In this section:

Community Celebration and Cohesion - Welcoming Schools and Special Interest Groups - Programme of Site Development - Milestones in the Development of the Abbey Site - Historic Landscape Survey - Next Steps:Priorities for Site Development - Documentation

National Grid Ref: 120/SK 264 025 Scheduled Ancient Monument No: Warwickshire 119. Polesworth is unique as a village in North Warwickshire on the borders of Staffordshire with a rich history that can be traced from Saxon times and earlier. The history of the village is bound up with Saxon monarchy, the Benedictine movement in pre Norman Conquest England, the expansion of monastic life, hospitality, social concern and community in the middle ages; the feuding and instability of the later middle ages.

In addition to agriculture, the village has seen the long history of coal mining, the development of a huge local mining industry around the (now defunct) Pooley Pit, the similar rise and demise of canal boat building, and brick and ‘heavy’ clay production. The village may have links with the childhood and education of William Shakespeare. Certainly John Donne was a visitor, and Michael Drayton was educated here. The Abbey Church stands on the north bank of the River Anker in the middle of the village. The Abbey dates from the early part of the Twelfth Century and was considerably changed at the Dissolution and again in the mid-nineteenth century. This is revealed in the way earlier building materials have been reused to form the structures that are with us today, and the landscape still reflects the changing needs of the community through the ages. Already Polesworth is a place of interest where people come to visit and enjoy the heritage and atmosphere of the Abbey, its cloister and grounds.