PLACE NAME
Flaxley Abbey near the village of Flaxley in Gloucestershire is a former Cistercian monastery, founded in 1151 by Roger Fitzmiles, 2nd Earl of Hereford. It was allegedly founded on the spot where his father Milo, 1st Earl of Hereford was killed while hunting in the Forest of Dean in 1143. The origin of the place-name is from the Old English words fleax and Leah meaning clearing where flax is grown; it appears as Flaxlea in 1163. The abbey was closed in 1536 during Henry VIII’s cull of the monasteries. Like many of the roads on the St Helier’s estate this is named after British monasteries and abbeys in remembrance of the area’s historic ownership by Westminster Abbey. The road names are in alphabetical order, of which Aberconway Road in the north west of the estate is first.
