Eastminster, also known as New Abbey, St Mary Graces, and other variants, was a Cistercian abbey on

Tower Hill Tower Hill is the area surrounding the Tower of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is infamous for the public execution of high status prisoners from the late 14th to the mid 18th century. The execution site on the higher gro ...

East Smithfield East Smithfield is a small locality in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, east London, and also a short street, a part of the A1203 road. Once broader in scope, the name came to apply to the part of the ancient parish of St Botolph withou ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. It was founded by

Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring r ...

in 1350 immediately outside the Roman

London Wall The London Wall was a defensive wall first built by the Romans around the strategically important port town of Londinium in AD 200, and is now the name of a modern street in the City of London. It has origins as an initial mound wall and ...

in what is now the

London Borough of Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London boroughs, London borough covering much of the traditional East End of London, East End. It was formed in 1965 from the merger of the former Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London, metropol ...

. It stood just to the north of an older royal foundation, the Hospital and Collegiate Church of St Katharine by the Tower. Among the abbey's endowments was the reversion of one of the four manors of Shere in Gomshall,

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...

, given by King Edward III in 1350. This manor acquired the name Towerhill, due to its patronage by the abbey. In 1375,

Sir Nicholas de Loveyne Sir Nicholas de Loveyne (died 24 September 1375) was a major English property owner and courtier, who held a number of senior positions in the service of King Edward III. Background The parentage of Sir Nicholas de Loveyne (Lovayne/Lovaine/Lovain ...

bequeathed to the Abbot and Convent the reversion of the mills of Crash Mills, to endow the perpetual singing of masses for the donor. Crash Mills were situated on the River Thames, near East Smithfield. The Abbey's benefactors were mainly courtiers; it attracted relatively few bequests from the merchants of the City of London. The abbey was dissolved in 1538. From 1805 to 1966 the site was the home of the Royal Mint, after which it was renamed as Royal Mint Court and used for offices. A large-scale excavation of the site of the abbey took place between 1983 and 1988. An analysis of the archaeological and documentary evidence uncovered has been published by Museum of London Archaeology.

Burials at the Abbey

References

Cistercian monasteries in England Monasteries in London Former buildings and structures in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets 1350 establishments in England Christian monasteries established in the 14th century 1538 disestablishments in England {{England-church-stub