Scheduled MonumentsEnglandSawtry Abbey: A Cistercian abbey on the southern edge of Sawtry Fen

Sawtry Abbey: A Cistercian abbey on the southern edge of Sawtry Fen

England
List entry 1013280
Nation
England
The designation
Reference
List entry 1013280
Authority
Historic England (NHLE)
Status
Scheduled Monument
Scheduled area
13.31 hectares
Grid reference
TL 19672 82480
Boundary

Scheduled area

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

Overview

History & significance

Sawtry Abbey is a Cistercian monastery founded in the mid-twelfth century on the southern margin of Sawtry Fen in Huntingdonshire. Originally established as a priory around 1147, it was subsequently elevated to abbey status as a daughter house of Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire. The abbey functioned as a centre of religious and agricultural activity until its dissolution in 1536 during the Reformation. Today only fragmentary stone remains survive on the site, located in flat fenland terrain where the abbey once exercised considerable influence over the surrounding landscape through its monastic economy and drainage works.

Sawtry Abbey: A Cistercian abbey on the southern edge of Sawtry Fen is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1013280. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Sawtry Abbey: A Cistercian abbey on the southern edge of Sawtry Fen?

Sawtry Abbey is a Cistercian monastery founded in the mid-twelfth century on the southern margin of Sawtry Fen in Huntingdonshire. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1013280.

Who is responsible for protecting Sawtry Abbey: A Cistercian abbey on the southern edge of Sawtry Fen?

Sawtry Abbey: A Cistercian abbey on the southern edge of Sawtry Fen 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 1013280.

What other scheduled monuments are near Sawtry Abbey: A Cistercian abbey on the southern edge of Sawtry Fen?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Monk's Hole barrow, 630m NNE of Monk's Wood Farm (2.8 km), Duck Decoy site in Hermitage Wood (4.8 km), Footbridge at W end of village (6 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Sawtry Abbey: A Cistercian abbey on the southern edge of Sawtry Fen

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Sawtry Abbey: A Cistercian abbey on the southern edge of Sawtry Fen'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 Sawtry Abbey: A Cistercian abbey on the southern edge of Sawtry Fen

Sawtry Abbey: A Cistercian abbey on the southern edge of Sawtry Fen stands on Kellaways Formation And Oxford Clay Formation (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Oxfordian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.