Launceston Priory was a priory at Newport, Launceston,

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

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, UK. The priory was founded 1127 by

William Warelwast William Warelwast (died 1137) was a medieval Norman cleric and Bishop of Exeter in England. Warelwast was a native of Normandy, but little is known about his background before 1087, when he appears as a royal clerk for King William II. Most o ...

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as a house of Augustinian canons. Its charter replaced an earlier foundation of secular canons at St Stephens, a collegiate church dating back to c. 830. In c. 1155 the priory completed a move from its original site at St. Stephens to Newport in the valley of the

River Kensey The River Kensey is a river in east Cornwall, England, UK which is a tributary of the River Tamar. The river rises at Kensey in the parish of Treneglos and flows generally east to the south of Tresmeer and Egloskerry and then divides the town of ...

. Although the priory was dissolved in 1539, it was one of three earlier Cornish monastic sites (the others being at

Bodmin Bodmin () is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated south-west of Bodmin Moor. The extent of the civil parish corresponds fairly closely to that of the town so is mostly urban in character. It is bordered ...

and St Germans) to appear in King

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

's 1540 proposals to establish a new cathedral for Cornwall. None of these proposals succeeded,Jeffery, Paul (2012) ''England's Other Cathedrals''. Stroud: The History Press. , p. 71. and the buildings at Launceston were gradually robbed of stone and materials and levelled with extra soil until nothing was visible.. The site was re-discovered in 1886 and 1888 (during the construction of the railway and a gas holder) and excavated by O. B. Peter, thus allowing the plan to be reconstructed. In the late 20th century the ruins fell into disrepair, but in recent years they have been consolidated, the grounds tidied up, access improved and interpretation boards set up. The Friends of Launceston Priory in partnership with Launceston Town Council now care for the ruins, which are to be found at:
1 Riverside, Newtown, Launceston PL15 8DH
to the rear of the (Anglican) church of St Thomas the Apostle.

References

External links

English Heritage Pastscape

Friends of Launceston Priory site

Launceston Town Council site

Monasteries in Cornwall Augustinian monasteries in England 1539 disestablishments in England Launceston, Cornwall {{UK-Christian-monastery-stub