Scheduled MonumentsEnglandKenilworth Abbey

Kenilworth Abbey

England
List entry 1021079
Nation
England
The designation
Reference
List entry 1021079
Authority
Historic England (NHLE)
Status
Scheduled Monument
Scheduled area
27.91 hectares
Grid reference
SP 28437 72185
Boundary

Scheduled area

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

Overview

History & significance

Kenilworth Abbey is a medieval Benedictine monastery founded in the early twelfth century in Warwickshire. The abbey was established around 1120 and developed into a substantial religious house with significant landholdings across the region, though it remained modest in scale compared to some of England's larger abbeys. The surviving remains, now managed as a heritage site, include substantial stone structures from the medieval period, particularly elements of the monastic buildings and the impressive red sandstone ruins that testify to the abbey's architectural ambitions. The monastery was dissolved during Henry VIII's Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 1530s, after which the site underwent gradual decay, though some structures were incorporated into subsequent domestic occupation.

Kenilworth Abbey is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1021079. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Kenilworth Abbey?

Kenilworth Abbey is a medieval Benedictine monastery founded in the early twelfth century in Warwickshire. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1021079.

Who is responsible for protecting Kenilworth Abbey?

Kenilworth 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 1021079.

What other scheduled monuments are near Kenilworth Abbey?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Roman settlement at Glasshouse Wood (2.7 km), Wedgnock Park pale, dam, two watermill sites, bridge and hollow way 200m north east of Goodrest Farm (3.3 km), Goodrest Lodge: a double moated site with fishponds (3.5 km).

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Everything a full report reveals about Kenilworth Abbey

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Kenilworth 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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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Kenilworth Abbey

Kenilworth Abbey stands on Warwickshire Group, bedrock that formed in the Early Permian. The rock here is siltstone and sandstone with subordinate mudstone.