Netley Abbey is a ruined
late medieval monastery in the village of
Netley near
Southampton in
Hampshire, England. The abbey was founded in 1239 as a house for
Roman Catholic monks of the austere
Cistercian order. Despite being a royal abbey, Netley was never rich, produced no influential scholars nor churchmen, and its nearly 300-year history was quiet. The monks were best known to their neighbours for the generous hospitality they offered to travellers on land and sea.