15: The Precincts of The Abbey Church

Follow the path towards the Abbey until you reach Becketswell Road. Stop at the Abbey to see its amazing interiors and explore the medieval herb garden round the side. Becketswell Road originally passed closer to the church porch but in 1826 the Reverend William Papillon (vicar 1788-1836) secured the realignment of the ‘King’s highway’ to take its noise farther away from the church. In 1812 a school (opposite the Abbey Hall) was built at Papillon’s instigation on his land in Church Street. Note the curious wear on the capping stones of the ancient wall enclosing the churchyard. The rought iron gas lamp standards were once in adjacent streets. Several of the pine trees in the churchyard were planted by the Wymondham Society after the 1987 storm. In the churchyard you will find benches and picnic tables as well as information panels about the Abbey and its history.

WALK>> leave the Abbey grounds onto Becketswell Road.