Leiston Abbey, Suffolk

Leiston Abbey, formerly St Mary's Abbey, was founded at Minsmere in 1182 by Ranulf de Glanville, Lord Chief Justice to Henry II, as a House of Augustinian Canons Regular who followed the Premonstratensian rule. Their main duties were preaching and pastoral work. In about 1363 the abbey was moved away from what was evidently a rather unhealthy location on swampy ground, and rebuilt on its present site at Leiston. Robert de Ufford, 1st Earl of Suffolk, devoted his last years to the building.

Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1536, Leiston Abbey was granted to Charles Brandon, 3rd Duke of Suffolk and brother-in-law to Henry VIII. The Abbey became a farm, the farmhouse being built into the ruins. Later, a Georgian front was added to the house, which was extended in the 1920s. The Lady Chapel was also restored and furnished in 1918.

In 1928 the Abbey ruins and farm was bought by Ellen Wrightson for use as a religious retreat. When she died in 1946, she bequeathed the house, ruins, land and buildings to the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich.

Opening Times

Any ressonable time.

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Ticket Prices

Admission is free

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Disabled Facilities

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