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Abbeys

A selection of images of English Abbeys



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Furness Abbey,  Barrow In Furness, Cumbria
Reproduced by permission of English Heritage.NMR

Furness Abbey, Barrow In Furness, Cumbria

View from the nave to the east showing the crossing and transcept walls. St Mary of Furness was founded in 1123 by Stephen who became King of England. This site is now in the care of English Heritage (2010).

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Battle Abbey, Gatehouse,  Battle, East Sussex
English Heritage.NMR

Battle Abbey, Gatehouse, Battle, East Sussex

A view of the exterior of the 13th-century gateway to the Abbey. The building on the left was added in the 16th-century probably by Sir Anthony Browne; that to the right is 12th-century and was the porters lodge. This propety is now in the care of English Heriage (2010).

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Battle Abbey, Battle, East Sussex
Copyright English Heritage Photo Library

Battle Abbey, Battle, East Sussex

The foundations of the 12th-century chapter house with the parlour and dormitory extending down the slope. The Benedictine Abbey was founded by William the Conqueror on the site of the Battle of Hastings. This property is now in the care of English Heritage (2010).

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Thornton Abbey, Thornton Curtis, North Lincolnshire
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 was largely rebuilt during the 13th and 14th centuries. This site is now in the care of English Heritage (2010).

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Whitby Abbey,  Whitby, North Yorkshire
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. This site is now in the care of English Heritage (2010).

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Rievaulx Abbey, Rievaulx, Ryedale, North Yorkshire
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. This site is now in the care of English Heritage (2010).

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Reconstruction drawing of Rievaulx Abbey, Rievaulx, Ryedale, North Yorkshire
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. This site is now in the care of English Heritage (2010).

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Monastic church, Byland Abbey, North Yorkshire
Copyright English Heritage Photo Library

Monastic church, Byland Abbey, North Yorkshire

The west front of the 12th-century monastic church against the sky. The Cistercian Abbey sits in the shadow of the Hambleton Hills and was founded in circa 1177. This site is now in the care of English Heritage (2010).

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Byland Abbey, Byland, North Yorkshire
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 and lived here until the Abbey's dissolution in 1539. This site is now in the care of English Heritage (2010).

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Hailes Abbey, Stanway, Gloucestershire
English Heritage.NMR

Hailes Abbey, Stanway, Gloucestershire

A view of the ruins of St Mary's Abbey, a Cistercian abbey founded in 1246. This site is now in the care of English Heritage (2010).

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Whitby Abbey, North Yorkshire
English Heritage.NMR/Mr John Turner

Whitby Abbey, North Yorkshire

The first monastery here was founded in AD 657 by King Oswy of Northumbria. It was an Anglo-Saxon style 'double monastery' for men and women. Its first ruler was the formidable royal princess Abbess Hild. 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.This site is now in the care of English Heritage (2010).

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Furness Abbey, Barrow in Furness, Cumbria
English Heritage.NMR/Mr CJ Wright

Furness Abbey, Barrow in Furness, Cumbria

Remains of Cistercian abbey in use 1127-c1500. This site is now in the care of English Heritage (2010).

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Hailes Abbey, Stanway, Gloucestershire
English Heritage.NMR/Helmut Schulenburg

Hailes Abbey, Stanway, Gloucestershire

The Cistercian abbey of Hailes was founded in 1245 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).

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Thornton Abbey, Thornton Curtis, North Lincolnshire
English Heritage.NMR/Mr Ian Wright

Thornton Abbey, Thornton Curtis, North Lincolnshire

Ruins of Abbey church and adjoining monastic buildings founded as a Priory in 1139. This site is now in the care of English Heritage (2010).

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Westminster Abbey, Westminster, Greater London
English Heritage.NMR

Westminster Abbey, Westminster, Greater London

General view of Westminster Abbey looking towards the Palace of Westminster

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Westminster Abbey, Westminster, Greater London
English Heritage.NMR/Les Kerry

Westminster Abbey, Westminster, Greater London

Abbey church originally founded by Edward the Confessor in c.1050-65. Since then it has been continually rebuilt and altered by later monarchs and their architects. More Info

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Kirkstall Abbey,  Kirkstall, Leeds, West Yorkshire
Reproduced by permission of English Heritage.NMR

Kirkstall Abbey, Kirkstall, Leeds, West Yorkshire

A copy of a postcard of the Abbey. Made of millstone grit, the Abbey is the tallest standing of all remaining Cisterian abbeys in England. It was thought to have founded in 1152 by monks from Fountains abbey.

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Kirkstall Abbey, Leeds, West Yorkshire
English Heritage.NMR/Mr Neil Holliday

Kirkstall Abbey, Leeds, West Yorkshire

Ruins of Cistercian Abbey founded in 1152

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Market Square, Malmesbury, Wiltshire
Reproduced by permission of English Heritage.NMR

Market Square, Malmesbury, Wiltshire

A rooftop view looking over Market Square, showing the market cross (c.1500) and the abbey ruins. The abbey was the setting for man's first flight attempt in the form of a monk named Elmer who threw himself from the abbey tower and subsequently broke both his legs in c. 1000.

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Malmesbury Abbey, Wiltshire
English Heritage.NMR/Mr G Williams

Malmesbury Abbey, Wiltshire

A Benedictine Abbey. The church was founded around 637, the present building mostly dates from around 1160-80 . A monastery was founded during the abbacy of Aldhelm (c675-705).

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Fountains Abbey, Fountains, North Yorkshire
English Heritage.NMR

Fountains Abbey, Fountains, North Yorkshire

Fountains Abbey was founded in the 1130s as a Cistercian monastery. The monastic church and the west range which housed the lay brothers' dormintory and refectory are seen here, with a corner of the East Guest House in the foreground.

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Fountains Abbey, North Yorkshire
Copyright Crown copyright.NMR

Fountains Abbey, North Yorkshire

An aerial view of Fountains Abbey. The Cistercian monastery was founded in 1132 and was abandoned in 1540 during the English Reformation. The grounds surrounding the ruin were landscaped during the 18th century.

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St Marys Chapel, Glastonbury Abbey, Glastonbury, Somerset
Reproduced by permission of English Heritage.NMR

St Marys Chapel, Glastonbury Abbey, Glastonbury, Somerset

A view looking west into the ruins of St Mary's Chapel at Glastonbury Abbey, showing the walls supported with props to keep them from falling

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Glastonbury Abbey, Somerset
English Heritage.NMR/David Sanderson

Glastonbury Abbey, Somerset

By tradition the oldest monastic foundation in England, believed to contain the burial place of King Arthur. The standing remains belong to the great abbey church rebuilt after a disastrous fire in 1184.



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