List of monastic houses in Essex facts for kids
The following is a list of the monastic houses in Essex, England.
Alien houses are included, as are smaller establishments such as cells and notable monastic granges (particularly those with resident monks), and also camerae of the military orders of monks (Knights Templars and Knights Hospitaller). Monastic hospitals are included where they had the status or function of an abbey, priory, friary or preceptor/commandery.
- Abbreviations and key
| Symbol | Status |
|---|---|
| None | Ruins |
| * | Current monastic function |
| + | Current non-monastic ecclesiastic function (including remains incorporated into later structure) |
| ^ | Current non-ecclesiastic function (including remains incorporated into later structure) or redundant intact structure |
| $ | Remains limited to earthworks etc. |
| # | No identifiable trace of the monastic foundation remains |
| ~ | Exact site of monastic foundation unknown |
| ≈ | Identification ambiguous or confused |
Locations with names in italics indicate possible duplication (misidentification with another location) or non-existent foundations (either erroneous reference or proposed foundation never implemented) or ecclesiastical establishments with a monastic name but lacking actual monastic connection.
| EH | English Heritage |
| LT | Landmark Trust |
| NT | National Trust |
Alphabetical listing
| Foundation | Image | Communities & Provenance | Formal Name or Dedication & Alternative Names |
Online References & Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assandun Minster ~(/+) | monastic or secular community founded 1020 by Canute; usually identified as Ashingdon, but also Hadstock |
Ashingdon Minster?; possibly Hadstock Minster (Ashdon beside Hadstock) |
51°36′37″N 0°41′36″E / 51.6103151°N 0.6933832°E or52°04′45″N 0°16′24″E / 52.079114°N 0.273306°E (possible) |
|
| Bedemans Berg Priory | hermitage founded before 1135 (during the reign of Henry I); Benedictine monks cell dependent on Colchester founded before 1135; dissolved 1536 |
dedication unknown | 51°41′36″N 0°21′41″E / 51.6934258°N 0.3614652°E |
|
| Beeleigh Abbey ^ |  |
Premonstratensian Canons transferred from Neasham via Parndon 1180; founded before 1172 at Parndon by Robert Mantell; dissolved 1536; granted to Sir John Gate 1540/1; remains now incorporated into private house without public access |
Abbey Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Nicholas, Beeleigh ____________________ Bileigh Abbey (originally Maldon Abbey) |
51°44′16″N 0°39′49″E / 51.7379°N 0.6635°E |
| Berden Priory # | Augustinian Canons Regular founded 12th century, probably by a member of the Rocheford family; apparently initially a hospital; dependent on Walden 1343; dissolved 1536; granted to Henry Parker 1537 (1538/9); site now occupied by mansion named 'Berden Priory' |
The Priory Church of Saint John the Evangelist, Berden | 51°57′04″N 0°07′35″E / 51.9511987°N 0.1263723°E |
|
| Bicknacre Priory |  |
hermitage of Jordan founded before 1175; Augustinian Canons Regular founded 1175 by Maurice Fitz Jeffery and Tiretai, Sheriff of Essex (or Maurice FitzGeoffrey of Tiltey, former Sheriff of Essex): converted to priory late 1175; dissolved 1507 on the death of the last prior, at which time no canons remained; granted to Henry Polsted 1539/40; granted to St Mary's Hospital without Bishopsgate, London |
The Priory Church of Saint Mary and Saint John the Baptist, Bicknacre ____________________ Woodham Ferrers Priory; Woodham Priory; Wudeham Priory |
51°41′40″N 0°34′57″E / 51.694523°N 0.582427°E |
| Blackmore Priory + |  |
Augustinian Canons Regular founded 1152-62 by Adam and Jordan de Samford; dissolved 1525 for Wolsey's college at Oxford; granted to John Smith 1540/1; priory church now in parochial use as the Parish Church of St Laurence |
The Priory Church of Saint Lawrence, Blackmore ____________________ Jericho Priory |
51°41′25″N 0°19′04″E / 51.690355°N 0.317834°E |
| Bradwell Minster + |  |
Roman Saxon Shore fort of Othona reused as monastery Celtic-style community founded c.654 by St Cedd; St Peter's Cathedral built at fort gatehouse; becoming a minster within Diocese of London shortly after October 664 (when Cedd died); believed destroyed in raids by the Danes 9th century; dependent on St Valery on the Somme 1068; sold to William of Wykeham 1391; in use as a barn 1750; restored as a chapel 1920; continuing as ecumenical place of worship and pilgrimage |
St Cedd's Monastery; St Peter-on-the-Wall; Ithancester Monastery; Ythancester Monastery |
51°44′07″N 0°56′24″E / 51.7353505°N 0.9398621°E |
| Burstead Grange # | Cistercian Monks grange or cell dependent on Stratford; during the flooding of Stratford the community transferred here until the re-edification of the abbey |
51°36′20″N 0°25′56″E / 51.6056027°N 0.4321736°E |
||
| Castle Hedingham Priory | Benedictine nuns founded ?before 1190 by Aubrey de Vere, 1st Earl of Oxford (or by his wife Countess Lucia (Lucy), later the first prioress); dissolved 1536; granted to John, Earl of Oxford 1536/7 |
The Priory Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint James and the Holy Cross ____________________ Castlehedinhgam Priory; Heningham Priory |
51°59′24″N 0°35′18″E / 51.9900899°N 0.5883425°E |
|
| Chelmsford Blackfriars | Dominican Friars (under the Visitation of London) founded before 1277 (either at Chelmsford or originally at Fulsham); dissolved 1538; granted to Antony Bonvixi 1542/3 |
Chelmesford Friary | 51°43′52″N 0°28′22″E / 51.7311216°N 0.4726696°E |
|
| Coggeshall Abbey + |  |
Savignac monks — from Savigny founded 3 August 1140 by King Stephen; Cistercian monks orders merged 17 September 1147; dissolved 5 February 1538; granted to Sir Thomas Seymour 1537/8; Little Coggeshall Abbey called 'Grange Barn'; site now occupied by a private house (re)built 1581 with limited public access; (NT) |
The Abbey Church of Saint Mary and Saint John at Coggeshall ____________________ Coxhall Abbey; Coggeshale Abbey |
51°52′03″N 0°41′34″E / 51.8675284°N 0.6927878°E |
| Colchester Crutched Friary # | Crutched Friars founded before 1230-35 by William de Lanvelli; by 1392 became a secular hospital or free chapel; Crutched Friars refounded 1496; dissolved 1538; granted to Thomas, Lord Audley 1543/4; location established during excavation 1928 |
Hospital of the Holy Cross and Saint Helen | 51°53′15″N 0°53′30″E / 51.8875311°N 0.8916923°E |
|
| Colchester Greyfriars | Franciscan Friars Minor, Conventual (under the Custody of Cambridge) founded before 1237 by Robert, Lord FitzWalter (who became a friar); dissolved 1538; granted to Francis Jobson and Andrew Audley 1544/5 |
Colchester Greyfriars | 51°53′30″N 0°54′24″E / 51.8916447°N 0.9065625°E |
|
| Colchester — St Botolph's Priory |  |
secular founded c.1093 by Ernulphus (later first prior); Augustinian Canons Regular refounded c.1100-6; dissolved 1536; granted to Sir Thomas Audley 1536/7; (EH) |
The Priory Church of Saint Julian and Saint Botolph, Colchester (from before 1106) | 51°53′15″N 0°54′16″E / 51.887458°N 0.904334°E |
| Colchester — St John's Abbey ^ |  |
Benedictine monks founded 1096/7 by Eudo, courtier of William the Conqueror; dissolved 1539; granted to John, Earl of Warwick 1547/8; (EH) |
The Abbey Church of Saint John the Baptist, Colchester ____________________ Colchester Abbey; Colchester Priory |
51°53′06″N 0°54′05″E / 51.884991°N 0.901305°E |
| Colne Minster | founded before 1045; subsequently site of Earl's Colne Priory |
|||
| Cressing Preceptory |  |
Knights Templar founded 1136 (1150) by King Stephen: donor, Maud (Matilda), queen of Stephen; Knights Hospitaller after 1312; dissolved after 1381: plundered during peasants' revolt; private farm 1515; granted to Sir W. Hughes, Kt. 1543/4; passed to Sir John Smyth and his family; 'The Granary' built 1623 |
Cressing Temple | 51°50′16″N 0°36′38″E / 51.8378161°N 0.6105244°E |
| Earl's Colne Priory |  |
Benedictine monks dependent on Abingdon, Berkshire (Oxfordshire) founded before/c.1107 by Albericus de Vere (later a monk there) with consent of Henry I and Maurice, Bishop of London; on or near the site of an earlier minster extant 1045; practically independent from 1311; dissolved 1536; granted to John, Earl of Oxford 1536/7; 17th-century house built on site, incorporated into 1865 house currently on site |
Earls Colne Priory; Monks Colne Priory; Colne Priory; Colum Priory; Colun Priory |
51°55′36″N 0°42′36″E / 51.926732°N 0.710029°E |
| Frating Abbey | 51°50′46″N 1°02′56″E / 51.846006°N 1.048824°E |
|||
| Hadstock Minster? | Church of St Botolph, site of important late-Anglo-Saxon church, belonging to Ely, identified by some as Assunden Minster built c.1020 by Canute | 52°04′45″N 0°16′24″E / 52.0791137°N 0.2733064°E (possible) |
||
| Halstead Cell | Benedictine monks founded late 11th century (during the reign of William the Conqueror) by Ingelrica, wife of Ranulf Peverell; dissolved; granted to Giles Leigh 1537/8 |
Halstede Cell | ||
| Hatfield Broad Oak Priory + |  |
Benedictine monks alien house: cell dependent on St-Melaine, Rennes; founded c.1135 by Aubrey de Vere, father of the 1st Earl of Oxford; dissolved 1534; granted to Sir Edward North 1543 |
The Priory Church of Saint Mary and Saint Melaine, Hatfield Broad Oak ____________________ Hatfield Regis Priory; Hatfield Broadoak Priory |
51°49′37″N 0°14′35″E / 51.826876°N 0.242963°E |
| Hatfield Peverel Priory + | Benedictine monks secular college founded before 1087; converted into priory as a cell of St Albans by William Peverel before 1100; dissolved 1536; priory church in parochial use as the Parish Church of St Andrew |
The Priory Church of Saint Mary the Virgin, Hatfield Peverel | 51°46′08″N 0°36′10″E / 51.768942°N 0.6028962°E |
|
| Hockley | alternative possible location of Assandun Minster | |||
| Latton Priory ^ |  |
Augustinian Canons Regular founded before 1292; abandoned 1534; granted to Sir Henry Parker 1536/7 remains now incorporated into farm buildings |
The Priory Church of Saint John the Baptist, Latton | 51°44′20″N 0°07′15″E / 51.738794°N 0.120935°E |
| Leez Priory # |  |
Augustinian Canons Regular founded before 1200 (13th century) by Sir Ralph Gernoun; dissolved 1536; granted to Sir Richard Rich 1536; site now occupied by 16th-century mansion named 'Leez Priory' |
Leighs Priory; Leigh Priory; Little Leighs Priory |
51°50′23″N 0°28′02″E / 51.8397484°N 0.4673374°E |
| Little Dunmow Priory + |  |
Augustinian Canons Regular founded 1106 (1104) by Lady Juga; dissolved 1536; granted to Robert, Earl of Sussex 1536/7; part of conventual church now in parochial use as the Parish Church of St Mary |
Dunmow Parva Priory | 51°51′54″N 0°24′14″E / 51.8650838°N 0.4038227°E |
| Little Horkesley Priory | Cluniac monks alien house: daughter house of Thetford, Norfolk (dependent on Lewes, Sussex) founded before 1127 by Robert Fitz Godebald (Robert of Horkesley) and his wife Beatrice; became denizen: independent from 1376; dissolved 1525; church destroyed by bombing in 1940 |
The Priory Church of Saint Peter, Horkesley ____________________ Horkesley Priory; Horkesley Parva Priory |
51°57′06″N 0°51′06″E / 51.9515524°N 0.8517408°E |
|
| Little Maplestead Preceptory | Knights Hospitaller probably founded ?before 1186 by Juliana, daughter and heiress of Robert Dorsnell; dissolved c.1463; granted to George Harper |
The Church of Saint John the Baptist, Maplestead ____________________ Maplestead Preceptory; Maplestead Commandery |
51°58′29″N 0°39′04″E / 51.9746769°N 0.651058°E |
|
| Maldon Whitefriars | Carmelite Friars founded 1293 (14th century) by Richard Gravesend, Bishop of London, and Richard Isleham, rector of South Hanningfield; dissolved 1538; granted to George Duke and John Sterr 1544/5 |
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| Panfield Priory |  |
Augustinian Canons Regular alien house: dependent on St-Etienne, Caen; founded 1069/70 (1070–77) by Waleran Fitz Ranulph; dissolved 1413 (1414); granted to Sir Giles Caple 1538/9 |
Paunsfield Priory | 51°54′16″N 0°31′20″E / 51.904364°N 0.522325°E |
| Parndon Abbey # | Premonstratensian Canons Regular — from Newhouse founded before 1172 by Robert Mantell; transferred to Beeleigh 1180; traditional site now occupied by buildings of Harlow Newton Golf Club |
Abbey Church of Saint Mary and Saint Nicholas, Great Parndon ____________________ Great Parndon Abbey |
51°46′24″N 0°04′33″E / 51.7733437°N 0.0757778°E |
|
| Prittlewell Priory ^, Southend-on-Sea |
 |
Cluniac monks alien house: dependent on Lewes, Sussex; founded between 1086 and 1121 by Robert Fitz Swain; became denizen: independent from sometime between 1351 and 1374; dissolved 1536; granted to Thomas Audley 1537/8; granted to Sir Richard Rich 1551; acquired by the Earl of Nottingham 1678; then the Scratton family; sold by Daniel Scratton 19th century; bought by Robert Jones 1917; given to Southend Borough 1920; site now within public Priory Park, now in ownership of Southend Corporation |
The Priory Church of Saint Mary, Prittlewell | 51°33′14″N 0°42′21″E / 51.5540156°N 0.7058582°E |
| St Osyth's Abbey ^ |  |
Augustinian Canons Regular founded before 1118 by Richard de Belmeis, Bishop of London and St Osyth, on the site of an earlier Saxon nunnery, established as Priory raised to Abbey status; dissolved; granted to Thomas, Lord Cromwell 1539/40 then to Sir Thomas Darey 1551/2; after reformation incorporated into a mansion; now in private ownership with public access |
The Abbey Church of Saint Osyth, Saint Osyths ____________________ St Osyth's Priory; Chich Abbey |
51°47′59″N 1°04′31″E / 51.799655°N 1.075193°E |
| Southminster | Saxon minster | |||
| Stansgate Priory | Cluniac monks alien house: cell dependent on Lewes, Sussex; founded 1122 by the predecessors of Lewes Priory; became denizen: independent from sometime between 1351 and 1374; in parochial use as the parish church for Steeple until closure 9 February 1525; dissolved 1525; granted to Cardinal's College Oxford; granted to the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem 1531; sold to Edmund Mordaut 1544 |
St Mary Magalen ____________________ Stanesgate Priory |
51°43′03″N 0°47′37″E / 51.7175307°N 0.7934833°E |
|
| Takeley Priory | Benedictine monks alien house: dependent on St Valery, Picardy; founded 1066–86; dissolved c.1391; now in grounds of Warish Hall |
The Priory Church of Saint Valery, Takeley | 51°52′32″N 0°16′36″E / 51.8754709°N 0.2767235°E |
|
| Thoby Priory |  |
Augustinian Canons Regular founded 1141-51 by Michael Capra, his wife and son; dissolved 1525; granted to Sir Richard Page, Kt. 1530/1; granted to Wolsey's college at Oxford |
Thobey Priory; Ginges Priory |
51°39′48″N 0°21′02″E / 51.663381°N 0.3506°E |
| Thremhall Priory | Augustinian Canons Regular founded c.1150 (11th century or mid-12th century) by Gilbert de Monefixo; dissolved 1536; granted to John Carey 1536/7; site now occupied by a modern house |
The Priory Church of Saint James the Apostle, Thremhall | 51°52′13″N 0°13′21″E / 51.8701915°N 0.2224302°E |
|
| Tilbury Monastery | Saxon monastery founded c.654 (630) by St Cedd; probably destroyed in raids by the Danes 9th century |
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| Tilty Abbey + |  |
Cistercian monks founded 1153 by Robert Ferrers, Earl of Derby and Maurice FitzJeffery; dissolved 1536; granted to Thomas Lord Audley 1543/4; church now in parochial use |
Tiltey Abbey | 51°54′55″N 0°19′31″E / 51.9153974°N 0.3252715°E |
| Tiptree Priory |  |
Augustinian Canons Regular founded 12th century by Ralph de Munchensi dissolved; 16th-century house built on site |
The Priory Church of Saint Mary and Saint Nicholas, Tiptree | 51°47′54″N 0°43′07″E / 51.7984079°N 0.7185128°E |
| Tolleshunt Major Grange | 51°46′33″N 0°46′59″E / 51.775754°N 0.783033°E (approx) |
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| Tolleshunt Knights — St John's Monastery * | Orthodox monks and nuns founded 1959; extant |
Monastery of John the Baptist (1959) Patriarchal Monastery of St John the Baptist (1965) Patriarchal Stavropegic Monastery of St John the Baptist |
51°47′43″N 0°46′56″E / 51.795213°N 0.7823253°E |
|
| Walden Abbey ^ |  |
Benedictine monks founded 1136 by Jeffrey (Geoffrey de) Mandevil[le], Earl of Essex; raised to abbey status 1190; dissolved 1538; granted to Sir Thomas Audley 1538; site now occupied by Audley End House and St. Mark's College |
The Priory Church of Saint Mary and Saint James the Apostle, Walden The Abbey Church of Saint Mary and Saint James the Apostle, Walden ____________________ Saffron Walden Abbey; Little Walden Abbey; Walden Priory |
52°01′15″N 0°13′16″E / 52.0207316°N 0.2209926°E |
| Waltham Abbey + |  |
secular canons founded ?1016-1035 (during the reign of Canute); refounded before c.1060 by Earl Harold; Augustinian Canons Regular founded 1177 by Henry II; dissolved 23 March 1540; granted to Sir Antony Deny part of church now in use as parish church |
Holy Cross | 51°41′15″N 0°00′13″W / 51.6875°N 0.0035°W |
| West Mersea Priory | Benedictine monks alien house: dependent on St Ouen, Rouen; founded c.1046(?) by Edward the Confessor; dissolved 1400; granted to Higham Ferrer's collegiate church 1426; granted to Robert Dacres, Esq. 1542/3; conventual church now in parochial use as parish church of SS Peter & Paul |
The Priory Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Mersea ____________________ Mercy Priory; West Meresey Priory |
51°46′31″N 0°54′39″E / 51.775176°N 0.9107387°E |
|
| Witham Preceptory | founded 1138–48, manor granted by King Stephen, his wife Matilda and son Eustace of Boulogne; dissolved before 1200(?), apparently united with Cressing and retained as a manor |
51°48′16″N 0°37′26″E / 51.8043293°N 0.6238577°E |
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| Wix Priory + |  |
Benedictine nuns founded 1123-33 by Walter and Alexander Mascherell; dissolved 1525; site now occupied by Abbey Farmhouse blocked arches of priory church form north wall of the church of St Mary The Virgin |
The Priory Church of Saint Mary, Wix ____________________ Wickes Priory; Wikes Priory; Sopwick Priory |
51°55′04″N 1°08′41″E / 51.917768°N 1.144635°E |
See also
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List of monastic houses in Essex Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.