Buildwas Abbey
Shropshire
|
Featured Location Guide |
| Buildwas Abbey is a Cistercian Abbey founded in 1135 and
occupies a quiet and tranquil site on the edge of the River Severn. It is in the
village of Buildwas and its full title is The Abbey of St Mary and St
Chad. Originally it was a daughter house of the Savignac Furness Abbey in
Cumbria and became a Cistercian Abbey in 1147 when the two orders merged. Buildwas comes from the Saxon words of
belde
meaning shelter and
was
for water meadow, and this very much conjures up the picture of where it is
situated.
In 1342 the Abbot was murdered by one of his
monks. In 1350 the next Abbot was abducted by Welsh raiders and held to ransom
and to top it all in 1406 it was attacked by the then self proclaimed Prince of
Wales Owain Glyndwr. Finally it was closed in 1536 by the commissioners of Henry
the VIII as part of his religious reforms/persecution of those who did not
follow the Church of England faith.
|
 
 An
English Heritage site
|
The mansion, which was formally the Abbot's
housing, is the most complete, but today is a private dwelling and only viewable
from the grounds of the abbey or from the Buildwas Nature Trail. The ruins you
walk through today are the church, cloisters and only part of the large estate.
There is also a woodland walk (Nature Trail)
adjacent to the ruins. It includes are area where the monks took advantage of
the flooding River Severn to construct fish ponds. The trail is a circular walk
and starts at the old Abbots Lodging and you walk past the ruins of the
Infirmary and along an ancient apple corridor to the woods and stream. You go
over a stone bridge crossing a brook and walk along the banks of the River
Severn as you head back to the ruins. There is a leaflet available for the
Woodland Walk giving you some background history on it.
Today's site in it's peaceful setting hidden
back off the road amongst some trees on the banks of the River Severn and a nature
reserve it is a far cry from it's turbulent history. The church remains rank
among some of the best preserved 12th century examples in Britain and a row of
original Norman columns remain.
Click on an
image to see a larger version.
Click on an
image to see a larger version.
These images were taken prior
to DSLR cameras. We will be updating them in the future.
This is a map
of the area and you can see the Abbey is not far from
Ironbridge
 a well known
Shropshire landmark.
One point to
mention is that it wasn't very well signposted off the road and because it sits
back off the road when all the trees are out you won't necessarily see it. When
you leave the road you go down a long drive and end up in a little car park which
only takes a small number of cars. It was an impressive site, no audio tour or
boards explaining what the parts were but worth a visit.
There
are a number of properties like this in the surrounding area including
Wenlock Priory
at Much Wenlock.
.
Planning Grid
|
Location: |
Buildwas
Abbey, Shropshire |
|
Grid Reference: |
SJ643043 - OS
Map 127 |
|
Getting there: |
On south bank
of River Severn on A4169, 2 miles west of Ironbridge. |
|
Access: |
Through a
double gate on the road side and down a long drive to a small car park. Up
some steps to the entrance kiosk. |
|
Parking: |
Small car park,
10m from entrance |
|
Facilities: |
No toilets,
small shop in entrance kiosk, no refreshments but picnics are welcome in the
grounds. Guide books. |
|
Things To Do,
See and Photograph: |
Extensive
ruins of a Cistercian Abbey with much of it's 12 century church. In a
woodland setting beside the river Severn. |
|
What to take: |
Wide angle lens |
|
Nature
Highlights: |
Wild flowers,
large trees. |
|
Best Times to
Visit: |
|
|
Address: |
Shropshire |
|
Postcode: |
TF8 7BW |
|
Telephone: |
01952 433274 |
|
Opening times: |
March-September Wed-Sun 10am-5pm. Also open Bank Holidays. |
|
Charges: |
English Heritage Members - Free
Adults £3.40 Concessions £2.70 and
children £1.60 |
|
Photo
Restrictions: |
No commercial
photography is allowed in all their grounds, it is not permitted in some
buildings for conservation purposes, usually a no photography symbol is
present on entry to the building where this restriction is in place. |
|
Other Restrictions: |
|
|
Special Needs Access: |
Limited disabled access. Entrance via ramp,
most of the site is on rough grass. |
|
Special Needs Facilities: |
None |
|
Children Facilities: |
|
|
Dogs Allowed: |
On leads |
|
|
Please let us know any other information that we
can add to the Further information and Planning Grids or page and any errors that you discover. Before making a long trip to any location it is always
wise to double check the current information, websites like magazines may be
correct at the time the information is written, but things change and it is of
course impossible to double check all entries on a regular basis. If you have
any good photographs that you feel would improve the illustration of this page
then please let us have copies. In referring to this page it is helpful if you
quote both the Page Ref and Topic or Section references from the Grid below. To print the
planning grid select it then right click and print the selected area.
Please submit information on locations you discover so
that this system continues to grow.
|
