Swineshead Abbey was an abbey in Swineshead, Lincolnshire. The Abbey of St Mary, a

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

, was founded in 1134 by Robert de Gresley. Gresley and his son, Albert, endowed the Abbey with 240 acres of land and other gifts. The Abbey was originally

Savigniac The monastic Congregation of Savigny (Savigniac Order) started in the abbey of Savigny, situated in northern France, on the confines of Normandy and Brittany, in the Diocese of Coutances. It originated in 1105 when Vitalis of Mortain established a ...

and populated with monks from

Furness Abbey Furness Abbey, or St. Mary of Furness, is a former monastery located to the north of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. The abbey dates back to 1123 and was once the second-wealthiest and most powerful Cistercian monastery in the country, behi ...

, but was absorbed into the Cistercian order along with all the other Savigniac Houses in 1147. In 1170 the Abbot of Swineshead was reprimanded for owning villages, churches and serfs. King John spent a short time in the Abbey after losing his baggage in the fens, and just before his death in 1216. In

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's '' King John'', the name of the abbey where King John stayed is misspelled as "Swinsted Abbey" instead of "Swineshead Abbey", and this confusion was common in late-sixteenth century texts, for

Swinstead Swinstead is a village and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated west from Bourne, north from Stamford and south-east from Grantham. It is a village of just over 100 households, the population ...

is about 25 miles from Swineshead. It was dissolved in 1536 with the first Act of Suppression, its last Abbot being John Haddingham. The first documented reuse of the site dates from 1607 when a farmhouse, Abbey House, was built out of the abbey ruins by Sir John Lockton. The Abbey House is a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. The abbey occupied a slightly raised area in the marshland 1 km north east of Swineshead. In the raised area in the north-eastern part of the monument, partly overlain by Abbey House, are the buried remains of the abbey's inner court where the church, cloister and dorter (dormitory) would have been located. Adjacent to the west is another raised area where the remains of the outer court are located; these would include stables, barns and other agricultural and service buildings, together with the principal gatehouse of the abbey. The foundations of stone walls and fragments of medieval artefacts have been located in the outer court. Although the site is now a private residence it can still be seen from the main A52. If travelling south from

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

you reach the Baythorpe area of Swineshead, on the right i
Manor Farm Shop
and approximately 200m further, behind the trees, is Swineshead Abbey.

References

Monasteries in Lincolnshire {{UK-Christian-monastery-stub