London's new Chinese embassy will include a free museum displaying the ruins of a medieval abbey

"The old Royal Mint building, now owned by the Chinese government, was built on the site of a 14th-century abbey founded by King Edward III in 1350, which in turn stood on a Black Death cemetery. The foundation was minor and intended to serve what was essentially a new royal free chapel, with just an abbot and six monks. However, by the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries, it had become the third richest Cistercian Abbey in Britain."

"Excavation work by MOLA in the 1980s uncovered large remains of the old Abbey, and as these are deemed to be of comparable significance to a scheduled monument, they are being preserved by the Chinese embassy conversion works. And importantly, will be open to the public to visit. A new cultural centre will sit on the southern side of the embassy, and part of the building will be devoted to the Abbey ruins and their history."

The former Royal Mint building in London sits on a site that includes a 14th-century abbey founded by King Edward III in 1350 and earlier a Black Death cemetery. St Mary Grace Abbey began as a small royal free chapel with an abbot and six monks and grew to become the third richest Cistercian abbey in Britain by the Dissolution, with a 1535 net annual income of £547. After the abbey's closure most buildings were demolished; the site later became a large tobacco warehouse and was redeveloped in the early 1800s as the Royal Mint. Excavations by MOLA in the 1980s uncovered large abbey remains now treated as comparable in significance to a scheduled monument and preserved during conversion of the Royal Mint building for the Chinese government. The Chinese embassy conversion includes a new cultural centre with a Heritage Interpretation Centre in the basement that will showcase the ruins, interpret the abbey's history and later uses as a Royal Navy victualling yard and tobacco warehouse, and will be open to the public; any further medieval remains found during construction will be included in the museum.

Read at ianVisits