Pictures of Leiston Abbey

a Abbey in the town of Leiston, in the county of Suffolk

About Leiston Abbey

These are the evocative remains of an abbey founded when the order of the land was God first, followed by King and country. The abbey was founded close to Minsmere in 1182 for an order of 26 canons of the Premonstratension order by Ranulph de Granville. It was later moved inland owing to the location being continually flooded, this was achieved by a papal license of 1365, allowing the order to move to Leiston which is some 4 miles inland.

The abbey was closed during the Reformation of the 16th century, it was passed to Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk in 1537.

The site of the abbey ruins is extremely picturesque, allowing for a backward glimpse of what these once great monastic buildings must have looked like when it was a flourishing order with a grand church. These ruins look startlingly beautiful in moonlight and if you happen to be exploring the site at the time of a setting sun, you can almost imagine the monks in brown habits, with bare feet, returning from their labours in the fields.

Leiston is a charming village lying close to the east coast, between Aldeburgh and Dunwich.

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Nearby travel help

Saxmundham Station	(3.6 miles, 5.8 km, direction W)
Darsham Station	(4.3 miles, 7.0 km, direction NW)
Norwich Airport	(33.5 miles, 53.8 km, direction NW)
Cambridge Airport	(59.5 miles, 95.8 km, direction W)
M11 Junction 9	(60.3 miles, 97.1 km, direction W)
M11 Junction 10	(61.6 miles, 99.2 km, direction W)
Leiston Abbey to London	(88.1 miles, 141.7 km, direction SW)

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