Langdon
Title
Langdon
Also Known As
Langedonne, Languedona, West Langdon
Dates
Founded 1189-1192; dissolved 1535
Dedication
Mary; Thomas Becket
Affiliation
Medieval Diocese
Circary
History
Langdon was founded 1189-1192 by William de Auberville of Westhanger. The first brothers came from Leiston. On its dissolution in 1535, the site was granted first to the archbishop of Canterbury, and then into secular ownership.
Much of the former monastic complex was demolished, and a farmhouse was later built on the site. The site was partly excavated in the 1880s.
Much of the former monastic complex was demolished, and a farmhouse was later built on the site. The site was partly excavated in the 1880s.
Heads of Community
Abbots
Bartholomew, ?
William, ?
Richard, fl. 1206
Peter, fl. 1227
Robert, fl. 1236
John, fl. 1248
Nicholas, fl. 1276
W., fl. 1284
Roger de Ore, fl. 1289
William (de Digepet?), ca. 1310s-ca.1340s
John de Hakynton (or of Hackington), 1369-?
Robert de Estry (or Eastry), 1381-?
John, 1392-aft. 1415
Philip
Thomas, ca. 1446-ca. 1459
Walter Hamond, fl. 1467
John Kentwell, ?-1475
John Brondysch, fl. 1478
Robert Waynflett/Wanflete, ca. 1482-ca. 1491
Richard Coley, ca. 1494-ca. 1500
John Yorke, fl. 1519
William Dayer/Dare, ?-1535
Bartholomew, ?
William, ?
Richard, fl. 1206
Peter, fl. 1227
Robert, fl. 1236
John, fl. 1248
Nicholas, fl. 1276
W., fl. 1284
Roger de Ore, fl. 1289
William (de Digepet?), ca. 1310s-ca.1340s
John de Hakynton (or of Hackington), 1369-?
Robert de Estry (or Eastry), 1381-?
John, 1392-aft. 1415
Philip
Thomas, ca. 1446-ca. 1459
Walter Hamond, fl. 1467
John Kentwell, ?-1475
John Brondysch, fl. 1478
Robert Waynflett/Wanflete, ca. 1482-ca. 1491
Richard Coley, ca. 1494-ca. 1500
John Yorke, fl. 1519
William Dayer/Dare, ?-1535
Status
Abbey
Archival Sources
Brighton, East Sussex and Brighton and Hove Record Office
AMS6574 (cartulary copy)
Canterbury, Canterbury Cathedral Archives and Library
CCA-DCc-ChAnt/A/41/11 (ca. 1200)
CCA-DCc-ChAnt/A/41/14 (1230s)
CCA-DCc-ChAnt/A/41/18 (13th c.)
CCA-DCc-ChAnt/A/41/23 (ca. 1200)
Kew, The National Archives
E 135/1/17 (15th c.)
E 164/29 (14th-15th c.; cartulary)
E 322/120 (1535)
AMS6574 (cartulary copy)
Canterbury, Canterbury Cathedral Archives and Library
CCA-DCc-ChAnt/A/41/11 (ca. 1200)
CCA-DCc-ChAnt/A/41/14 (1230s)
CCA-DCc-ChAnt/A/41/18 (13th c.)
CCA-DCc-ChAnt/A/41/23 (ca. 1200)
Kew, The National Archives
E 135/1/17 (15th c.)
E 164/29 (14th-15th c.; cartulary)
E 322/120 (1535)
Reference
Bibliography
Hope, William Henry St John. “Note on the Mediaeval Paving Tiles from Langdon Abbey.” Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of London, Second Series, 11 (1886): 175. https://archive.org/details/proceedingsofsoc1112soci/page/n189/mode/2up.
———. “On the Premonstratensian Abbey at West Langdon.” Archaeologia Cantiana 15 (1883): 59–67. https://kentarchaeology.org.uk/node/9784.
Page, William, ed. “Houses of Premonstratensian Canons: The Abbey of West Langdon.” In A History of the County of Kent, 2:169–72. London, 1926. https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/kent/vol2/pp169-172.
Image Credit
Remains of Langdon Abbey, now part of the cellars of the later farmhouse, 2021. Wikimedia.
Files
Collection
Citation
“Langdon,” A Premonstratensian Atlas, accessed October 16, 2026, https://yvonneseale.org/atlas/items/show/95.