The story of Thetford Priory starts in the early 12th century, when a Norman knight, Roger Bigod, who was involved in the conquest of Britain, founded the priory under the umbrella of Cluny Abbey in France.
The priory sits on level ground on the banks of the Little Ouse river, just outside what would have been the extent of the town at the time.
From the mid-13th century the priory church housed a statue of the Blessed Virgin which was believed to work miracles, and as such it became a popular object of pilgrimage.
This made the Priory extremely rich, and enabled it to expand and rebuild parts of the church at an even greater scale.
An impressive new gatehouse was also built in the 14th century.
You might think that a place of solitude and contemplation would be the last place you would witness a murder. However, in 1248 a notorious and lecherous prior of Thetford called Stephen was stabbed during a quarrel with one of his monks. He died just outside the great west door of the church.
On the death of the last Roger Bigod in 1306, the family’s Norfolk estates passed to the Crown and then to the Dukes of Norfolk.
As with other abbeys and priories in the 16th century, Thetford was threatened with dissolution.
In 1536, the staunchly Catholic 3rd Duke of Norfolk petitioned Henry VIII to convert it into a college of secular canons. His claim was that he was preparing for not only his tomb, but that of Henry’s own illegitimate son Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond, to be installed in the priory church.
A formal complaint was also raised by the Mayors and burgesses of Thetford to Thomas Cromwell in 1539, arguing that many of the town’s inhabitants would fall into extreme poverty because their livelihoods depended on pilgrims visiting the priory.
Both petitions failed, and the last prior and 16 monks surrendered to the king’s commissioners on 16 February 1540.
The Priory was left to ruin, all apart from the Priors’ Lodging which continued to be occupied as a house for another 200 years, with further alterations being made to it – which can be seen in the variety of different window designs within the structure.
By 1820 this too was in ruins.
Thetford Priory is maintained by English Heritage, and is free to visit. There is a very small car park in Water Lane (probably only enough for 3-4 cars) – we were lucky enough to get a space on our visit, but had planned to use the car park in the town, which is only a few minutes walk away.
You can find information on visiting and directions from the English Heritage website.
Please do watch our video below for a quick tour of the ruins!
