Monasteries

A selection of images of English monasteries - the name monastery is quite recent and would not have been used in Tudor times. It refers to the house of a community of religious people including nuns, monks and canons. It includes abbeys that were run by an abbot or abbess and priories that were run by a prior or prioress. Check out our Teaching Activity What effect did the dissolution of the monasteries have on English society and culture?

Add to My Favourites Copyright English Heritage.NMR Battle Abbey, Battle, East Sussex Reconstruction drawing of the cloister of Battle Abbey as it might have appeared in the late 13th century. The illustration shows the north cloister being used as a scriptorium (for copying manuscripts). Following his victory at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, William the Conqueror founded Battle Abbey at the site of the battle in fulfilment of a vow to God. After the dissolution of the monasteries some of the buildings were converted into a mansion. Only the plan of the church remains. This property is now in the care of English Heritage (2010). Find out more.	Add to My Favourites Copyright English Heritage Photo Library Battle Abbey, Battle, East Sussex The foundations of the 12th-century chapter house with the parlour and dormitory building extending down the slope. This Benedictine Abbey was founded by William the Conqueror on the site of the Battle of Hastings. The altar was placed on the spot where Harold had been killed. After the dissolution of the monasteries some of the buildings were converted into a mansion. Only the plan of the church remains. This property is now in the care of English Heritage (2010). Find out more.
Add to My Favourites English Heritage.NMR St Johns Abbey Gatehouse, St Johns Green, Colchester, Essex This gatehouse is the only building that remains of the Abbey of St John the Baptist. A Benedictine abbey was founded here in 1096-7. The abbey was dissolved by King Henry VIII in 1539 and in 1544 it passed to Sir Thomas Darcy. In 1548 some of the buildings were converted to a residence. Part of the precinct is thought to have been converted to a formal garden. The house served as a Royalist stronghold during the siege of Colchester in 1648. Following the imprisonment of Dutch prisoners in the 1660s, the remaining buildings, except the gatehouse, were demolished. The grounds passed to various owners before being acquired by the War Office in 1860. This property is now in the care of English Heritage (2010) and managed by the Colchester Borough Council. Find out more.	Add to My Favourites Reproduced by permission of English Heritage.NMR Whitby Abbey, Whitby, North Yorkshire A view of the Abbey from the east. The first monastery here was founded in AD 657 by King Oswy of Northumbria. In 1078 the abbey was re-established by Reinfrid, one of William the Conqueror’s knights who had become a monk. It was a Benedictine Abbey. The present ruined buildings were begun in about 1220 in the Early English style of Gothic. The abbey was dissolved on 14 December 1539 when there were twenty two monks and domestic staff in residence. The abbey church was left intact at the Dissolution and was almost complete as late as 1711 but is now in ruins. Later the Gothic ruins of Whitby Abbey were to inspire Bram Stoker in writing the prototype horror story 'Dracula'. This site is now in the care of English Heritage (2010). Download the Whitby Abbey Teacher's Kit to find out more. Take advantage of our free entry for Learning Groups.
Add to My Favourites Liam Wales. Source English Heritage Photo Library Shap Abbey, Shap, Cumbria This is a reconstruction drawing of Shap Abbey. It was a Premonstratensian monastery. The Premonstratensian order was founded in the 1120s. Like the Cistercians, Premonstratensian canons wore white habits and built their monasteries in remote places. Shap Abbey was founded in about 1200 by a local baron called Thomas, son of Gospatric, who granted the canons land beside the River Lowther. A walled precinct with an outer gatehouse enclosed the monastic buildings, abbey mill and fishponds. The land was granted to the Governor of Carlisle in 1540 following King Henry VIII's suppression of the abbey and the eviction of its canons. Some of the main monastic buildings were re-used as a farm, but most were gradually dismantled and the materials re-used. This site is now in the care of English Heritage (2010). Find out more	Add to My Favourites Mr G Williams. Source English Heritage.NMR Malmesbury Abbey, Wiltshire A nunnery was first documented here in 603. A monastery was founded during the abbacy of Aldhelm (c675-705). It became Benedictine in the reign of Edgar (959–975) and remained so until dissolved in 1539. The final Abbey Church was built circa 1160-70 and had 13th/14th and 15th century additions. The 431 feet (131 m) tall spire, collapsed in a storm around 1500. The west tower fell around 1550. As a result of these two collapses, less than half of the original building stands today. The abbey was closed at the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539 by Henry VIII. It was sold, with all its lands, to William Stumpe, a rich merchant. He gave the abbey church to the town for continuing use as a parish church, and filled the abbey buildings with twenty looms for his cloth-weaving enterprise. More Info
Add to My Favourites Mr Neil Holliday. Source English Heritage.NMR Kirkstall Abbey, Leeds, West Yorkshire Kirkstall Abbey was founded in 1152 by a community of Cistercian monks from Fountains Abbey. It gained its wealth from keeping sheep for the wool trade. Monastic life for the 31 monks came to an end in November 1540 when the abbey was surrendered to Henry VIII as part of the dissolution of the monasteries. Although a few buildings were cleared to ground level most were left standing and used for agricultural purposes. This is perhaps why Kirkstall is now the most complete set of Cistercian ruins in Britain. The church still stands to roof level. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries the road from Leeds to Skipton ran right through the nave! The abbey is now in the care of Leeds City Council (2011). More Info	Add to My Favourites Reproduced by permission of English Heritage.NMR Kirkstall Abbey, Kirkstall, Leeds, West Yorkshire Kirkstall Abbey was founded in 1152 by a community of Cistercian monks from Fountains Abbey. It gained its wealth from keeping sheep for the wool trade. Monastic life for the 31 monks came to an end in November 1540 when the abbey was surrendered to Henry VIII as part of the dissolution of the monasteries. Although a few buildings were cleared to ground level most were left standing and used for agricultural purposes. This is perhaps why Kirkstall is now the most complete set of Cistercian ruins in Britain. The church still stands to roof level. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries the road from Leeds to Skipton ran right through the nave! The abbey is now in the care of Leeds City Council (2011).
Add to My Favourites Copyright English Heritage Photo Library Rievaulx Abbey, Rievaulx, Ryedale, North Yorkshire The ruins of Rievaulx Abbey, looking towards the chancel of the 13th-century monastery church. Rievaulx Abbey was once one of the foremost Cistercian monasteries in Britain and was founded in a remote valley in the Yorkshire Wolds. After the dissolution the site was granted to the Earl of Rutland along with the Helmsley estates. This site is now in the care of English Heritage (2010).	Add to My Favourites Copyright English Heritage Photo Library Reconstruction drawing of Rievaulx Abbey, Rievaulx, Ryedale, North Yorkshire A drawing reconstructing monks worshipping in the 13th-century church of the Cistercian monastery in the Yorkshire Wolds. Cistercian monks followed the rule of St Benedict. They founded a monastery near Rievaulx in the 1130s. After the dissolution the site was granted to the Earl of Rutland along with the Helmsley estates. This site is now in the care of English Heritage (2010).
Add to My Favourites Reproduced by permission of English Heritage.NMR Furness Abbey, Barrow In Furness, Cumbria St Mary of Furness was founded in 1123 by Stephen who became King of England. By Tudor times it was the second richest Cistercian house in England. It was dissolved in 1537 after some of the monks became involved in the Pilgrimage of Grace. In 1539 the abbey and its land was granted to Henry VIII's first minister, Thomas Cromwell. This view is taken from the nave showing the crossing and transcept walls. This site is now in the care of English Heritage (2010).	Add to My Favourites Copyright English Heritage Photo Library Castle Acre Priory, Castle Acre, Norfolk Castle Acre Priory was a Cluniac monastery founded in 1090. The surviving remains include the early 12th-century church, the prior's house and a porch which originally formed the main entrance to the cloister. The priory was dissolved by King Henry VIII in 1537 and granted to Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk. By 1558 the buildings were being demolished. The prior's lodgings were retained for use as a house. This site is now in the care of English Heritage (2010).
Add to My Favourites Copyright English Heritage.NMR Thornton Abbey, Thornton Curtis, North Lincolnshire Aerial view of the remains of Thornton Abbey, Humberside. A priory for Augustinian canons was established here in 1139 and it became an abbey in 1148. It was largely rebuilt during the 13th and 14th centuries. It was dissolved in December 1539. The abbot had been involved in the Pilgrimage of Grace - it is not clear what happened to him. The abbey was finally closed in 1547. The gatehouse remains but other buildings were demolished when a hall and farmhouse were built. This site is now in the care of English Heritage (2010).	Add to My Favourites Copyright Crown copyright.NMR Fountains Abbey, North Yorkshire An aerial view of Fountains Abbey. This Cistercian monastery was founded in 1132 by a group of monks from the Benedictine house of St Mary’s, York. They wanted to pursue a harsher and more disciplined way of monastic life. During the Middle Ages Fountains was one of the leading Cistercian monasteries. It gave help to a number of needy people who came to the abbey gates during the famine of 1194-6. By the time of the Dissolution it was the richest Cistercian abbey in Britain, valued at £1115 18s 2d. It was closed in November 1539. The abbot and 30 monks all received pensions. Demolition began in 1540. The new owner, Sir Richard Gresham stripped it of anything of value. Furnaces were built in the church to melt the lead from the roof and pipes. The fire was fed by timber from the screens and furnishings. He did not demolish all the buildings as he planned to convert them into a mansion. The grounds surrounding the ruin were landscaped during the 18th century. It is now (2011) a World Heritage Site.
Add to My Favourites Copyright Crown copyright.NMR Byland Abbey, Byland, North Yorkshire An aerial view of the ruins of Byland Abbey under a blanket of snow on the North Yorkshire Moors. The Cistercian community of 36 monks and 100 lay brothers moved to this site in 1177. 25 monks plus the abbot lived here at the time of the Abbey's dissolution in November 1538. The site was given to Sir William Pickering and some of the buildings were converted into a house. This site is now in the care of English Heritage (2010).	Add to My Favourites Helmut Schulenburg. Source English Heritage/NMR Hailes Abbey, Stanway, Gloucestershire The Cistercian abbey of Hailes was founded in 1246 by Richard, Earl of Cornwall. He founded it in thanksgiving for surviving a shipwreck. The abbey church was built by 1277. The abbey had extensive and elaborate buildings, financed by pilgrims visiting its renowned relic, 'the Holy Blood of Hailes' - allegedly a phial of Christ's own blood. Following its dissolution in 1539 by Henry VIII, the abbey was sold to a dealer in monastic properties, soon after which the church was demolished. This site is now in the care of English Heritage (2010). More Info
Add to My Favourites David Sanderson. Source English Heritage.NMR Glastonbury Abbey, Somerset Glastonbury is by tradition the oldest monastic foundation in England. It is believed to contain the burial place of King Arthur. A monastery was founded during the early 8th century by Ine on the site of a possible 5th/6th century monastery and Celtic vallum monasterii (an earthwork or wall). Little is known of the monastery until 940 when it was refounded as a Benedictine Abbey by St Dunstan. The standing remains belong to the great abbey church rebuilt after a disastrous fire in 1184. The abbey was dissolved in 1539 after the abbot, Richard Whyting and 2 of his monks had been executed on top of Glastonbury Tor for alleged treason. More Info	Add to My Favourites English Heritage.NMR Westminster Abbey, Westminster, Greater London There has been a building on this site since Roman times. Legend says there was a Christian church in 184AD. St Dunstan founded a Benedictine Abbey here in 959. Edward the Confessor rebuilt the abbey on a grand scale in 1065 and made it the royal church of England. That church was pulled down and Henry III started to rebuild it in 1245. The Abbey was dissolved in January 1540 when it was the richest monastery in England. Henry VIII converted the abbey into one of the new cathedrals of Reformation England. In 1556 Elizabeth I made it into the Collegiate church of St Peter which it still is.
Add to My Favourites SKYSCAN BALLOON PHOTOGRAPHY Bayham Old Abbey, Aerial view This aerial view shows the ruins of Bayham Abbey with New Bayham Abbey beyond. The original abbey of the Premonstratensians or White canons (monks) was founded in the early 13th century. It sits right on the border of Kent and Sussex and had 2 gatehouses, one for each county. In 1525, the abbey was dissolved by Cardinal Wolsey to create funds for Wolsey's college foundations at Oxford and Ipswich. Around 1800 the ruins became a picturesque feature of the landscaped grounds of New Bayham Abbey based on the ideas of landscape designer Humphrey Repton. This site is now (2011)in the care of English Heritage.	Add to My Favourites English Heritage Photo Library Lanercost Priory, Lanercost, Cumbria This is a reconstruction drawing of the presbytery at Lanercost Priory. It was an Augustinian monastery founded in 1166. The beautiful and now tranquil setting of the priory belies an often troubled history. Standing close to Hadrian's Wall, it suffered frequent attacks during the long Anglo-Scottish wars, once by Robert Bruce in person. The mortally sick King Edward I rested here for five months in 1306-7, shortly before his death on his final campaign. It was closed in 1537 as part of Henry VIII Dissolution of the monasteries. This site is now in the care of English Heritage (2010). Read detailed archaeological description.
Add to My Favourites Helmut Schulenburg. Source English Heritage.NMR Craswall Priory, Craswall, Herefordshire These are the remains of St Mary's Priory. It was founded in c1225 by Walter de Lacy. The priory belonged to the French Order of Grandmont and is unique in retaining its Grandmont ground plan in spite of centuries of natural decay. Because its Mother House, or ruling church, was in France it is referred to as an Alien Priory. During the Hundred Years War with France in 1341 Edward III appointed a crown custodian to watch over the monks and to make sure they were not spying for the enemy. During the reign of Henry VII it survived the general suppression of alien monasteries and continued until 1462. In 1441 it had been given to God's House, Cambridge which was afterwards united to Christ's College. Read official list description.	Add to My Favourites Brendan Balhetchet LRPS. Source English Heritage.NMR Former Village Reading Room, Witham Friary, Somerset This building has had many uses over the centuries. It was originally part of a Carthusian Priory founded in 1182 by Henry II. It is reputed to be the first Carthusian house in England and one of only nine Carthusian Houses. The priory was dissolved in 1539 when it was valued at £227. It has since been a dovecote and village reading room. It was restored in 1900 for the Duke of Somerset. Read official list description.
Add to My Favourites Ian Shapeero. Source English Heritage.NMR Gatehouse to Carmelite Friary, Friar's Lane, Burnham Norton, Norfolk This 14th century gatehouse was the entrance to a Carmelite Friary. The friary was the earliest Carmelite house to be established in Norfolk. It was also the first Carmelite house to be established after their expulsion from Mount Carmel in Sinai, Egypt in 1238. It was founded in 1242 by Ralph Hempnale and William Calethorpe on a site at Bradmer, east of Burnham Norton village. It was moved to its present site in 1252. The friary was enlarged in 1298, and again in 1353. The friary was dissolved in 1538 and the land was eventually sold in 1544 to Lady Anne Calthorpe. It later passed to the local branch of the Pepys family, relatives of the diarist Samuel Pepys. Read official list description.	Add to My Favourites Mr John Turner. Source English Heritage.NMR St Mary's Priory Church, Malton, North Yorkshire St. Mary's was the church of the Gilbertine priory founded in Malton. The Priory was founded in 1147-1154 by Eustace Fitz-John for the canons of the Gilbertine order. There were 26 houses of this order in England of which 5 were in Yorkshire. It is the only church of the Gilbertine Order still in regular use. Read official list description.