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Tarrant Abbey is a Cistercian nunnery founded in the early thirteenth century in the Tarrant Valley, Dorset, which became one of the wealthier religious houses in southern England before its dissolution in 1539. The abbey church and most conventional buildings have been lost, but the site retains significant archaeological potential and is marked by earthworks indicating the layout of the religious community. The tithe barn at Abbey Farm represents a substantial surviving structure associated with the abbey's agricultural economy, built of stone in a scale befitting the institution's considerable landed wealth. The monument complex survives as a testament to medieval Cistercian settlement and the agrarian infrastructure that sustained monastic life in Dorset.
Tarrant Abbey, site of, and tithe barn at Abbey Farm is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1002715. View the official record →
Tarrant Abbey is a Cistercian nunnery founded in the early thirteenth century in the Tarrant Valley, Dorset, which became one of the wealthier religious houses in southern England before its dissolution in 1539. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1002715.
Tarrant Abbey, site of, and tithe barn at Abbey Farm 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 1002715.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Bowl barrow 800m NNW of West Morden Farm (7.4 km), Three bowl barrows on Bloxworth Down, 800m west of Botany Bay Barn (8.2 km), Beacon mound on Beacon Hill (8.2 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Tarrant Abbey, site of, and tithe barn at Abbey Farm'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.
Tarrant Abbey, site of, and tithe barn at Abbey Farm stands on White Chalk Subgroup, bedrock that formed in the Maastrichtian. The rock here is chalk.