Denny Abbey Nuns’ Refectory

Denny Abbey was founded in 1159 as a Benedictine Monastery. It then became a retirement home for the Knights Templar and after their suppression, a Franciscan nunnery. After the Dissolution of the abbey it became a farm.

The Nuns’ refectory was converted into a barn and later used as a cowshed before being taken over in the 1960s by English Heritage and the farm becoming the Museum of Farmland Life. When all the manure was cleared from the barn, many of the origianl blocked up cart entrance from its days as a barn can be seen in the photograph below. The black and white photograph shows it in use as a barn.

The Nun’s Refectory as a barn in the 19th century

The Nun’s Refectory as part of Denny Abbey and Farmland Museum, present day