The spectacular ruins of Wenlock Priory are the remains of a 12th century church that belonged to the Cluniac monastry, refounded in 1079 and 1082, on the site of an earlier 7th century foundation, by Roger de Montgomery. It is thought to be the final resting place of St Milburga, whose bones were discovered during restoration work in 1101.
Merewalh, King of the Magonsaete founded the original Anglo-Saxon monastry here in AD680 and Merewalh's daughter quickly became its abbess. She was later canonised.
After her death in AD727 little is historically known of the monastry until the Norman Conquest.
The priory at Much Wenlock wasn't inhabited by monks until after the Norman conquest. Following the reformation of the monastry, in the early fourteenth century, the priory church was lavishly and completely rebuilt.
Considerable remains are left of the 350ft long church, including the north and south trancept and the naïve. Following the dissolution in 1540, several buildings, including the late 15th century Priors House were converted into a private residence and so are not accessible. It remains inhabited to this day, 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.
Today, Wenlock Priory is the perfect place to sit on a warm, mid-summers day and relax. The delightful grounds has a well groomed collection of topiary.
Wenlock Priory is closed 24th to 26th December, and also 1st January.