Cleeve Abbey

The picturesque Cistercian abbey of Cleeve boasts the most impressively complete and unaltered set of monastic cloister buildings in England, standing roofed and two storeys high. They include the gatehouse; the 15th-century refectory with its glorious angel roof; an unusual 'painted chamber'; and the floor of an earlier refectory, decked from end to end with 13th-century heraldic tiles, the protection of which is the subject of an ongoing high profile English Heritage research project. The great dormitory is one of the finest examples in the country. Beneath it are the newly-vaulted warming room, and the sacristy with more early 13th-century tilework and decoration.