The extraordinary history of Coggeshall Abbey in Essex, a Cistercian monastery dating from the 13th century, has been revealed thanks to the efforts of a volunteer at the National Trust's Coggeshall Grange Barn.
The Barn, which was once an integral part of the Abbey, is one of the oldest surviving timber-framed buildings in Europe.
Members of the local community of Coggeshall saved the Barn from demolition in the 1980s, before it was taken on by the National Trust. More recently, volunteers at the Barn helped to secure funding from the Local Heritage Initiative in 2006 to begin research on the Abbey's history. The research reveals tales of murder, feuds and power struggles, along with fascinating details of everyday medieval life.
