Open to visitorsa National Trust place — check opening times and admission before you go
Substantial ruinsruined, but plenty survives above ground
Hailes was a Cistercian abbey founded in 1246 by Richard of Cornwall, and from 1270 it held a phial said to contain the blood of Christ — a relic that drew pilgrims in such numbers that Chaucer name-checked it in the Canterbury Tales. Henry VIII’s men dissolved the abbey in 1539 and the relic was destroyed; low cloister walls and arcades are what remain, near Winchcombe. Run by English Heritage, open on set days. Ashchurch station is about 13km west.
Visit on the National Trust website →
More at the National Heritage List entry
