Coggeshall Abbey, situated south of the town of Coggeshall

Coggeshall

Coggeshall is a small market town of 3,919 residents in Essex, England, situated between Colchester and Braintree on the Roman road of Stane Street , and intersected by the River Blackwater. It is known for its almost 300 listed buildings and formerly extensive antique trade...

 in Essex

Essex

Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...

, was founded in 1140 by King Stephen of England and Matilda of Boulogne

Matilda of Boulogne

Matilda I was suo jure Countess of Boulogne. She was also queen consort of England as the wife of King Stephen.-Biography:...

, as a Savigniac house but became Cistercian in 1147 upon the absorption of the order.

History

In 1216 an incident was recorded that "King John's army violently entered the abbey and carried off twenty-two horses of the bishop of London and others." It is also known that the reigning abbot in 1260 was travelling abroad as the envoy

Envoy (title)

In diplomacy, an Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary is, under the terms of the Congress of Vienna of 1815, a diplomat of the second class, ranking between an Ambassador and a Minister Resident....

 of the King. By 1370 the monastery was reported to be very poor, partly due to excessive spending and other mismanagement. Furthermore, during the so called Peasants Revolt of 1381, the abbey was broken into and raided.
On the eve of the suppression of the monastery many, possibly false, charges were made against the abbot, William Love and in 1536 he was relieved of his duties. The abbey was heavily in debt by the time of its closure in 1538, following which the site was sold to Sir Thomas Seymour.

The abbey church was rapidly ransacked and demolished. A house was built in 1581 on part of the monastery site and still stands. The abbey gate chapel survives restored as Little Coggeshall church and some other structures of uncertain purpose also remain.