Romsey - Abbey

The Norman-era church, named Romsey Abbey, now serves the parish. Until the Dissolution of the Monasteries it was the church of a Benedictine nunnery.

The church was originally built during the 10th century. The religious community continued to grow and a village grew around it. Both suffered already in the 10th century, when Viking raiders sacked the village and burnt down the original church in 993. However, the abbey was rebuilt in stone in around 1000 and the village quickly recovered. The abbey and its community of nuns flourished and was renowned as a seat of learning – especially for the children of the nobility.

In Norman times a substantial, new stone abbey was built on the old Anglo-Saxon foundation (circa 1130 to 1140). In this general period, the community prospered and by 1240 the nuns numbered more than 100.


The abbey continued to grow and prosper until the Black Death struck the town in 1348. While it is thought that as much as half of the population of the town – which was then about 1,000 – died as a result, the number of nuns fell by over 80% to 19. 72 nuns died including Abbess Johanna. This so affected the area that the overall prosperity of the abbey dwindled.

Although the community of nuns itself was forcibly dispersed in the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the abbey buildings were not demolished. This was because the abbey church had a substantial section dedicated to St Lawrence which served as a place of worship for the townspeople.