Wenlock Priory

A Bit of History…

Located in Much Wenlock, Shropshire, Wenlock Priory was originally an Anglo-Saxon monastery founded in the year 680 by the King of Mercia, Merewalh, for his daughter Milburga, who served as abbess until her death in 722. Her abbey was destroyed around 874 by the Danes and lay derelict until it was re-founded as a Minster by Leofric, Earl of Mercia and his wife Lady Godiva around the year 1050.

Excavations have shown that there was a Roman building on the site which was reused for the 7th-century church, and this Roman / Saxon church was still standing in the 11th century.

After the Norman conquest, Wenlock was re-founded as a priory for Cluniac monks some time between 1079 and 1082 by Roger Montgomery, Earl of Shrewsbury, and it is these impressive ruins that can be seen at the site today. The new monastery was dedicated to St Milburga and in 1101 the remains of St Milburga were rediscovered. As a result, Wenlock Priory became a popular destination for pilgrims in the medieval period and the priory prospered. That prosperity is perhaps best seen in the superb 13th-century church, which was said to be one of the finest in England. In 1102 Wenlock became a royal priory, and throughout the medieval period it hosted several monarchs.

Wenlock priory was one of the many monasteries that met their demise during Henry VIII‘s Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 16th century, at which point, monastic life ended at Wenlock and the church and other buildings were reduced to ruins.

The impressive remains of the medieval priory which survive today reflect the Cluniac love of elaborate decoration. Parts of the great Norman church still stand high. One of the highlights is the superbly decorated 12th-century chapter house, which dates to about 1140.