Much Wenlock Priory
Encyclopedia
Much Wenlock Priory is a ruined 12th century monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
, located in Much Wenlock
Much Wenlock
Much Wenlock, earlier known as Wenlock, is a small town in central Shropshire, England. It is situated on the A458 road between Shrewsbury and Bridgnorth. Nearby, to the northeast, is the Ironbridge Gorge, and the new town of Telford...
, Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
, at . The foundation was a part of the Cluniac order, which was refounded in 1079 and 1082, on the site of an earlier 7th century monastery, by Roger de Montgomery. It is thought to be the final resting place of Saint Milburga
Milburga of Wenlock
Saint Mildburh was the Benedictine abbess of Wenlock Abbey.She was a daughter of Merewalh, King of the Mercian sub-kingdom of Magonsaete, and Saint Ermenburga. Saint Mildrith and Saint Mildgytha were her sisters. She had a mysterious power over birds; they would avoid damaging the local crops...
, whose bones were reputedly discovered during restoration work in 1101. Today, Wenlock Priory is in the care of English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
and is used mostly for recreational purposes. The grounds have a collection of topiary.
Early history
MerewalhMerewalh
Merewalh Merewalh Merewalh (sometimes given as Merwal or Merewald was a sub-king of the Magonsæte, a western cadet kingdom of Mercia thought to have been located in Herefordshire and Shropshire...
, King of the Magonsaete
Magonsaete
Magonsæte was a minor sub-kingdom of the greater Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia, thought to be coterminous with the Diocese of Hereford.The British territory of Pengwern was conquered by Oswiu of Northumbria in 656, while he was overlord of the Mercians. Western Pengwern was then occupied by Anglian...
founded the original Anglo-Saxon monastery here circa 680 and Merewalh's daughter quickly became its abbess, and was later canonised. After her death circa 727, however, little is historically known of the monastery until the Norman Conquest. It is known that the priory was inhabited by monks until after the Norman conquest. In the 12th century, the abbey was replaced by a Cluniac
Cluny Abbey
Cluny Abbey is a Benedictine monastery in Cluny, Saône-et-Loire, France. It was built in the Romanesque style, with three churches built in succession from the 10th to the early 12th centuries....
priory
Priory
A priory is a house of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or religious sisters , or monasteries of monks or nuns .The Benedictines and their offshoots , the Premonstratensians, and the...
for men.
Following the reformation of the monastery, in the early fourteenth century, the priory church was lavishly and completely rebuilt, and at today, considerable remains are left of the 350 feet (106.7 m), including the north and south transept and the nave.
Around the Priory, the town of Much Wenlock
Much Wenlock
Much Wenlock, earlier known as Wenlock, is a small town in central Shropshire, England. It is situated on the A458 road between Shrewsbury and Bridgnorth. Nearby, to the northeast, is the Ironbridge Gorge, and the new town of Telford...
was formed. The town is made up of a small network of intricate, narrow streets lined with timber-framed black and white buildings. Within the town is the well of St Milburga of Wenlock
Milburga of Wenlock
Saint Mildburh was the Benedictine abbess of Wenlock Abbey.She was a daughter of Merewalh, King of the Mercian sub-kingdom of Magonsaete, and Saint Ermenburga. Saint Mildrith and Saint Mildgytha were her sisters. She had a mysterious power over birds; they would avoid damaging the local crops...
which was said to have cured sight impairments and helped Victorian women find a suitor.
Dissolution
Following the dissolutionDissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
in 1540, several buildings, including the late 15th century Priors House were converted into a private residence. It remains inhabited to this day, and so is not accessible, however the fine architecture can still be seen and incorporates Norman and 15th century work. This gives us a clue of how grand the original priory church would have been.