Beaulieu Abbey

Beaulieu Abbey is an early 13th-century Cistercian ruin in the heart of the New Forest, Hampshire, protected today as a Scheduled Ancient Monument. Founded in 1201 by King John — the only monastery he ever established — it was settled by thirty monks from the Cistercian motherhouse of Cîteaux in France. Over three centuries the abbey thrived as a regional spiritual hub and founded four daughter houses across southern England, including Netley and Hailes Abbey, before Henry VIII dissolved it in 1538 and seized its assets. Visitors today walk among the atmospheric shell of the abbey church, while the medieval refectory survives intact as the village parish church — an unusual continuity of use that stretches across nearly 800 years.