in 1506 an outbreak of the 'sweating sickness' wiped out the monastic community, the abbot himself being the last to die. The abbey site and estate was given to Lady Margaret Beaufort in 1507, and ended up in the ownership of Christ's College, Cambridge. Ruins A few sections of the church walls remain standing, and demonstrate their traditional Norfolk flintwork. There are some remaining carved details in the window arches and doorways. However, little else survives apart from foundations. The site is now in the care of English Heritage, and freely accessible to the public. The abbey ruins are Grade I listed, originally listed as St Mary's Abbey. Four bays of the 6-bay chancel survive to roof height. There were some restorations in 1864 by RM Phipson, Chief Architect of the Diocese of Norwich. They form part of a wider heritage site, which is a Scheduled Monument. Within that wider site there are two further Grade I listings: the mixed medieaval-19th-century farmhouse called Creake Abbey Farmhouse (but which was originally itself listed as Creake Abbey) and the garden walls between the abbey ruins and Creake Abbey Farmhouse. There is a separate commercial enterprise, adjacent to the abbey ruins and Creake Abbey Farmhouse, which is called Creake Abbey. This is a café and farm shop, and hosts a farmers' market on the first Saturday of each month. References The Heritage Trail (1998–2005). Creake Abbey. Retrieved October 21, 2005. Further reading Reference to the abbey and its benefactor Walter Aslake in: Peter M. Barber & Michelle P. Brown, "The Aslake world map", Imago Mundi, The International Journal for the History of Cartography, Volume 44, 1992 - Issue 1, p. 24, this page of article reproduced at Taylor and Francis Online on 29 July 2008. [Accessed 16 Dec. 2018] External links The Abbey of Creake - Victoria County History at British History Online Creake Abbey - the abbey at PastScape.org, English Heritage Abbey Farmhouse - includes remains of the abbey's domestic buildings, at PastScape.org, English Heritage Visitor information and research: English Heritage Augustinian monasteries in England English Heritage sites in Norfolk Ruins in Norfolk Monasteries in Norfolk 1231 establishments in England Christian monasteries established in the 13th century 1500s disestablishments in England