Things to see and do at Cleeve Abbey
There’s lots to see and do at Cleeve Abbey. Below, you can find out about the highlights, including dressing-up opportunities for kids, rare and secret sights to look out for, and details about Cleeve’s second-hand bookshop.
Explore the Cloister
Today the Cloister is still enclosed on all four sides. The monks would have spent much of their time here. Look for the rare trefoil headed arched recess which marked the abbot's seat for the daily spiritual reading.
In the part of the cloister which later became a farmhouse, you can see two fireplaces, one with a bread oven intact. A partition wall here has been partly exposed, so you can see its wattle and daub construction.
Enter the Refectory
Originally the dining hall for the monks, the spacious Refectory room at Cleeve has a magnificent carved oak roof. See if you can spot the angels holding shields on the corbels (or brackets), supporting the main trusses (the roof’s framework).
Where the roof timbers intersect, there are intricately carved bosses, or decorative knobs: each one is different. Looking down into the room are 22 carved angels connected by a carved vine. Hidden from view is a secret - The Green Man - perhaps a maker's mark.
See the monastic Dormitory
One of the finest existing monastic dormitories left in Britain, the dormitory at Cleeve is a single open room where the monks slept.
At one end is the entrance to the night stairs; at the other is the doorway to the loo. You can sit on the window seat with its decorative tiles and look out at the roof which dates from the 17th or 18th century.
Discover the Chapter House
The Chapter House was the place monks met each day to discuss business. You can still see evidence of its use in the lead socket on the wall for a reading lantern.
Look up to the curved ceiling at the traces of painted masonry. At the end of the room, the pointed windows divided by elegant columns give you a sense of the room's faded beauty.
Spot lions, dragons and monks
Look through the protective hatchway into the Painted Chamber at Cleeve Abbey, and you can see a large, late 15th-century wall painting on the left-hand wall depicting the story of a man crossing a bridge from the Gesta Romanorum. Can you see the lion and horned dragon?
By the door of the gallery leading to the Painted Chamber is the head of a monk – graffiti from medieval times.
Have some fun
In the Education Room, young visitors can try tile stamping to make their own tile patterns. Youngsters can also dress up in monks' robes – a perfect photo opportunity.
Families can use the story bag of Brother Cedric and the Missing Sheep as an engaging, interactive way to explore Cleeve Abbey.
Look out for the fun monk facts around the abbey and discover how to say 'no' in the monks' own sign language.
Pick up a good book
Looking for your next page turner? Or perhaps you have a few books that you'd like to donate? Stop by Cleeve Abbey’s secondhand bookshop within the Abbey buildings.
Thank you! Every book you buy or donate goes towards helping the charity look after England’s heritage.