Cleeve Abbey is a medieval monastery located near the village of Washford, in Somerset, England. It is a Grade I listed building and has been scheduled as an ancient monument. The abbey was founded in the late twelfth century as a house for monks of the austere Cistercian order.
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If you like history and fine examples of their kind Cleeve abbey worth a visit. Better to visit by car rather than from steam railway as walk by busy main road and then along lane. Has a good car park opposite. Has only example of a dormitory and refractory which is intact. Abbots rooms good and moved refractory floor to designated covered outside building beautifull. Walking through intact entry gate impressive Limited information on boards. Nothing left of church as ransacked in reformation However walking in rooms where monks slept and ate their meals in silence mist evocative and thought provoking. Tiny shop sells UK only trappist beer Tynt Meadow...which comes from last working cistercian abbey and monastery In UK at St Bernard's in Leicestershire. Ti's most difficult to get hold of any and I live in leicestershire! So had to buy some. 10.00 pound entry fee reasonable..to note 11.00 if tax payer. Spent a good hour exploring the site. 5 mins up road is torre cider farm which you can...
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Another superb English Heritage visit. I never expected our visit to be the absolute quality it was. Right from the start walking through the main gate we were captivated. The lady at the reception/shop that welcomed us was lovely and so full of subject passion and knowledge I feel we could have chatted for an age. The abbey is great to explore, and there’s plenty of it. Information boards explain the function of each area and indeed room as you move around the site, providing the visitor with good knowledge. I came away a lot more understanding of the life of monks at that time. We loved it. There’s an incredible tiled floor to view that resides in it’s original position but covered by a modern building. An example of the quality work done by English Heritage. There’s plenty of grass areas around the abbey so I would imagine a picnic on a sunny, warm day would be ideal. There’s plenty of parking in the allotted, well maintained area...
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We visited a couple of weeks ago, whilst on a jaunt around Exmoor. We arrived quite early and there was only one other couple visiting while we are there, which meant we had plenty of time to explore and take lovely photos without additional elements.
The site is quite flat and easy to navigate, although some of the ground floor interior of the ruins are a little uneven (cobbles and rubble) but manageable. The upstairs sections could prove difficult if you have mobility issues as there are no lifts of course.
Considering it is a ruin, thanks mostly to Henry VIII there is still quite a lot to explore. Be sure not to miss the large section of original flooring, which is around the back and undercover to protect it. See if you can spot the toilets in the bedrooms (early en-suite).
If you are not an English Heritage member, sign up while you are there and you'll find many more properties like this to...
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