Barking Abbey
Barking Abbey: curfew tower with St Margaret's church in background
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 Location within Greater London
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| Monastery information | |
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| Established | c. 666 AD |
| Disestablished | 1539 |
| Dedicated to | Saint Mary and Saint Ethelburga |
| People | |
| Founder(s) | Saint Erkenwald. Founded for his sister Saint Ethelburga |
| Site | |
| Location | Barking, London, England |
| Coordinates | 51°32′08″N 0°04′31″E / 51.535556°N 0.075278°ECoordinates: 51°32′08″N 0°04′31″E / 51.535556°N 0.075278°E |
Barking Abbey is a former royal monastery located in Barking, in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. It has been described as "one of the most important nunneries in the country".
Originally established in the 7th century, from the late 10th century the abbey followed the Rule of St. Benedict. The abbey had a large endowment and sizable income but suffered severely after 1377, when the River Thames flooded around 720 acres (290 ha) of the abbey's land, which was unable to be reclaimed. Despite this, at the time of the dissolution it was still the third wealthiest nunnery in England.
The abbey continued to operate for almost 900 years, until its closure in 1539, as part of King Henry VIII's Dissolution of the Monasteries. During its existence, the abbey had many notable abbesses including several saints, former queens and the daughters of kings. The abbess of Barking held precedence over all other abbesses in England.
The ruined remains of Barking Abbey now form part of a public open space known as Abbey Green.
Barking Abbey was one of two monasteries founded in the 7th century by Saint Erkenwald (later Bishop of London). Erkenwald founded Chertsey Abbey for himself, and Barking Abbey for his sister Saint Ethelburga. Erkenwald and Ethelburga were of royal ancestry and were born in the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Lindsey (roughly located within the modern county of Lincolnshire). It is said Ethelburga (a Christian) chose to become a nun to avoid having to marry King Edwin of Northumbria (a pagan). However, this seems doubtful and there may have been confusion between Ethelburga and Æthelburh of Kent. Either way, Ethelburga's brother Erkenwald founded Barking Abbey specifically for her, as there were no female nunneries in England at the time. Ethelburga served as the Abbey's first abbess. Saint Hildelitha, a nun brought from abroad to teach Ethelburga, became abbess after her death. Erkenwald himself would die at the abbey in 693, although his body was taken to Chertsey Abbey for burial.
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Wikipedia