Abbey Green, Staffordshire

Abbey Green
The road through the village
Abbey Green  Abbey Green shown within Staffordshire
OS grid reference	SJ979578
District	Staffordshire Moorlands
Shire county	Staffordshire
Region	West Midlands
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Leek
Postcode district	ST13
Dialling code	01538
Police	Staffordshire
Fire	Staffordshire
Ambulance	West Midlands
EU Parliament	West Midlands
UK Parliament	Staffordshire Moorlands
List of places UK England Staffordshire

Coordinates: 53°07′09″N 2°01′56″W / 53.1192°N 2.0321°W

Abbey Green is a village near Leek, in the civil parish of Leekfrith and in the English county of Staffordshire.

The village is close to the site of Dieulacres Abbey. The abbey was founded in 1214 by Ranulph de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester for Cistercian monks, who moved from Poulton, Cheshire because of attacks from the Welsh. The Earl gave the monks the manor of nearby Leek, where a Wednesday market had recently been established. The abbey remained in existence until the Dissolution of the Monasteries, when it was surrendered in 1538.^[1]

There are some scanty remains of the abbey, which are Grade II listed. Much of the material was used for the building erected on the site.^[2]

The building on the site of the abbey, built by 1614, was the home of Thomas Rudyard, lord of the manor of Leek, and later of his descendants. It was once known as Abbey Dieulacres, and later as Dieulacres Abbey Farm. It is now known as Abbey Farm.^[3]

The Abbey Inn, a feature of the village, is a Grade II* listed building and is dated 1702.^[4]

References

1. The Abbey of Dieulacres A History of the County of Stafford Volume 3 (Victoria County History), accessed 22 July 2014.
2. Dieu-La-Cres Abbey Ruins, Leek British Listed Buildings, accessed 27 July 2014.
3. Abbey Farm, Abbey Green, Leekfrith Archived August 8, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. Staffordshire Past-track, accessed 21 July 2014.
4. Abbey Inn, Leek British Listed Buildings, accessed 21 July 2014.