In 1203 Lippold von Escherde donated the church and four farmsteads in Groß Escherde with the confirmation of Hildesheim bishop Hartbert for the foundation of a Benedictine monastery. In 1236, this monastery was relocated to the present location on the Hildesheim Forest, which was then called Bovingehusen. 1264 is the name change in Escherte occupied [1].
In 1296, the monastery was spun off from the parish of Betheln and the Archdeacon. A built in Eddinghausen Vorwerk was dissolved in 1324 again. In 1441 a reform by Johannes Busch took place.
Due to the Quedlinburg Recess of 1523, the monastery fell to the Principality of Calenberg and was converted into a Protestant lady's pen. In the turmoil of the Thirty Years' War, the last nuns left the monastery. In 1641, the buildings burned down.
With the restoration of the Great Abbey Hildesheim 1643 Monastery Escherde came again under prince-bishop domination. Auxiliary Bishop Adam Adami, who was in charge of the bishopric on behalf of Bishop Maximilian Heinrich of Bavaria, made great efforts to restore Escherde Abbey. It managed to pay off the accumulated debt burden. Benedictine nuns from Hamersleben formed the first new convention. The economic and convent buildings were rebuilt. In 1685, the baroque monastery church of St. Mary was completed to plans by the Hanoverian master mason Giuseppe Crotogino. From 1709 the monastery was surrounded by a large stone wall and received a gatehouse. The church was now also a parish church for the Catholic estate workers and the few Catholics of the surrounding villages.
In the course of secularization, the Benedictine convent was dissolved in 1810 and sold the monastery property. In 1838, the former monastery became state domain. The village was named Haus Escherde. The Catholic parish was also lifted. The church was profaned and used as agricultural storage. The inventory came to other churches. The high altar is now in the Catholic Church of St. Mary in Mehl.
The historic monastery complex with its surrounding stone wall is largely preserved. Source Wikipedia.