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Owned by English Heritage, Waverley Abbey was the very first monastery founded in Britain by the reforming Cistercian religious order. A small group of monks from France settled in this quiet spot by the River Wey in 1128, and Waverley soon became the springboard for Cistercian settlement in southern England. The impressive remains include the fine 13th century vaulted refectory or dining hall for the lay brothers, the Cistercians’ labour force.
In more recent times, the abbey has been used as a backdrop to many well known films including Elizabeth (1998) and Disney’s Into the Woods (2014).