The Abbey

Titchfield Abbey was home to a community of Premonstratensian canons, living a religious life of prayer and study.

The abbey was founded in 1231 by Peter des Roches, bishop of Winchester, and belonged to the Premonstratensian order.

The abbey as it may have appeared in the 14th century.  Drawing by Roger Hutchins © English Heritage Photo Library The canons lived a communal life under monastic vows, but were also involved in the wider community, preaching and teaching the Gospel. Of the 14 or 15 canons here, two served as vicars to nearby parish churches. 

Premonstratensian canons wore white habits, leading to their popular name the ‘white canons’. Each day, they would have attended eight services and mass in the monastic church, spending much of the remainder of the day reading and studying.

The abbey was suppressed by Henry VIII in 1537, and several of the monastic buildings were subsequently demolished. The original arrangement of the east range was rediscovered during excavations in the 1890s.