Netley Abbey (Hampshire)
One of the best preserved monasteries in southern England.
Introduction
Netley Abbey is a medieval monastery located near Southampton in Hampshire, England. The abbey was founded in the early thirteenth century as a house for monks of the austere Cistercian order. Despite being a royal abbey, Netley was never rich, produced no influential scholars or churchmen, and its 300-year monastic history was quiet. The monks were best known to their neighbours for the generous hospitality they offered to travellers on land and sea.
Open 6 Apr-30 Sep 1pm-4pm Sundays Only
History to the present day
Netley was closed by Henry VIII of England during the Dissolution of the Monasteries and the building was converted into a mansion by William Paulet, a wealthy Tudor politician. The abbey was used as a country house until the beginning of the eighteenth century when it was abandoned and partially demolished for the materials. Subsequently, the ruins became a tourist attraction and provided inspiration to poets and artists of the romantic movement. In the early twentieth century the site was donated to the nation, and it is now a Scheduled Ancient Monument, cared for by English Heritage. The extensive remains consist of the church, cloister buildings, abbot's house, and fragments of the post-Dissolution mansion. Netley Abbey is one of the best preserved medieval Cistercian monasteries in southern England.
