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St Margaret's Convent, Hertfordshire

1160 establishments in England1535 disestablishments in EnglandArchaeological sites in HertfordshireBenedictine nunneries in EnglandChristian monasteries established in the 12th century
Convents in EnglandDacorumMonasteries in Hertfordshire
St Margarets Hertfordshire
St Margarets Hertfordshire

St Margaret's Convent was a convent of the Benedictine order near Great Gaddesden in Hertfordshire, England. Founded in 1160, it was abolished as a consequence of King Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries in the 1530s. It was also known as The Priory of Ivinghoe, St. Margaret's, in the Wood and Muresley Priory.It was founded by Henry de Blois, Bishop of Winchester. Some accounts point to an earlier foundation by Thomas Becket before 1129. It therefore predated the nearby Ashridge Priory. In 1280 King Edward I gave lands in Surrey to the convent, but it was always known for its poverty.Names of some of the prioresses survive, from Isoda, elected in 1250, to Margaret Hardwick, in place at the time of closure under the first Act of Suppression of 1535, when the convent had five nuns, and an annual income of £18 8s 9d. It was sold to Sir John Dauncey in 1538, along with the Manor of Muresley. It changed hands over the centuries, finally passing to the Earls of Bridgewater and Lord Brownlow in 1823.The buildings are described as being of Totternhoe stone with mullioned windows, square mouldings and trefoil-headed stained glass windows. The structure survived as a manor house until at least 1802, but had been almost completely demolished by 1862.Several place names persist from the convent, including St Margaret's Lane and Farm; and the district north-west of Great Gaddesden is still known as St Margaret's. The modern Buddhist monastery of Thai Forest Tradition, Amaravati Buddhist Monastery is situated only a quarter of a mile from the site.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article St Margaret's Convent, Hertfordshire (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

St Margaret's Convent, Hertfordshire
St Margaret's, Dacorum Great Gaddesden

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N 51.795681 ° E -0.529177 °
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St Margarets Priory (Remains)

St Margaret's
HP1 3BZ Dacorum, Great Gaddesden
England, United Kingdom
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St Margarets Hertfordshire
St Margarets Hertfordshire
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Great Gaddesden
Great Gaddesden

Great Gaddesden is a village and civil parish in Dacorum Hundred in Hertfordshire, England. It is located in the Chiltern Hills, north of Hemel Hempstead. The parish borders Flamstead, Hemel Hempstead, Nettleden and Little Gaddesden and also Studham in Bedfordshire. The Church of St. John the Baptist was probably the site of a pre-Christian sanctuary. The church shows features of every period since the 12th century. Part of the chancel with Roman bricks dates back to the early 12th century. The old church was extended by the south aisle in the 13th century and the north aisle in the 14th century, while the west tower was built in the 15th century and the north chapel in the 18th. The medieval convent of St Margaret's stood northwest of the village. For a while the site served as a WW2 Royal Canadian Air Force transit camp and later a boarding school for children with special needs, and it is now a Theravadin Buddhist monastery of Thai Forest Tradition, the Amaravati Buddhist Monastery, complete with temple. Gaddesden Place, east of the village, was built from 1768 to 1773 for the Halsey family. It is surrounded by a large park. In 1905 a fire destroyed the interior of the main house. The River Gade takes its name from Gaddesden. Its clear water is used for watercress beds along the river, and at Water End, south of Great Gaddesden, is an old corn mill. The bridge over the river at Water End has a medieval appearance but was built in the 19th century.