Guidebook: Muchelney Abbey

An abbey was first recorded at Muchelney, an isolated spot in the flood-prone Somerset Levels, in the late seventh century. This early monastery was abandoned in the ninth century, but refounded in 939, its monks adopting Benedictine observance and constructing the first stone-built church on the site. By 1200 the abbey was thriving, and church, cloister and claustral buildings had been rebuilt on a grand scale. Construction work continued on and off at Muchelney for the next three centuries as the buildings were updated, expanded and adapted to accommodate the changing lifestyle of the monks. In 1538 King Henry VIII suppressed Muchelney Abbey. The majority of the medieval buildings were destroyed, leaving only the abbot’s richly decorated lodging and the monastic latrine, which survived the following centuries quietly as a farmhouse and barn until they came into the care of the Office of Works in 1927. Excavations in the following decades revealed the foundations of the tenth-century church, and of the later abbey church and claustral buildings. Today, fragments of elaborately carved medieval stonework that once decorated the church and abbey buildings are displayed in the surviving cloister alley and in the abbot’s lodging. This new Red Guide gives a comprehensive tour and history of the site, which is brought to life with spectacular photographs and new reconstructions, as well as historical images and updated maps and plans. Special features draw on the latest research to give readers the opportunity to explore a range of different aspects of the site’s history from its foundation to the present day. Key Features: Contains spectacular photographs and new reconstructions Updated maps and plans Published: March 2022 Paperback 190 x 220mm