Our History
St. Mary's Abbey was founded as a community of Benedictine nuns in c1090 by the Norman monk-bishop Gundulf of Rochester. After its dissolution by Henry VIII it passed into secular ownership.
In the late 19th Century the Abbey was restored to its original purpose by a charitable trust founded by Charlotte Boyd.
Since 1916 our community has resided in this historic place of prayer and gratefully entered into its heritage of peace and God-centred quiet.