Kingswood Abbey/Gatehouse
We got lucky with this one, if we had never gone to see the church next door and got talking to the Reverend then we'd have never have gotten to see the inside of what is left of Kingswood Abbey. Back in the abbey's glory days it was a Cistercian abbey which was founded by William of Berkeley in 1139. This was done in accordance of the wishes of his uncle Roger II of Berkeley and was designed with the Cistercian house at Tintern in mind which is why when we met the lovely custodian's of the church, they told us if we wanted to picture the intact abbey then look no further than it's sister abbey, Tintern. At some point Elizabeth Berkeley, Countess of Warwick was buried at the abbey. By the mid 12th century the abbot and most of the monks had been removed from the site and moved first to Hazelton Abbey and then to Tetbury. In the meantime, Kingswood Abbey became a grange until the community returned to Mireford. The abbot was then replaced in 1517 by a royal appointee w...
