St. Benet's Abbey
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St. Benet's Abbey is a ruined abbey situated on the River Bure within The Broads National Park in Norfolk, England.
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St. Benet's constitutes the remains of the only religious house in Norfolk before the Norman Conquest. It was also the only religious house not closed down by Henry VIII during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Instead he united the Abbacy with the Bishopric of Norwich and therefore, the Bishops of Norwich have stayed Abbots of St. Benet's to this day. However, the buildings were allowed to fall into decay and the Abbey was abandoned in about 1545.
The Bishop of Norwich, as Abbot, arrives once a year, standing in the bow of a wherry and preaches at the annual service on the first day of August.
King Canute gave the abbey the manor of Worstead.
On 2nd August 1987 a cross made from oak from the Royal Estate at Sandringham was erected on the site of the High Altar.
The site was enclosed by a wall with battlements in 1327.
In more recent times, a farmer built a windpump inside the abbey structures.