Coggeshall Abbey

Coggeshall Abbey stands south of the town of Coggeshall in Essex. It was founded in 1140 by King Stephen and Queen Matilda as a Savigniac house. In 1147 it became a Cistercian monastery. The abbey church was dedicated in 1167 after years of construction. The monks grew wealthy from wool in the 13th century. By 1370 the monastery was reported to be very poor. In 1538 the abbey was closed during the Dissolution and later sold to Sir Thomas Seymour. The remains include parts of the east range built into Abbey Farm. The abbot’s dining hall, chamber and chapel survive with original brick vaulting. The detached guest house has some of the earliest post-Roman brickwork in the country. The gate chapel, now the Chapel of St Nicholas, dates to the 1220s. Grange Barn, a 13th-century tithe barn, has been restored and is cared for by the National Trust. Visitors find the surviving monastic buildings converted for farm use. The abbot’s house and infirmary remain partly intact. The Chapel of St Nicholas still stands within the walled precinct. Grange Barn shows the scale of medieval agricultural storage. The Abbey Farm buildings incorporate parts of the original monastery. The quiet site offers a glimpse of Cistercian life long after the abbey’s end.