelation was translated into English for the abbey, it was given a new title, The Orchard of Syon, and included a separate prologue written to the nuns.