Llanthony Priory

The Augustinian priory of Llanthony Secunda in Gloucester was founded in 1136 as a cell of the mother church, Llanthony Prima, at Llanthony in Monmouthshire. At the time the Welsh borders were in turmoil and the prior and canons required a refuge, but when peace returned successive priors remained in Gloucester and Llanthony Secunda flourished, eventually absorbing its impoverished Welsh parent in 1481.

In 1301 the church was gutted by fire. The west front was rebuilt but most of the fabric surviving above ground today dates from the end of the 15th century when the then prior, Henry Deane, reconstructed both church and precinct, including the outer gatehouse. By this time Llanthony Secunda was the richest Augustinian house in England, entertaining the court of Henry VII in 1500 and 1501. The priory was dissolved in 1538 and in 1540 the site was sold, though part of the priory church remained in use by the parish.

Three generations of the Porter family used the priory as their country house until 1632 when parts of it were leased out to a succession of tenants. During the Civil War Llanthony suffered damage from both sides, especially in the 1643 Siege of Gloucester when Llanthony served as a base for the besieging forces. From the shelter of the priory walls and buildings the Royalist troops bombarded the city with bullets and received shots in return. One account tells of cannon fire from the Barbican that landed at Llanthony and 'made the stones of the wall fly about their ears...'

The parochial church at Llanthony was destroyed, and it was decided to upgrade the church in the adjoining parish of Hempsted rather than rebuild it. This was also the end of Llanthony House as a gentleman's residence and sometime after 1670 the timber-studded range was converted into a farmhouse and the property was given over to agriculture. By the 18th century there was little left of the church and cloisters. Writing in 1727 Matthew Gibson noted that 'of the conventual church not one stone is left upon another that is not thrown down. All of the buildings belonging to the priory are likewise destroyed, except some of the meanest offices. Neither remain there any marks of its former greatness except the west and southgates'

In the mid-19th Century the site was redesigned to create Llanthony Abbey Farm, which was then sold in 1898 to J. M. Collett, chemical manufacturer, who intended to build a factory there. However, the farm was appropriated by the Great Western Railway in 1906. In the 20th century, various enterprises leased the farm including horn manufacturers and the Gloucester City Rifle Club. The importance of the upstanding remains of the priory was officially recognised in 1949 when the site was protected as a Scheduled Ancient Monument. In 1974 British Railways sold it to Gloucester City Council, who have just granted Planning Permission for a new college campus to be built there.