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Dunkeswell Abbey is a ruined Cistercian monastery located in Devon, founded in the mid-twelfth century as a daughter house of Furness Abbey in Lancashire. The abbey was established around 1201 and remained an active religious community until its dissolution under Henry VIII in 1536. The surviving remains include fragmentary stone structures and earthworks indicative of the abbey's medieval layout, though the site has been substantially reduced by later agricultural use and development. Dunkeswell exemplifies the characteristic Cistercian emphasis on remote rural settlement and represents an important phase of monastic expansion in the Southwest of England during the High Middle Ages.
Dunkeswell Abbey is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1009303. View the official record →
Dunkeswell Abbey is a ruined Cistercian monastery located in Devon, founded in the mid-twelfth century as a daughter house of Furness Abbey in Lancashire. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1009303.
Dunkeswell 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 1009303.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Hemyock Castle (2.7 km), Row Barrow (5.2 km), Bowl barrow on Hartridge, 360m east of Shelves Farm (6.2 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Dunkeswell Abbey's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Dunkeswell Abbey stands on Triassic Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Triassic. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.