Scheduled Monuments›England›Buildwas Abbey

Buildwas Abbey

England
List entry 1015813
Nation
England
The designation
Reference
List entry 1015813
Authority
Historic England (NHLE)
Status
Scheduled Monument
Scheduled area
18.84 hectares
Grid reference
SJ 64148 04218
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic England (NHLE)

Overview

History & significance

Buildwas Abbey is a Cistercian monastery founded in 1135 in the Severn Valley near Ironbridge in Shropshire, established as a daughter house of Furness Abbey in Lancashire. The abbey flourished during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries as a centre of monastic life and wool production, typical of Cistercian economic activity. Today the substantial ruins preserve the stone ground plan and walls of the claustral ranges, with notably complete remains of the chapter house, refectory, and other monastic buildings arranged around the cloister. The site was dissolved during the Reformation in 1536 and subsequently fell into decay, though the surviving masonry demonstrates the architectural standards and constructional quality characteristic of Cistercian houses of the period.

Buildwas Abbey is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1015813. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Buildwas Abbey?

Buildwas Abbey is a Cistercian monastery founded in 1135 in the Severn Valley near Ironbridge in Shropshire, established as a daughter house of Furness Abbey in Lancashire. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1015813.

Who is responsible for protecting Buildwas Abbey?

Buildwas Abbey is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic England (NHLE) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in England. The official designation reference is 1015813.

What other scheduled monuments are near Buildwas Abbey?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Moated site at Whitwell (3 km), The Iron Bridge (3.2 km), Bedlam Furnaces (3.8 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Buildwas Abbey

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Buildwas Abbey's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Domesday
The settlement's entry in the 1086 Domesday Book: who held it, what it was worth, and the people who worked the land.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
LiDAR
Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks hidden under fields and woodland, with likely features flagged.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

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Nearby

Other scheduled monuments within 10 km

Moated site at Whitwell
3 km
The Iron Bridge
3.2 km
Bedlam Furnaces
3.8 km
Moated site and an associated raised earthen platform 510m north of Mill Farm
3.8 km
Wenlock Priory
4.6 km
Medieval cross in Holy Trinity churchyard
4.7 km
Roman villa NE of Cottage Coppice
4.9 km
New Willey Ironworks
5 km
The ground beneath

The bedrock under Buildwas Abbey

Buildwas Abbey stands on Wenlock Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Wenlock. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.

The wider landscape

Around Buildwas Abbey

WroxeterRoman town · ~5.4 milesWater EatonRoman town · ~16.7 milesOffa's DykeArchaeological site · ~23.7 milesBattle of Shrewsbury 1403Battle (1403) · ~11.5 milesBattle of Blore Heath (1459)Battle (1459) · ~19.7 miles
Domesday entry for Buildwas, Shropshire →
All Scheduled Monuments