Grace Dieu Priory

One of the most beautiful historical sites in Leicestershire is Grace Dieu. Roesia de Verdun formed it between 1235 and 1241, and it was disbanded in October 1538. It was devoted to St. Mary and the Holy Trinity. The Friends of Grace Dieu Priory, a charitable organization of volunteers who manage the property today, raise money to maintain it and keep it free and open to the public.

In 1337, there were sixteen nuns living in the very sizable priory. It also had a hospital connection that provided care for twelve low-income patients. However, the priory did have certain peculiar customs, such as forbidding the nuns from ever leaving the grounds. Although the priory avoided the initial wave of lesser monasteries being dissolved, it was eventually closed in 1538.

The location was given to Sir Humphrey Foster after the Dissolution, who sold it to John Beaumont in 1539. He transformed the priory structures into a home, which he and his family lived in until Sir Ambrose Phillips, a wealthy lawyer who also constructed neighboring Garendon Hall, purchased it in 1684. The majority of the structures were demolished by Sir Ambrose, and by 1730, just two sections of the remaining structures still had roofs.

Location: Ashby Rd, Coalville LE67 5UG, England