Things To See and Do at Muchelney Abbey
Visit Muchelney Abbey to explore the ruins of this once-important monastery. There are plenty of remains to fire your imagination. Here are a few of the highlights.
Take the cloister walk
Preserved within the abbot's lodging, a 16th-century walk still exists as part of the original cloister range. Visit today, and you can see a display of stonework, including the feet of a statue of Christ.
In the panelled wall, you can see a doorway, a cupboard where the monks’ cutlery was stored and a laver where the monks washed their hands before eating.
The Interior Rooms
Built in the 14th century, the kitchens were originally one room with a high-pitched roof.
Remodelled to fit a pair of back-to-back fireplaces in the 15th century, they still give a sense of daily life at the time. The Cheese Room with its fine interior, coffered ceiling and beautiful fireplace now houses an exhibition of stonework. See highlights from the collection online here before you visit.
See an ancient loo!
In a plain two storey outbuilding beside the abbey is a rare surviving example of a monastic latrine, or loo.
Known as a reredorter, pop in and you can look down from the upper floor to see the open arches and sewer channel below. Once only accessible from the adjacent dormitory, you can still see the fixings for the bench of loos and the partitions between each seat for privacy.