Abingdon Abbey

Abingdon Abbey was a Benedictine monastery beside the River Thames in Abingdon-on-Thames, Oxfordshire. Founded around 675, it was dedicated to the Virgin Mary and grew powerful under West Saxon kings. After Danish raids it was rebuilt in the 10th century by Æthelwold, a leader of the English Benedictine Reform. The abbey became the second centre of this reform after Glastonbury and held 136 charters from Saxon kings. Its wealth is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086. The Chronicle of the Monastery of Abingdon was written there in the 12th century. The abbey’s abbots included Faritius, physician to Henry I, and Richard of Hendred, who attended the Council of Lyon in 1272. The last abbot, Thomas Pentecost, surrendered the monastery in 1538 during the dissolution. Several notable figures were buried at the abbey, including Ælfric of Abingdon and Margaret, Countess of Pembroke. Disputes over land and tithes involved figures such as Hugh de Courtenay and Solomon of Rochester, chief justice of the eyre. Today visitors can see parts of the monastic complex still standing. The Abbey Gateway, St John’s hospitium, and the Church of St Nicolas survive from the medieval site. The Abbey Exchequer, Long Gallery and bakehouse remain, cared for by local societies. Trendell’s Folly in the Abbey Gardens is a 19th-century structure built from reused stones. Nearby, the Checker Hall and the Thames stream add to the historic setting. The remnants offer a quiet reminder of the abbey’s long history.