Bordesley Abbey

Bordesley Abbey was a 12th-century Cistercian abbey near the town of Redditch, in Worcestershire, England. The abbey's foundation was an act of Waleran de Beaumont, Count of Meulan, who gave the monks of Garendon Abbey in Leicestershire some more land. However, Empress Matilda laid claim to the patronage of Bordesley once Waleran surrendered to her in about 1141, thus making Bordesley a royal house. Bordesley Abbey was once an important local ecclesiastical centre, holding political control of the ancient township of Tardebigge. It was demolished by Henry VIII during the dissolution of the monasteries in 1538 and the property was sold. The ruins are now an archaeological site, undergoing investigation since 1969 by the University of Reading's 'Bordesley Abbey Project'. Many of the excavated items can be seen in a visitor centre and museum at the site, which is joined with the Forge Mill Needle Museum.