The site of the gatehouse of Stratford Langthorne Abbey in Abbey Gardens

Image: © Marathon Taken: 8 May 2013

The site of the gatehouse of Stratford Langthorne Abbey in Abbey Gardens is viewed here from Bakers Row. Stratford Langthorne Abbey was founded in 1135 as a daughter house of the Cistercian monastery of Savigney on land given by William de Montfichet, the manorial lord of West Ham. The endowment was 11 acres of meadow and two mills in West Ham and a wood at Buckhurst. Later on, a majority of West Ham and extensive lands in Essex came into the possession of the Abbey, which became one of the richest Cistercian houses in the country. Most of the Abbey was destroyed soon after the Dissolution but excavations in the 1970s and 1980s have given important new evidence about the layout of the site. The main gate of the Abbey stood here in Bakers Row until c.1825 when it was demolished. By the mid-19th century, nearly all other visible traces of the Abbey had disappeared. At this time a row of terraced houses were built on the north side of Bakers Row. They were small ‘two up two down’ houses with sculleries and outdoor toilets at the back, and were mainly occupied by local factory workers and their families. They were demolished in the late 1960s and the site became Abbey Gardens. The western half of Abbey Gardens lies within the former precinct of the Abbey. As the walls of the Abbey gatehouse were in poor condition, they could not be left exposed after excavation but are marked by a flint and mortar capping at ground level which closely matches the original masonry below. This is seen here beyond the footings of the former terrace on the north side of Bakers Row. The raised beds with flowers and vegetables add much interest to the site.

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