Kingswood Abbey was a Cistercian abbey

Abbey

An abbey is a Catholic monastery or convent, under the authority of an Abbot or an Abbess, who serves as the spiritual father or mother of the community.The term can also refer to an establishment which has long ceased to function as an abbey,...

, located in the village of Kingswood

Kingswood, Gloucestershire

Kingswood is a village and civil parish within the Stroud district of Gloucestershire, England. It is southwest of Wotton-under-Edge and has a population of 1,290....

 near Wotton-under-Edge

Wotton-under-Edge

Wotton-under-Edge is a market town within the Stroud district of Gloucestershire, England. Located near the southern end of the Cotswolds, the Cotswold Way long-distance footpath passes through the town. Standing on the B4058 Wotton is about from the M5 motorway. The nearest railway station is...

, Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

.

History

Kingswood Abbey was founded in the year 1169 by William of Berkeley in accordance with the wishes of his uncle, Roger II of Berkeley, and colonised from the Cistercian house at Tintern

Tintern

Tintern is a village on the west bank of the River Wye in Monmouthshire, Wales, close to the border with England, about 5 miles north of Chepstow...

, Monmouthshire

Monmouthshire

Monmouthshire is a county in south east Wales. The name derives from the historic county of Monmouthshire which covered a much larger area. The largest town is Abergavenny. There are many castles in Monmouthshire .-Historic county:...

.(Archives Hub, 2006). All that survives today is the 16th century abbey gatehouse

Gatehouse

A gatehouse, in architectural terminology, is a building enclosing or accompanying a gateway for a castle, manor house, fort, town or similar buildings of importance.-History:...

, which is under the care of English Heritage

English Heritage

English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...

.

Calcot Manor

Calcot Manor

Calcot Manor is a historic building 3 miles west of Tetbury, Gloucestershire, England, near the junction of the A46 and A4135 roads . The original building was established in approximately 1300 AD by Henry of Kingswood as a tithe barn annex of Kingswood Abbey. The estate was expanded to include...

 to the northeast was built by the monks of the abbey. The original charter

Charter

A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified...

s of the Kingswood Abbey last went on sale at Sothebys in the year 1945.(Austin,1944)

External links

• Photos of Kingswood Abbey and surrounding area on geograph
• Detailed historical record for Kingswood Abbey Gatehouse
• Kingswood Abbey papers 1225-1444 University of Bristol Library Special Collections