Folkestone Abbey (also known as the Priory of St. Eanswith) was a Benedictine foundation situated in Folkestone on the Kent coast.

First foundation

It was the first nunnery built in England, having been founded in 630 for the Benedictine order by Saint Eanswythe (or Eanswide), daughter of Eadbald, King of Kent, who was the son of Saint Ethelbert, the first Christian king among the English.

The abbey was dedicated to Saint Peter. Like many other similar foundations it was destroyed by the Danes.

Second foundation

In 1095 another monastery for Benedictine monks was erected on the same site by Nigel de Mundeville, Lord of Folkestone. This was an alien priory, a cell belong to the Abbey of Lonley or Lolley in Normandy, dedicated to St. Mary and St. Eanswith, whose relics were deposited in the church. The cliff on which the monastery was built was gradually undermined by the sea, and William de Abrincis in 1137 gave the monks a new site, that of the present church of Folkestone.

The conventual buildings were erected between the church and the sea coast. Being an alien priory it was occasionally seized by the king, when England was at war with France, but after a time it was made denizen and independent of the mother-house in Normandy and thus escaped the fate which befell most of the alien priories in the reign of Henry V. It continued to the time of the dissolution and was surrendered to the king on 15 November 1535. The names of twelve priors are known, the last being Thomas Barrett or Bassett. The net income at the dissolution was about £50. It was bestowed by Henry VIII on Edmund, Lord Clinton and Saye.

Remains

The only part of the monastic buildings remaining is a Norman doorway, but the foundations may be traced for a considerable distance.

This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia.