Titchfield Abbey is a medieval abbey and later country house, located in the village of Titchfield near Fareham in Hampshire, England. The abbey was founded in 1222 for Premonstratensian canons, an austere order of priests. The abbey was a minor house of its order, and became neither wealthy nor influential during its three centuries of monastic life; the inhabitants were devoted to scholarship, as shown by their very impressive library. Titchfield was closed in 1537 by Henry VIII of England during the Dissolution of the Monasteries and the building was converted into a mansion by Thomas Wriothesley, a powerful courtier. Later in the sixteenth century the abbey was home to Henry Wriothesley, who was a patron of William Shakespeare. In 1781 the abbey was abandoned and partially demolished to create a romantic ruin. The remains were purchased by the government in the early twentieth century and are now a Scheduled Ancient Monument under the care of English Heritage.

Abbeys and Cathedrals