Titchfield Abbey
Has been described as a Possible Fortified Manor House
There are major building remains
| Name | Titchfield Abbey |
| Alternative Names | Tychefeld; Place House, Palace House |
| Historic Country | Hampshire and the Isle of Wight |
| Modern Authority | Hampshire |
| 1974 Authority | Hampshire |
| Civil Parish | Fareham |
Titchfield Abbey, quietly situated in the valley of the River Meon, is a fine example of a Premonstratensian monastery. The surviving structures provide a good indication of the scale and importance of the monastic buildings while the associated fishponds provide evidence for both water management and for the economic importance of fish to both monastic and later communities. The surviving elements of the 16th century mansion are an example of the secular use of a religious complex in the years following the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Small scale excavations carried out in the early 20th century have clarified the layout of the focal monastic buildings. More recent excavations have shown the fishponds to have been constructed in the 13th century and to have been maintained in use after the Dissolution of the abbey in the 16th century. The main components of the monument are maintained in Guardianship and are open to the public.
The Abbey of St Mary and St John the Evangelist was founded in 1232 by Peter de Roches, Bishop of Winchester, for Premonstratensian canons. The history of the abbey was uneventful and at the suppression of the monasteries in 1537 the monastic estate passed to Thomas Wriothesley, who by 1542, had converted the monastic buildings into the residence known as 'Palace House'. This survived little altered until the greater part of it was demolished in 1781. The surviving remains of the abbey include the cloister, used in the 16th century as the courtyard of the country house, and the nave of the church which became its gatehouse. The four towers of the gatehouse form the most visually impressive element of the ruins. (Scheduling report)
Mr Wriothesley hath buildid a right stately house embatelid, and having a goodely gate, and a conducte castelid in the midle of the court of it, yn the same place wher the late monasterie of Premostratenses stoode caullyd Tichefelde. (Leland)
This site is a scheduled monument protected by law
This is a Grade 2 listed building protected by law
Historic England Scheduled Monument Number
Historic England Listed Building number(s)
Images Of England
Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s)
County Historic Environment Record
| OS Map Grid Reference | SU541066 |
| Latitude | 50.8568801879883 |
| Longitude | -1.23149001598358 |
| Eastings | 454190 |
| Northings | 106670 |
