Haughmond Abbey

Haughmond Abbey

Haughmond Abbey is a ruined 12th-century Augustinian abbey in a lovely rural setting. The abbey roots go back to the 11th century when a small religious community was established here.

History

Around 1135 the community was refounded as a house of Augustinian canons under the patronage of William Fitzalan of Clun, and finally, in 1155 it became a full-fledged abbey.

The first church at Haughmond was built around 1150. This was later replaced by the current church, which dates in part from the 12th to the 14th centuries.

The late 12th-century chapter house still stands, as does the 13th-century infirmary, the frater undercroft, and parts of the warming house and dorter. The 14th-century well house also remains.

After the Dissolution of the Monasteries under Henry VIII, the abbey eventually passed to the ownership of the Barker family, who tore down the church and dormitory range, and converted the east range and southern cloister into a mansion. The mansion was destroyed in the Civil War.