Cleeve Abbey, Somerset

English Heritage
Cleeve Abbey was founded around 1198 as a daughter house of Revesby Abbey in Yorkshire, during the height of the Cistercian expansion. The abbey acquired substantial holdings across North Somerset. In the fifteenth century the abbey’s finances seem to have improved, and the abbey buildings were substantially altered and renovated. Some alterations continued up to the suppression by Henry VIII’s officials in the 1530’s.
The abbey church was demolished at the suppression, but other substantial buildings survive. The south and west ranges were converted into a private house, and later the site became a farm.
The refectory (or hall) is the most notable feature, and a preserved pavement, a chamber with wall paintings and the refectory are also worthy of note. Most of the evidence of occupation as farm and as cottages has been removed.
Travel: Parking on site. A station of the West Somerset heritage railway is nearby.