List of monastic houses in London facts for kids

A map of the monastic houses in the City of London lost in the dissolution of the monasteries

This page lists the monastic houses that once existed in Greater London, England. Monastic houses were places where groups of people, like monks or nuns, lived together under religious rules. They dedicated their lives to prayer, study, and work. These communities were very important in medieval times, acting as centers for learning, charity, and even healthcare.

Many of these houses were dissolved, or closed down, during the time of Henry VIII in the 1530s, a period known as the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Some were completely destroyed, while others were turned into homes or churches. The maps above show where these historical sites were located across London.

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

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.

Monastic Houses in London: A-Z Guide

Name of House	Image	Who Lived There & Their Story	Other Names
Aldgate Priory		Augustinian Canons Regular (a type of monk) Started in 1107-8 by Queen Maud. The main church was rebuilt from 1339. It was in bad shape by 1532 and closed in 1534. Most of it was torn down after it closed.	Christchurch, Aldgate
Aldgate Abbey		Franciscan nuns (nuns who followed St. Francis's teachings) Founded in 1293-4 by Edmund, Earl of Lancaster. Closed in March 1539.	The Abbey Church of the Grace of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Francis, without Aldgate ____________________ The Minories, London; Holy Trinity, Minories
Barking Abbey		Benedictine nuns and monks (a double house for both) First started around 666 by St Erkenwald. Destroyed by Danish raids in 870. Refounded (started again) in 946-951. Later, it was only for Benedictine nuns, refounded in 965-75 by King Edgar. Closed on November 14, 1539.	St Mary St Mary and St Ethelburgha ____________________ Berking Abbey; Bedenham Abbey
Bentley Priory		Augustinian Canons Regular Founded in 1171 by Ranulf de Glanville. Closed before 1532. A house called 'The Priory' was later built on the site. Today, it's owned by the R.A.F. (Royal Air Force).	The Priory Church of Saint Mary Magdalen, Bentley
Bermondsey Minster		A Saxon monastery (very old, from Anglo-Saxon times). Started between 708-715. Not much is known about it, possibly destroyed by Danish raids in the 9th century.
Bermondsey Abbey		Cluniac monks (a branch of Benedictine monks) It was an alien house, meaning it was controlled by a monastery in another country (France). Founded in 1082 by Alvin Child. Became denizen (independent) in 1381. Became an abbey in 1399. Closed on January 1, 1538, and torn down soon after.	St Saviour
Brockley Abbey		Premonstratensian Canons (another type of monk) Founded before 1182 by Countess Juliana. Closed between 1199–1208. The community moved to Bayham, Sussex.	The Abbey Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Brockley
Bromley-by-Bow Priory		Benedictine nuns Founded before 1122. Closed in 1536.	Bromley Priory; Stratford-at-Bow Priory; Stratford-by-Bow Priory
Clerkenwell Priory		Knights Hospitaller (a military religious order) Founded around 1144. Closed in 1540. Much of its material was used to build Somerset House.	St John's Clerkenwell
Clerkenwell Priory (Augustinian)		Augustinian Canonesses (nuns following Augustinian rules) Founded around 1100 or 1144. Also sometimes called Benedictine nuns. Closed around 1539.	The Priory Church of Saint Mary de Fonte The Priory Church of Saint Mary of the Assumption
Ealing Abbey		Benedictine monks Started in 1897 from Downside Abbey. Became a priory in 1916. Became an abbey in 1955. It is extant (still exists today).	The Abbey Church of Saint Benedict, Ealing
Eastminster Abbey		Cistercian monks (another branch of Benedictine monks) Founded on March 20, 1350, by King Edward III. Closed in 1538.	New Abbey; The Abbey of St Mary de Graciis; St Mary Graces Abbey
Elsing Spital Priory		Started as a secular college (a non-monastic religious community) before 1329. Later became a conventual hospital (a hospital run by a religious community) for nuns. Then for Augustinian Canons Regular. Closed in 1539-40. The church was used by the local parish after it closed.	Elsing Spittle Priory; Priory and Hospital of St Mary-within-Cripplegate Church of St Alphage, London Wall
Feltham Priory		Anglican Benedictine nuns Founded on June 24, 1868. Later moved to Twickenham.	SS Mary and Scholastica ____________________ Feltham Nunnery
Greenwich Blackfriars		Dominican Friars (a type of friar, like monks but often living among people) Founded in 1376 by King Edward III. Closed, then briefly reopened by Queen Mary, and closed again by Queen Elizabeth I.
Greenwich Greyfriars		Observant Franciscan Friars (a strict branch of Franciscans) Started in 1482. Closed in 1534 because they didn't accept the King's new religious rules. Refounded, then closed again in 1538. Refounded again in 1555, then closed for good in 1559 and torn down.
Haliwell Priory		Augustinian Canonesses Founded before 1127. Also sometimes called Benedictine nuns. Closed around 1539.	The Priory Church of Saint John the Baptist, Holywell ____________________ Holywell Priory; Holywell Nunnery, Shorditch
Hampton Cell then, later, Hampton Preceptory		Sisters of St John of Jerusalem Founded before 1180. Later moved to Buckland, Somerset.
		Knights Hospitaller A "camera" (a small property) by 1338. Closed in 1338. Hampton Court was later built on this site.
Harmondsworth Priory		Benedictine monks An alien house dependent on a monastery in France. Founded between 1066 and 1087. Closed before 1391.
Hornchurch Priory		Augustinian Canons An alien house dependent on a hospital in Savoy. Founded in 1158-9 by King Henry II. Closed in November 1390.	Saint Nicholas and Saint Bernard
Hounslow Priory		Started as a hospital before 1200. Then became a house for Trinitarians (a religious order). Founded after 1224. Closed in 1538. The Parish Church of the Holy Trinity was built on the site in 1828.	The Holy Trinity ____________________ Hounslow Friary
Kilburn Priory		Started as an anchoress's cell (a place for a religious recluse) around 1130. Became a house for Benedictine nuns in 1139. Possibly Augustinian Canonesses at some point. Closed in 1537.	Kylburn Nunnery
Lesnes Abbey		Augustinian Canons Regular Founded in June 1178 by Richard de Luci. Closed in 1525.	The Abbey Church of Saint Thomas the Martyr, Lesnes ____________________ Westwood Abbey
Lewisham Priory		Benedictine monks An alien house dependent on a monastery in Belgium. Founded on September 11, 918. Confiscated and destroyed, then restored in 1044 by Edward the Confessor. Closed in 1414.
London Areno Friars		Friars of St Mary de Areno Founded in 1267. Stopped existing in 1317. (This seems to be the same group as the London Pied Friars and Westminster Pied Friars).
London Austin Friars		Augustinian Friars Founded in 1253. Closed in 1538. The nave (main part) of the church was later used by Walloon refugees. The church was destroyed by fire in 1862, rebuilt, then bombed in World War II, and rebuilt again as the Dutch Church, Austin Friars.
London Charterhouse		Originally planned as a college in 1348. Became a house for Carthusian monks in 1371. Closed in 1537. Later, an almshouse (for poor people) and Charterhouse School were founded on the site.	House of the Salutation of the Mother of God
London, Cornhill Greyfriars		Franciscan Friars Minor Founded in 1224. Moved to Newgate in 1225.
London Crutched Friars		Crutched Friars (a religious order known for carrying a cross) Founded before 1269. Closed in 1538.
London, Friars of the Sack, Aldersgate		Friars of the Sack (a mendicant order, meaning they begged for a living) Founded in 1257. Moved to Lothbury before 1271-2.
London, Friars of the Sack, Lothbury		Friars of the Sack (Moved here from Aldersgate). Abandoned in 1305.
London, Holborn Blackfriars		Dominican Friars Founded before 1224. Moved to Ludgate after 1275.	Monumenta Conventus Londinensis
London, Ludgate Blackfriars		Dominican Friars (Moved here from Holborn). Closed on November 12, 1538. Briefly reopened under Queen Mary.
London, Newgate Greyfriars		Franciscan Friars (Moved here from Cornhill in 1225). A school was founded here. The church was finished in 1327. Closed on November 12, 1538. Later used as Christ Hospital.
New Temple, London		Knights Templar (a famous military religious order) (Moved here from an earlier site in 1161). Closed between 1308-12. Then taken over by the Knights Hospitaller in 1324. Part of it was leased to lawyers. The church was badly damaged in World War II in 1941 but was restored.
London, Old Temple		Knights Templar Founded in 1121. Moved to the New Temple site in 1161.	Camden Preceptory
London Pied Friars		Pied Friars (another mendicant order) (Seems to be the same as London Areno Friars and Westminster Pied Friars).
London — St Dominic's Priory		Dominican Friars Opened in 1867, with the church finished in 1882. It is extant (still exists today).	The Priory of Our Holy Father St Dominic Our Lady of the Rosary and Saint Dominic
London — St Helen's, Bishopsgate		Benedictine nuns Founded before 1216. Closed on November 25, 1538. The church is now used as the Parish Church of St Helen, Bishopsgate. It was damaged by an IRA bomb in 1992 but was restored.	St Helen
London — St James Monkswell Chantry		Carthusian monks (a very strict monastic order) A small house or cell. Founded in 1341.
London, St Mary Spital		Augustinian Canons Regular A conventual hospital or priory. Founded in 1197. Later, the land was granted to Stephen Vaughan.	St Mary the Virgin ____________________ St Mary Spittle, without Bishopsgate; Domus Dei
London, St Mary of Bethlehem Friary		Augustinian Canons Regular — Order of Bethlehem A conventual hospital. Also had St Mary of Bethlehem Sisters. Founded in 1247. The hospital later moved to Moorfields and then to the South side of the Thames, becoming Bethlem Royal Hospital.	The Bethlehem Hospital; Bedlam
London, St Thomas of Acon Hospital		Augustinian Canons Regular A conventual hospital.
London, Smithfield Blackfriars		Dominican Friars Briefly founded under Queen Mary.
London Whitefriars		Carmelite Friars (another mendicant order) Founded in 1247. The church was built in 1253 and rebuilt in the mid-14th century. Closed in 1538. The former refectory (dining hall) was converted into The Whitefriars Theatre in 1608.
London within Cripplegate (?)Priory		Possibly for nuns or a conventual hospital. Founded before 1329. Became run down and was abandoned in 1329.
Merton Priory		Augustinian Canons Regular Founded in 1114 by Gilbert Norman. Closed in 1538. Today, a shopping center stands on the site, with some remains visible in the basement.	The Priory Church of Saint Mary, Merton The Priory Church of Saint Mary of Merton ____________________ Merton Abbey St Mary's Priory; St Mary of Merton
Moor Hall Preceptory		Knights Hospitaller Founded around 1176. Became a "camera" (small property) by 1338. Closed in 1338. The chapel was torn down in 1960.	Harefield Preceptory; Harefield Camera; Moor Hall Camera
Richmond Greyfriars		Observant Franciscan Friars Founded in 1499 or 1500. Closed in 1534. Probably then became a house for Augustinian Friars. Refounded in 1534, then likely closed in 1536.	Richmond Austin Friars (1534-6) Sheen Friary
Ruislip Priory		Benedictine monks An alien house dependent on a monastery in France. Founded during the reign of William the Conqueror. Closed in 1404. Manor Farm House was built on the site in the 16th century.	Riselipp Priory
St Bartholomew's Priory		Augustinian Canons Regular Founded in 1123 by Roahere. Became a priory with a separate hospital. Closed in October 1539. Now it's St Bartholomew's Hospital, and the priory church is used as a parish church.	The Priory Church of St Bartholomew-the-Great, Smithfield
Sheen Priory		Carthusian monks Founded around 1414 by King Henry V. Closed in 1539. Briefly restored in 1557 by Queen Mary, then closed again by Queen Elizabeth I.	The Priory Church of Jesus of Bethlehem ____________________ Richmond Priory; Shene Priory
Sheen Whitefriars		Carmelite Friars Founded around 1315. Closed around 1318, and the community moved to Oxford.
Southwark Cathedral Priory		A Saxon minster church (an early type of monastery) existed before 1066. Augustinian Canons Regular Refounded in 1106. Largely destroyed by fire in 1212 but rebuilt. Closed on October 27, 1539. It became a cathedral on May 1, 1905, and is extant (still exists today).	The Priory Church of Saint Mary Overie, Southwark
Stratford Langthorne Abbey		Savignac monks (an order that later joined the Cistercians) Founded on July 25, 1135. Became Cistercian monks in 1147. Closed in 1538.	The Abbey Church of Saint Mary, Stratford Langthorne ____________________ West Ham Abbey
Stratford Friary		Franciscan Friars Minor It is extant (still exists today).
Syon Abbey		Bridgetine nuns (an order founded by St. Bridget of Sweden) Founded in 1431. Closed in 1539.	Charterhouse at Sheen
Tooting Priory		Benedictine monks An alien house dependent on a monastery in France. Founded before 1086. Closed before 1315. Granted to Eton College in 1440.	Tooting Bec Priory
Twickenham Abbey		Bridgetine nuns Founded in 1415 by King Henry V. Moved to Syon in 1431.
Twickenham Priory		Anglican Benedictine nuns Moved here from Feltham. Later moved to West Malling, Kent.
Upminster		A Saxon 'minster' (an early church or monastery). Possibly on the site of the current Parish Church of St Laurence.
Westminster Abbey		A very old foundation, possibly a monastery founded around 616. Destroyed by Danish raids around 871-2, then restored. Became a house for Benedictine monks around 960. Closed on January 16, 1540. Briefly a cathedral, then restored as a monastery, then closed again in 1559. Became a collegiate church in 1560. Now a Royal Peculiar (meaning it belongs directly to the monarch, not a bishop).	The Abbey Church of Saint Peter in Westminster
Westminster Pied Friars		Pied Friars (Seems to be the same as the London Areno Friars and London Pied Friars).
Woodford Green Friary		Franciscan Friars Minor It is extant (still exists today).	Friary and Parish of St Thomas of Canterbury

See also

• List of monastic houses in England