Chertsey Abbey

Chertsey Abbey was a Benedictine monastery beside the Thames in Surrey, founded in 666 by Saint Erkenwald. The first abbot and later Bishop of London built it on land given for the purpose. In the 11th century the monks dug the Abbey River to power their watermill. Henry VI was buried here in the 15th century before his body was moved. After the Dissolution the monks moved to Bisham, leaving only traces among later buildings. The abbey’s medieval tiles tell the story of Tristan and Iseult and are now in the British Museum. A bell cast around 1380 still rings at St Peter’s Church in Chertsey. Part of the abbey’s stained glass survives in Glasgow, while manuscripts like the Chertsey Breviary rest in Oxford. Shakespeare mentions the abbey in Richard III, linking it to Henry VI’s burial. The coat of arms with crossed keys appears on Surrey’s banner today. Visitors walk through Abbey Fields where the river once turned the abbey’s wheel. The site’s outline was mapped in the 19th century after excavations by Samuel Angell. Nearby St Peter’s Church still uses the old abbey bell, one of the county’s oldest. The Abbey River and Monk’s Walk keep the memory alive in local names. Though few stones remain, the place holds layers of history from Saxon times to the Civil War.