Buildwas Abbey, Shropshire

Not a great deal of Buildwas Abbey remains…but enough to give us a good impression of just how big and important it once was.

Located adjacent to the River Severn, it was a Cistercian Monastery founded in 1135.  Never a wealthy Abbey, it does appear to have had mixed fortunes….none the less its location reasonably close to the Welsh border ensured its importance in border disputes.

Perhaps Buildwas should be considered more a centre of literacy and education as we are told that the Abbey established an extensive Library. The knowledge and skills of the Abbots was much respected.

Buildwas suffered the fate of so many of the Monasteries and Abbeys.  Henry VIII and his Dissolution of Monasteries  Policy of 1536 led to its destruction.

2nd February

(C) David Oakes 2020