Titchfield Abbey

Titchfield Abbey

Titchfield Abbey in 2014
Monastery information
Full name	The Abbey Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, Titchfield
Other names	Place House (post-monastic period)
Order	Premonstratensian
Established	1222
Disestablished	1537
Mother house	Halesowen Abbey
Dedicated to	The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin
Diocese	Diocese of Winchester
People
Founder(s)	Peter des Roches
Important associated figures	William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Margaret of Anjou, Charles I, Thomas Wriothesley, Henry Wriothesley
Site
Location	Titchfield, Hampshire, United Kingdom
Visible remains	nave of church, ruins of east range, foundations and massive Tudor gatehouse of post-Dissolution mansion
Public access	yes, (English Heritage)

Titchfield Abbey is a medieval abbey and later country house, located in the village of Titchfield near Fareham in Hampshire, England. The abbey was founded in 1222 for Premonstratensian canons, an austere order of priests. The abbey was a minor house of its order, and became neither wealthy nor influential during its three centuries of monastic life; the inhabitants were devoted to scholarship, as shown by their very impressive library.

The abbey was closed in 1537 by Henry VIII of England during the Dissolution of the Monasteries and the building was converted into a mansion by Thomas Wriothesley, a powerful courtier. Later in the sixteenth century the mansion was home to Henry Wriothesley, who was a patron of William Shakespeare. In 1781 the mansion was abandoned and partially demolished. The remains were purchased by the government in the early twentieth century and are now a Scheduled Ancient Monument under the care of English Heritage.

The builder of the abbey was Bishop Peter des Roches of Winchester, a powerful politician, churchman and government official who founded several religious houses, including Netley Abbey (1236), also in Hampshire, Halesowen Abbey (1214) in Worcestershire and La Clarté-Dieu (1236) in his native France.