Search Results

Perhaps the most famous date in English history - 1066 is the year the Normans defeated the English at the Battle of Hastings.William the Conqueror founded 'Battle' Abbey to commemorate his victory: here, on the site of its high altar, you can stand at...

One of England's finest country houses, Audley End is also a mansion with a difference. Following the restoration of its great Service Wing, visitors can now tour the 'parallel world' where armies of servants laboured to ensure the smooth running of...

The impressive ruins of an abbey of Premonstratensian 'white canons', on the Kent-Sussex border. They include much of the 13th to 15th-century church, the chapter house, and a picturesque 14th-century gatehouse.Now set in a landscape designed by...

Impressive ruins of a Cistercian abbey, including its unusually unaltered 12th-century church, beautiful vaulted and tile-floored chapter house, and recently re-opened crypt chapel. In a wooded Severn-side setting, not far from the Iron Bridge and...

Byland was one of the great Yorkshire Cistercian abbeys, housing at its zenith well over 200 monks and lay brothers. Much of its huge cathedral-sized church survives, including the whole north side and the greater part of the 13th-century west front. The...

In Washford lies one of the undiscovered jewels of Somerset, providing an interesting day out for families and budding historians alike. The Cistercian abbey of Cleeve is a haven of peace and tranquillity, said to contain the finest cloister buildings in...

Denny Abbey has a unique and fascinating history. Founded in 1159 as a Benedictine monastery, it then became a retirement home for elderly Knights Templars.

The impressive remains of an abbey founded by Stephen, later King of England, including much of the east end and west tower of the church, the ornately decorated chapter house and the cloister buildings. Originally of the Savigniac order, it passed to...

The Cistercian abbey of Hailes was founded in 1246 by Richard of Cornwall, in thanksgiving for deliverance from shipwreck, and dissolved on Christmas Eve 1539. Though never housing large numbers of monks, it had extensive and elaborate buildings,...

The extensive remains of an Augustinian abbey, including its abbots' quarters, refectory and cloister. The substantiallysurviving chapter house has afrontage richly bedecked with 12th- and 14th-century carving and statuary, and a fine timber roof of c....

Surrounded by spectacular banks and ditches, the great medieval castle's impressive ruins stand beside the attractive market town of Helmsley. The fortress was probably begun after 1120 by Walter Espec - 'Walter the Woodpecker'. Renowned for piety as...

The beautiful and now tranquil setting of Augustinian Lanercost 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.

John Fortin, a merchant who traded with Bordeaux, started building this house c. 1290. A residence and place of business, it stood on one of the busiest streets in medieval Southampton. Now restored to its mid-14th-century appearance by the removal of...

Muchelney Abbey, which lies 2 miles south of Langport, was once a landmark in the Somerset Levels and still has much to offer its visitors – history lovers in particular will enjoy this fascinating site. It was once a wealthy Benedictine house and the...

'Everywhere peace, everywhere serenity, and a marvellous freedom from the tumult of the world.' Written over eight centuries ago by the monastery's third abbot, St Aelred, these words still describe Rievaulx today. Words are not the only link to...

Beautifully set in a valley landscaped by 'Capability' Brown in the 18th century,the most striking feature of this Cistercian abbey is the eastern end of its church, built in the new Gothic style c. 1170. It has one of the most complete ground plans of...

This great abbey, marking the rebirth of Christianity in southern England, was founded shortly after AD 597 by St Augustine. Originally created as a burial place for the Anglo-Saxon kings of Kent, it is part of the Canterbury World Heritage Site, along...

St Peter's church combines a remarkably complete Anglo- Saxon tower and rare baptistry, dating mainly from c. 970, with a tall and impressive medieval nave and chancel displaying a range of architectural styles. This much studied church is an...

he enormous and ornate fortified gatehouse of Thornton Abbey is the largest and among the finest of all English monastic gatehouses. An early example of brick building in England, it proclaimed the wool tradebased prosperity of one of the wealthiest...

Dominating the picturesque seaside town of Whitby, the dramatic ruins of the abbey stand on a headland rich in over thirteen centuries of history. The first monastery here was founded in AD 657 by King Oswy of Northumbria. An Anglo-Saxon style 'double...