1237, Founded by Henry III. Dedicated to SS. Mary and Edward--Inhabited by Monks from Beaulieu--1239, Receives its charter from Henry III.--1539, Suppressed. Annual revenue, £100, 12s. 8d.--Granted to Sir William Paulet who adapts part of it to the purpose of a dwelling--1572, Comes into possession of the Earl of Hertford, and late in the 17th century into the possession of the Earl of Huntingdon. At first sight, the abbey is not impressive. There are no majestic towers nor light and graceful spires--nothing but dense luxuriant foliage. The cloisters have vanished entirely, but where they stood is a deep turfed court, thick with trees and bounded with ivy-covered walls. “Behind this court is the site of the refectory, entirely destroyed except for its cloister walls; to the left the quarters of the lay brothers; to the right the wonderful triple arch of the chapter-house; and in front, seen only dimly through the trees, the windowed wall of the south aisle of the church.” All the buildings to the south of the cloister have been destroyed. The abbey church is fortunately in a fairly good state of preservation, for with the exception of the north transept the rest of the ruin is intact. It is of course roofless, but the elegant east window still conveys an idea of the elevation of this exquisite building. The nave was of eight bays with chapels, the choir of five bays with aisles, the transepts (with eastern chapels) measured 120 feet, and there was also a presbytery and central tower. The whole building appears to have been about 200 feet in length by 60 in breadth. Compared with Beaulieu, when both the abbeys were standing, Netley was far the smaller of the two. The little abbey’s almost perfect proportions are very apt to deceive one as to its real size, and its dimensions are very much smaller than one would ever imagine. Its length was 220 feet, while its height inside the church was only 43 feet. Of the classical reserved 13th century style, Netley, along with the abbeys of York and Rievaulx, attain more than any other the finality of pure Gothic architecture.