Lechlade Priory was a house of Augustinian Canons Regular in

Lechlade Lechlade () is a town at the edge of the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England, south of Birmingham and west of London. It is the highest point at which the River Thames is navigable, although there is a right of navigation that continues sout ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

, England. The priory, also called the Lechlade hospital (hospitalry), was founded in the 13th century by Isabella de Mortimer, initially as a nunnery; in 1252

Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall Richard (5 January 1209 – 2 April 1272) was an English prince who was King of the Romans from 1257 until his death in 1272. He was the second son of John, King of England, and Isabella, Countess of Angoulême. Richard was nominal Count of P ...

became its patron. The priory had seven priests, however on various occasions they were criticised for not carrying out their duties and diverting the charitable monies which were meant to be used for the poor and sick. The priory survived until its dissolution in 1472. The priory during its existence maintained St. John's bridge which was built (or more accurately commissioned) by those who founded Lechlade priory, on the line of an old ford of the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

. It is known the prior was bestowed grants of

pontage Pontage was a toll levied for the building or repair of bridges dating to the medieval era in England, Wales and Ireland. Pontage was similar in nature to murage (a toll for the building of town walls) and pavage (a toll for paving streets a ...

in 1338, 1341, and 1388. The building which is now the Trout Inn acted as a

hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...

almshouse An almshouse (also known as a bede-house, poorhouse, or hospital) is charitable housing provided to people in a particular community, especially during the Middle Ages. They were often built for the poor of a locality, for those who had held ce ...

, dedicated to

St. John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

, and formed part of the priory. The hospital had the mandate of caring for workmen on the bridge. Apart from a section of the Trout Inn all other buildings which made up the priory have now collapsed or been demolished. Part of the site is now a mobile home and caravan park.

References

{{coord, 51, 41, 25, N, 1, 40, 42, W, region:GB, display=title Monasteries in Gloucestershire Lechlade-on-Thames