Place Name
As with many of the streets in South Wimbledon this is named after a former religious house, due to the proximity of the site of Merton Priory. The developers however chose to use the anglicised spelling of Beaulieu possibly to make it easier to spell.Beaulieu Abbey was founded in 1204 by King John as a Cistercian monastery. It was part of the Cistercian reform movement, emphasising a return to strict monastic life, focused on manual labour and self-sufficiency. The abbey was dedicated to the Virgin Mary and became an important and wealthy religious institution during the Middle Ages. Its location, in a secluded area by the Beaulieu River, was chosen to reflect the Cistercian preference for isolated settings, allowing the monks to focus on their religious duties. The abbey’s construction took decades, with the monks themselves doing much of the work. Over time, the Abbey grew in both size and influence, owning significant lands across southern England. It also became a centre for pilgrimage due to its relics and the prestige of its abbots. At its peak, the abbey housed around 30 monks and 100 lay brothers, who managed the abbey’s estates. Its prosperity, however, came to an end during the Dissolution of the Monasteries under King Henry VIII in the 1530s. In 1538, the abbey was surrendered to the Crown, and much of its wealth confiscated. The monastic buildings were largely demolished, though some parts were repurposed into a residence by Thomas Wriothesley, the 1st Earl of Southampton.
