"Ramsey town grew up around an Abbey, founded in AD 969, and for some 600 years the monastery grew to become one of the four most important Abbeys in the country. It survived rebellions and the Black Death, owned large swathes of land, hosted one of the largest international fairs on its land at St Ives, it had a large and important library and was a centre of academic importance before the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, and was known as ‘Ramsey the Golden’.
Unlike some of the other holy places in the Fens, like Ely or Peterborough where the medieval cathedrals remain as examples of their heritage, Ramsey has lost its Abbey in King Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries. The precincts became a quarry to the new owners, the Cromwell family, and the stone was sold to build several of the colleges in Cambridge. Today, the only obvious remains are St Thomas à Becket Church, part of the basement of Ramsey Abbey House, and the National Trust Ramsey Abbey Gatehouse".
Please download a copy of the Ramsey town walk leaflet and the Ramsey's hidden past displays. Local sites to visit include Ramsey Rural Museum and Ramsey Abbey Gatehouse, a National Trust property.
For further information please contact the Ramsey Initiative using the links on the right hand side of this page.