St. Leonards Priory (Stamford)
St. Leonard's Priory is a historic building on the outskirts of the outstanding Lincolnshire town of Stamford.
The extensive remains can be found in a field off Priory Road to the East of the town.
The priory was a Benedictine establishment.
Tradition says that it was originally founded by the brilliant but controversial St. Wilfrid, whose 7th century crypts at Hexham Priory and Ripon Cathedral can still be visited, and who was the winning advocate for the Roman faction at the Synod of Whitby.
During one of his spells of exile, Wilfrid was Bishop at nearby Leicester, and he died not far away at Oundle.
The existing priory building dates from about 1090, and the impressive West Front was constructed about 1150, just before Gothic became the dominant force in ecclesistical architecture.