The Museum & Priory 900

This year, Leominster Priory is celebrating the 900th anniversary of its refoundation by King Henry the 1st, with a month of celebrations.

All sorts of events are taking place, which you can find out about by going to https://prioryarts.org.uk/priory-900-programme. The Museum has helped the Priory to celebrate by creating a display of historic floor tiles. These were discovered during an archaeological dig in 2002 near the church, but have been hidden away in storage until this year.

They are medieval, certainly made before King Henry VIII’s Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 1530s. They may have come from the east end of the Priory building, which was demolished around 1539 on the order of the King’s commissioner.

These fragments can only give us a small idea of what the patterns on the whole floor of the Priory once looked like. The church would have looked very different in medieval times – full of patterns on the floor and coloured pictures on the walls, lit only by natural light or flickering candles.

Do come to see the tiles and all the other amazing exhibits on The Priory before the end of July!