Chertsey Abbey

Chertsey Abbey
Medieval stained glass with the arms of the abbey, a sword and the keys of St Peter
Monastery information
OrderBenedictine
Established666
refounded: 964
Disestablished1537
Dedicated toSt Peter
People
Founder(s)Saint Erkenwald
Important associated figuresKing Frithuwald of Surrey
King Henry VI
Site
LocationChertsey,
Surrey, England
Coordinates51°23′42″N 0°30′11″W / 51.3950°N 0.5031°W / 51.3950; -0.5031
Visible remainsYes
Public accessYes
Richard I and Saladin in the British Museum tiles

Chertsey Abbey, dedicated to St Peter, was a Benedictine monastery located at Chertsey in the English county of Surrey.[1][2]

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.

The Founder, St Erkenwald, depicted in a state at St Albans Cathedral

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.

  1. ^ Brekle 1997, pp. 58–63
  2. ^ Lehmann-Haupt 1940, pp. 93–97