Chertsey Abbey was once one of Surrey’s most powerful monasteries and the first burial place of Henry VI. Today it has almost entirely vanished. This article explores the abbey’s history, its royal connections, its destruction during the Dissolution and what remains of the site in the modern landscape. Though the buildings are gone, the abbey’s imprint survives in records, archaeology and the terrain it once shaped.
Chertsey Abbey: A King’s First Grave and a Vanished Glory
Chertsey Abbey was once one of Surrey’s most powerful monasteries and the first burial place of Henry VI, although today nothing visible survives. Its history is preserved through documents, archaeology and the Thames‑side landscape where the abbey once stood. This article explores the abbey’s origins, its role in medieval politics, its destruction during the Dissolution and what remains of the site today.
In the medieval world, it was common for saints, nobles and kings to have more than one burial. Human remains were moved for political advantage, for safety, or to place a revered figure where devotion and pilgrimage could flourish. A first grave might be temporary, a respectful resting place until a more fitting shrine or royal chapel was prepared.
Understanding this practice explains why Henry VI was buried first at Chertsey Abbey before being translated to Windsor, a move shaped by dynastic change and the desire to control a king’s legacy.
Chertsey Abbey
Chertsey Abbey began life in the 7th century, founded in 666 CE by Erkenwald (later Bishop of London and a canonised saint), who established a Benedictine monastery on the Thames at Chertsey, Surrey. The site was chosen for its isolation and easy river access, and over the centuries it grew into one of southern England’s most influential religious houses.
Dedicated to St Peter and closely tied to the Crown, it accumulated land, wealth and prestige. Its buildings spread across several acres, with cloisters, a great church, guest halls and a mill fed by the purpose‑built Abbey River. All of this ended abruptly in 1537, when Henry VIII dissolved the monastery, expelled the community and had the buildings dismantled; by the 18th century, little more than earthworks survived.
The first burial of Henry VI
One of the abbey’s most striking historical moments came in May 1471, when the body of Henry VI was brought from the Tower of London after his death. Contemporary records show that Abbot John Burton received the corpse, assisted by the monks and local clergy.
Royal officials such as Sir Thomas Montgomery and John Paston were involved in the transfer, and it’s likely that nobles loyal to Edward IV, men like John Howard, Lord Howard (later Duke of Norfolk), and William, Lord Hastings, oversaw the arrangements to ensure the burial passed without Lancastrian demonstration.
We can reasonably infer that senior Yorkist courtiers, the King’s household officers, and representatives of the Bishop of Winchester were present, given Chertsey lay within his diocese. Henry was buried with quiet dignity in the abbey church, and almost immediately reports of miracles at his tomb began to circulate, turning Chertsey into a modest site of Lancastrian pilgrimage.
The second burial of Henry VI
His rest didn’t last. In 1484, Richard III ordered Henry’s remains moved to St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, a politically useful relocation that placed the former king under Yorkist control and in a royal mausoleum more fitting for a crowned monarch. By the 18th century, antiquaries such as William Stukeley wrote about Chertsey’s ruins and Henry’s brief burial there, though they relied more on tradition than surviving monastic records.
Today the site, known locally as Abbeyfields, is a Scheduled Monument. The buildings have vanished, but archaeological digs have uncovered fragments of its past, and the memory of Henry VI’s short, melancholy sojourn there still clings to the landscape.
Chertsey Abbey isn’t just a ruin; it’s a reminder of England’s monastic grandeur, of dynasties rising and falling, and of the fragile dignity afforded to kings in death. Walk the grounds and you’ll sense the echo of cloisters, the rhythm of prayer, and the shadow of a monarch whose body lay, for a time, beneath its vanished roof.
Further Reading
- The Strange Company of Saints: Martyrs, Passion‑Bearers, and the Rest of Us
- Saints: Meta hub – Contains the story of the saints including the Henry VI series
FAQ
Henry VI’s body was taken to Chertsey Abbey in May 1471 because it offered a quiet, controllable setting for a politically sensitive burial after his death in the Tower of London. Abbot John Burton received the corpse, and Yorkist officials oversaw the arrangements to prevent Lancastrian demonstrations.
The abbey was dissolved in 1537 during Henry VIII’s Dissolution of the Monasteries. Its buildings were demolished soon after, leaving no visible remains above ground.
Only fragments survive, mostly archaeological finds, documentary records and landscape features that show where the abbey once stood.