Remains of Barking Abbey, Barking, Greater London
These are the remains of Barking Abbey. It was built for Benedictine Nuns and dedicated to St. Mary and St. Ethelburga. It was founded by Erkenwald, later Bishop of London, for his sister Ethelburga, the first abbess. It was founded in c666. In 870 the whole congregation of nuns were burnt by the Danes. The abbey was then deserted for nearly a century, until its reuse in the reign of King Edgar (959-75). It then became one of the greatest nunneries of England. The Abbess was the most important of all other abbesses. It remained great until 1377, when flooding destroyed much of its lands. The abbey was surrendered in 1539 and pensions granted to the abbess and 30 nuns. Its buildings were soon demolished and the stone reused elsewhere.
