Godstow Abbey: a Benedictine nunnery, associated earthworks, leats and bridge, immediately south of Godstow Bridge

Scheduled area

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History & significance

Godstow Abbey is a Benedictine nunnery founded in the mid-twelfth century on the banks of the River Thames near Oxford. The site is significant as one of the principal religious houses for women in medieval Oxfordshire, acquiring considerable landed wealth and influence during the High and Late Medieval periods. The surviving remains comprise earthworks, including fragmentary structures and platforms indicative of the former monastic layout, along with associated water management features such as leats and a bridge that served the abbey's operations. The abbey was dissolved during the Reformation in the sixteenth century, after which the site was progressively dismantled, leaving only these archaeological traces visible in the landscape south of Godstow Bridge.

Godstow Abbey: a Benedictine nunnery, associated earthworks, leats and bridge, immediately south of Godstow Bridge is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1021366. View the official record →

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