Hailes Abbey Hailes Abbey Hailes Abbey is two miles northeast of Winchcombe, Gloucestershire, England. Originally built in 1246 little remains of the abbey. The abbey is owned by the National Trust but financed and managed by English Heritage. The abbey was founded in 1246 by Richard, Earl of Cornwall, called "King of the Romans" and the younger brother of King Henry III of England. Richard founded the abbey to thank God after he had survived a shipwreck. Richard had been granted the manor of Hailes by King Henry, and settled it with Cistercian monks from Beaulieu Abbey in Hampshire. The great Cistercian
Hailes Abbey but these buildings were later demolished and now all that remains are a few low arches in a meadow with outlines in the grass. Surviving remains include the small church for the disappeared parish, with unrestored medieval wall-paintings. The abbey is owned by the National Trust and managed by English Heritage. Outside the remains of the Abbey is Hailes Church. The church is older than the abbey, and was consecrated in 1175. It later served as the Capella Ante Portas to the Abbey until the Abbey's dissolution in 1539. Inside the church are fine medieval wall paintings. The Abbey is