Cerne Abbey in Cerne Abbas, England

Founded in 987 AD by the Anglo-Saxon nobleman Æthelmær and dissolved by Henry VIII in 1539, the abbey was converted into a private manor house and has remained in private hands ever since. Unlike the dramatic ruins found at Fountains or Rievaulx, Cerne Abbey is a working estate, lived in, cared for and quietly extraordinary. Two medieval buildings survive in remarkable condition. The Abbot's Porch, completed around 1509, is a three-storey Tudor gatehouse with carved royal heraldry, a two-storey oriel window and an original spy hole through which the porter would screen arriving visitors. The 1

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