Cambridge and Audley Land

From King’s Lynn Pietro Querini arrived in Cambridge. On Sunday he went for mass to a noble Benedictine monastery in Audley Land.

From Pietro Querini’s diary (P.Nelli, 2007): “from Lilia we sailed by barge up a river and went to mass at a noble Benedictine monastery (Audley End, some thirty kilometres from Cambridge)”.

Walden Monastery, a Benedictine abbey, was founded in 1136 by Geoffrey de Mandeville, the first Earl of Essex. Built in Jacobean style on the site of the medieval Walden Abbey, it is one of the most famous English products of its kind. 

Originally located on the site where Audley End stands today, Walden Abbey was suppressed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries ordered by Henry VIII in 1538 

and granted to Lord Chancellor Sir Thomas Audley.

After the dissolution, the abbey was demolished and the materials were reused for the construction of the large mansion at Audley End. Thus, although the Benedictine monastery no longer exists, its history is linked to that of the Audley End mansion and the transformation of the site over the centuries.

Helpful links

More info and visit booking: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/audley-end-house-and-gardens/