PLACE NAME
Quarr Abbey, on the Isle of Wight, was founded in 1132 by Baldwin de Redvers, 1st Earl of Devon, 4th Lord of the Isle of Wight. Its name comes from the local stone quarry which supplied stone for the Tower of London. Following its closure during King Henry VIII’s cull of the monasteries, in 1536, the abbey was demolished. It was rebuilt in the early 20thCentury as a monastery for a band of French monks who were living in exile on the Isle of Wight. The imposing building, combining French, Byzantine and Moorish architectural elements, has been described by Sir Nikolaus Pevsner as “among the most daring and successful church buildings of the early 20th century in England”. 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.
