Launde Abbey is an Elizabethan Manor House. It was originally built on the site of an Augustinian Priory founded in 1119. It is located in Leicestershire and it now used as a Conference and Retreat Centre by the Church of England Diocese of Leicester.

Launde is set in beautiful countryside. Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII's chief minister responsible for the dissolution of the monasteries, so liked its position that he wrote in his diary- "Myself for Launde". But Cromwell never occupied the house as he was executed in 1540 for treason. In that same the year the building of the new house commenced. His son, Gregory, lived at Launde Abbey for ten years after it's construction with his wife Elizabeth, the sister of Queen Jane Seymour.

The only remains of the original Priory Church is the chapel. The Chapel is an attraction for visitors and is used for daily worship by the resident community and guests.

Inside the Chapel

Submitted by Robby Robinson