Cholsey Abbey facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Cholsey Abbey was an Anglo-Saxon nunnery in Cholsey in the English county of Berkshire (now Oxfordshire), which was founded in 986.

History

After King Edward the Martyr was murdered, his stepmother, Ælfthryth, was implicated in the crime. Edward's death had allowed Ælfthryth's son, Ethelred the Unready, to become King of England. Both Ælfthryth and Ethelred were instrumental in establishing Cholsey Abbey: an act of expiation for Edward's death.

Following the Danish attack on Wallingford in 1006, it is thought that the invaders burnt the nunnery to the ground. However, some ruins may have survived to be rebuilt as Cholsey parish church, where Anglo-Saxon masonry survives in the tower.

Location

The site, nothing of which remains on the ground, lies immediately north-west of large village with its many amenities.

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