PLACE NAME
Shap Abbey was established just outside the village of Shap in Cumbria for a group of Premonstratensian monks in about 1199. It was built by a local baron called Thomas, son of Gospatric, and takes its name from the local area. Known at first as Hep, the name comes from the Old English word for a pile of stones, Hēap, and probably refers to a local stone circle just to the south of the village. It evolved over the course of the next hundred years, becoming Yhap in 1292 before finally settling on something closer to its modern form, S(c)hape in 1370. The abbey was closed in 1540 under the orders of King Henry VIII during his 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.
