Chertsey Abbey
Medieval stained glass with the arms of the abbey, a sword and the keys of St Peter
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| Monastery information | |
|---|---|
| Order | Benedictine |
| Established | 666 refounded: 964 |
| Disestablished | 1537 |
| Dedicated to | St Peter |
| People | |
| Founder(s) | Saint Erkenwald |
| Important associated figures | King Frithuwald of Surrey King Henry VI |
| Site | |
| Location |
Chertsey, Surrey, England |
| Coordinates | 51°23′42″N 0°30′11″W / 51.3950°N 0.5031°WCoordinates: 51°23′42″N 0°30′11″W / 51.3950°N 0.5031°W |
| Visible remains | Yes |
| Public access | Yes |
Chertsey Abbey, dedicated to St Peter, was a Benedictine monastery located at Chertsey in the English county of Surrey.
It was founded in 666 AD by Saint Erkenwald who was the first abbot, and from 675 AD the Bishop of London. At the same time he founded the abbey at Chertsey Erkenwald founded Barking Abbey, on the Thames east of London, where his sister Saint Ethelburga was the first abbess. Erkenwald and Ethelburga were of royal descent, born in the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Lindsey. which today is roughly the county of Lincolnshire).
Most of north-west Surrey was granted to the abbey by King Frithuwald of Surrey. Dark Age saints buried here include Saint Beocca, a Dark Ages Catholic Saint from Anglo-Saxon England buried here around 870 AD, and ninth century Saint Edor of Chertsey.
In the 9th century it was sacked by the Danes and refounded from Abingdon Abbey by King Edgar of England in 964. In the eleventh century the monks engineered the Abbey River as an offshoot of the River Thames to supply power to the abbey's watermill. In late medieval times, the Abbey became famous as the burial place of King Henry VI (whose body was later transferred to St George's Chapel, Windsor). The abbey was dissolved by the commissioners of King Henry VIII in 1537, but the community moved to Bisham.
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