Should you visit RSPB Minsmere and walk the beach to the sluice you'll see the remains of a small chapel on the original site of Leiston Abbey in the distance. The Chapel is on a low hill above the mere just off the path that will take you to Eastbridge.

The chapel and surrounding land is an important Scheduled Ancient Monument, protected by law and managed by the RSPB as part of their conservation work. The only visible remains of the original Premonstratensian Abbey are a small chapel that was thought to have been used until the dissolution in 1537.
Research has shown that this chapel was built upon the site of the original church and wider precinct of Leiston Abbey which was founded in 1182 by Ranulf de Glanville, Lord Chief Justice to King Henry II. The Abbey was moved to its current location 2 miles away in 1363, and these ruins can still be seen today.

Geophysical survey has shown that buried remains include cloisters, living quarters and many other buildings, now preserved for the long term by reversion from arable cultivation to pasture. Grant aided by English Heritage and Natural England, the RSPB has stabilised and restored the chapel to preserve it for the future with a permissive path to the chapel opened in 2016.

Friederike Kaymer-Meißner

September 30, 2024

Interesting ruin with surprising insights

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Elevation 0 m

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Friday 14 November

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Max wind speed: 14.0 km/h

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Location: Leiston, Suffolk Coastal, Suffolk, East Of England, England, United Kingdom

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