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Kilburn Priory

1130s establishments in England1537 disestablishments in EnglandAugustinian monasteries in EnglandChristian monasteries established in the 12th centuryHistory of the London Borough of Camden
Monasteries in London
Remains of Kilburn Priory as it appeared in 1722
Remains of Kilburn Priory as it appeared in 1722

Kilburn Priory was a small monastic community of nuns established around 1130–1134 three miles north-west of the City of London, where Watling Street (now Kilburn High Road) met the stream now known as the Westbourne, but variously known as Cuneburna, Keneburna, Keeleburne, Coldburne, or Caleburn, meaning either the royal or cow's stream. The priory gave its name to the area now known as Kilburn, and the local streets Priory Road, Kilburn Priory, Priory Terrace, and Abbey Road.The site was used until 1130 as a hermitage by Godwyn, a recluse, who subsequently gave the property to the conventual church of St. Peter, Westminster. The priory was established with the consent of Gilbert Universalis, bishop of London, before his death in August 1134. Though it was originally subordinate to Westminster Abbey, whose monks followed the Benedictine rule, by 1377 it was described as being an order of Augustinian canonesses. It was once believed that the Ancrene Riwle was written for the first three nuns of Kilburn, but this is now thought unlikely. Agnes Strickland states that the priory was established in 1128 for the three pious and charitable ladies-in-waiting of Queen Matilda of Scotland, consort of Henry I, named Emma, Gunilda, and Cristina. After the death of the queen [in 1118] these ladies retired to the hermitage of Kilburn near London, where there was a holy well, or medicinal spring. This was changed to a priory in 1128, as the deed says, for the reception of these . . . damsels who had belonged to the chamber of Matilda. Kilburn Priory was dissolved by Henry VIII in 1537 and its site in Kilburn was given to the Knights of St. John in exchange for other property, and then seized back by the crown in 1540.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Kilburn Priory (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Kilburn Priory
Abbey Road, London South Hampstead (London Borough of Camden)

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Wikipedia: Kilburn PrioryContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 51.541 ° E -0.1896 °
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St Mary's, Kilburn (St Mary's and All Souls)

Abbey Road
NW6 4SN London, South Hampstead (London Borough of Camden)
England, United Kingdom
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Remains of Kilburn Priory as it appeared in 1722
Remains of Kilburn Priory as it appeared in 1722
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Nearby Places

West End Lane
West End Lane

West End Lane is a street in inner north-west London, England (grid reference TQ2585) that runs for about one mile between Kilburn High Road to the south and Finchley Road to the north. Located in the London Borough of Camden, and the NW6 postal district, the street winds through West Hampstead with a mix of residential and commercial buildings. The three West Hampstead stations are all located on the road at the centre of the district of that name. In the north-east (on the other side of Finchley Road) it today becomes Frognal Lane, although this stretch was once included as part of West End Lane. It also marks the western boundary of South Hampstead. It is not connected to the West End of Central London, which is around three miles to the south-east. Most of the street is a bus route. A turning off West End Lane is Acol Road. The lane takes its name from the Medieval West End hamlet, built on land belonging to Kilburn Priory, denoting the western extent of Hampstead. In the 19th century, the once rural area was gradually merged into the expanding London suburbs. The first station at West Hampstead was opened in 1871, with two other railway lines adding stations nearby before the end of the century as it become a popular location for commuters. Most of the buildings date from the late 19th century onwards, with a number of Edwardian redbrick mansion blocks and interwar art deco apartment buildings. West End Green is located near the northern end of the street, north of West Hampstead, just as it turns towards Frognal. The North London Railway's West Hampstead stop was known as West End Lane station until 1975.