A community composed of monks or nuns.

A household composed of 10 - 20 free companions, led by an Abbot/Abbess, or Warder.

Monastic community of either monks or nuns. Ruled by an (m.) Abbot or (f.) Abbess Usually founded by a particular monastic order and bound by their rules. Abbeys often owe some form of feudal obligation to a lord/lady or higher organization. Basically they are self-contained with all basic functions performed by the residents and obtaining their needs from the local area. Apart from their religious role, some medieval abbeys became centres of learning and industry. Partly out of the need for extra funds to support their religious duties, some orders, especially the Cistercians, used their overseas connections to import novel industrial processes and to develop overseas markets. Recent research in Yorkshire suggests that one Cistercian community was close to developing a blast furnace for smelting iron, hundreds of years before this technology powered the Industrial Revolution.

a church associated with a monastery or convent

a convent ruled by an abbess

a monastery ruled by an abbot

a body of monks or a monastic building

a Christian monastery or convent , under the government of an Abbot or an Abbess , who serve as the spiritual father or mother of the community

a church that is operated by a monastic order such as the Cistercians, or Franciscans, and is associated with a monastary

a large, almost self-sufficient community of souls who have chosen a life of contemplation and solitude so that they can study the teachings of the Church

a place where monks live

a religious community, governed by an abbot or an abbess

large religious house belonging either to one of the orders of the Benedictine family or to certain orders of the Canons Regular (Augustinian Canons)

a monastery where, either monks live, governed by an abbot, or in the case of nuns, governed by an abbess.

A major monastic establishment

The religious body governed by an abbot or an abbess, or the monastic buildings themselves. The abbey church frequently has special features such as a particularly large Choir to accommodate the monks or nuns.

buildings where monks or nuns live and worship

The group of buildings which collectively form the dwelling-place of a society of monks or nuns.

An abbey is the home of a community of vowed men or women who live according to the monastic tradition of the Church, and who have as their leader an abbot or abbess.

An abbey is a monastic house under the rule of an abbot of a prior. Sometimes the building is used as a Cathedral as at St. Albans, or a parish church, or even as a ‘royal peculiar' as at Westminster Abbey

A monastic community. Abbeys belonged to particular orders, such as the Cistercians