SK0639 : Croxden Abbey
taken 6 years ago, near to Croxden, Staffordshire, England
The Cistercian Abbey of Our Lady at Croxden was founded in 1176 by Bertram de Verdun, originally at nearby Cotton, but moved to Croxden in 1179. The 12 founding monks came from the mother house of Aunay-sur-Odon in Normandy, though the first Abbot was an Englishman named Thomas who ruled the house for 51 years and died in 1229. The Abbey church was dedicated in 1254 under the fifth Abbot, Walter of London, many of the other buildings were built during his rule and the Abbey had as many as 70 monks. The natural disasters of the 14th century brought decline and there were just 12 brethren and the Abbot at its dissolution in 1538.
After the Dissolution, the site passed through various hands, until W.G.Vickers, Esq. placed the ruins in the guardianship of the Ministry of Public Buildings and Works, now in the care of English Heritage Link