St Oswald's Priory, Gloucester facts for kids

View of the ruins of the Priory from the south side.

A 9th-century Anglo-Saxon cross found at the Priory, now in Gloucester City Museum & Art Gallery. (Painted replica on right).

The north side of the Priory.

St Oswald's Priory was founded by Æthelflæd, daughter of Alfred the Great, and her husband Æthelred, ealdorman of Mercia, in the late 880s or the 890s. It appears to have been an exact copy of the Old Minster, Winchester It is a Grade I listed building.

The site was an important part of the Burh of Gloucester and was supported by the ruling family of the time including king Æthelstan. From the 11th century its importance declined, becoming a minor house of Canons regular until suppression in 1536. The building was damaged during the English Civil War and largely demolished in 1643.