ENGLISH HERITAGE

At the time of Querini, the site was occupied by Walden Abbey, a Benedictine monastery located along the route from Cambridge to London. The abbey was dissolved by Henry VIII, and Audley End House was later built on its remains.

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In his report, Querini recounts how they arrived in King’s Lynn, traveled upriver to Cambridge, and were welcomed at a Benedictine monastery: "Then, on the13th of September, we departed for England, equipped with the necessary provisions. As it pleased God, in His mercy toward our frightened hearts, for eight days and nights we were favored with the most pleasant and favorable wind, allowing us to pass to England to the place of King’s Lynn, which is at the far northern end of the island that place, we departed in a boat, traveling upstream, and arrived at Cambridge, a large land where there is a university with several faculties. On Sunday, we attended Mass at a notable monastery, and while we were listening to the Mass, a monk of that place from the order of Saint Benedict approached me, believing that I was superior to the others because my companions showed me some reverence. Departing from Cambridge, the following day we arrived in London, where a few hours before our arrival, my helmsman and two others had gone ahead. Having informed the merchants of our nation about my arrival, Ser Vetor Capelo and others came out to meet me some distance from London, waiting for me.When I reached them, the joy and relief were immense; any discerning person can well imagine the shared happiness."

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Quotation: Alberto Quartapelle (2025) The shipwreck of the Venetian Pietro Querino at the Lofoten Islands (Norway) in 1432, Terrae Incognitae, 57:1, 5-59, DOI:10.1080/00822884.2024.2441544​