St. Oswalds Priory (Gloucester)
St. Oswalds Priory is a picturesque ruin in the ancient city of Gloucester.
It was founded in 909 by Ethelfleda, the Lady of the Mercians. Ethelfleda was the daughter of Alfred the Great, and an outstanding general in her own right, who won back the Five Boroughs, including Leicester, from Danish control.
Ethelfleda acquired the bones of the martyr St. Oswald, King of Northumbria, and brought them here, thus creating an important pilgrimage centre.
What is left today is a row of arches, mainly dating from around the 13th century, but one dating from Ethelfledas time.