History of St. Oswald's Priory
by David Nash Ford
S T. O S W A L D ' S P R I O R Y
The 'Missing-Link' of Saxon Architecture
St. Oswald's Priory in
Gloucester was founded by the last King
of Mercia, Aethelred II, and his
formidable wife, Lady Aethelflaed, in
about 890. Aethelflaed was the daughter
of her husband's overlord, the powerful
King Alfred the
Great of Wessex. She had
been virtually ruling the Kingdom of
Mercia since her husband had been struck
down with a debilitating illness about
two years before. Perhaps the foundation
was undertaken in the hope of some divine
relief for the ailing monarch. It was
certainly part of a major rebuilding
programme in the city, as the place was
being fortified as part of a string of
Mercian defensive burghs.
The Priory
Church, initially dedicated to St. Peter,
was constructed from re-used Roman stones
stripped from the ruins of Glevum.
The builders may actually have made
systematic use of a nearby Roman Temple,
in line with church recommendations of
the time. Associated buildings were
probably of wood. Though, it was a
monastery of the traditional type housing
secular canons, St. Oswald's is of
especial interest to architectural
historians. There were very few churches
built during the late eighth century,
when the risk of plunder and burning by
Viking Raiders was at its height, and it
is therefore seen as something of a
'missing-link' dubbed the 'last of the
minsters'.
 The site itself
began life as a Christian cemetery filled
with finely carved memorial crosses. It
may have been the Royal Mercian Cemetery
for the nearby Palace of Kingsholm. The
first church, erected in the 890s, was of
a somewhat standard, if not old fashioned
plan: a rectangular nave with two small
portici (or chapels) projecting to the
north and south. However, it did have the
added interest of a western apse as seen
in contemporary, though much larger,
churches in the Continental Carolingian
Empire. In 909, in a major show of
Mercian power and influence, Lady
Aethelflaed and her husband managed to
obtain the greater portion of the relics
of St. Oswald, 7th century King of
Northumbria. This Mercian defeated
monarch had lain unnoticed at Bardney
Abbey since the place had been destroyed
when Viking settlers took over
Lincolnshire. Aethelflaed's brother, King
Edward the
Elder of Wessex, retrieved
the saintly monarch's body in a daring raid on
Viking territory and it was brought to
Gloucester (minus head and arms) with
great pomp and ceremony and interred in
the new Royal Priory Church. An elaborate
eastern crypt, similar to that still
extant at Repton and supported by four
central columns, had been prepared for
his arrival. Both this and the slight
remains of structural carving, recovered
from the site, clearly show the
importance attached to St. Oswald's.
There was also a cross-wall in the nave
which appears to have been painted with a
large depiction of angels flying over the
crucifixion. It acted as a rood-screen.
We can only imagine the portable
decoration of rich hangings, candlesticks
and other ornaments. The building was
quickly rededicated to St. Oswald and
Aethelflaed and her husband appear to
have chosen to be buried in the crypt
alongside their patron saint.
Pilgrims
flocked to St. Oswald's in the following
centuries and these generous visitors
enabled the establishment to obtain much
land as well as rich treasures. It was
the centre of a large parish, possibly
based on Royal estates, on the outskirts
of the city which eventually became a
Free Royal Church. It also maintained a
chapel at the Kingsholm Palace. In the
10th century the church at St. Oswald's
expanded, with the addition of a tower.
The canons produced their own bells for
this new edifice in a bell-pit excavated
on the site. The western apse was
demolished and a clerestory window
converted into a door, suggesting the
addition of a western gallery inside as
at nearby Deerhurst.
By the
time of the Norman Conquest, however, the
place was in decline. St. Oswald's was
appropriated by the Archbishop of York
and, at last, reformed: the secular
canons being replaced by Augustinian ones
in 1153. The building was repaired and
enlarged over the years - the remaining
arches are 12th and 13th century - but it was now
firmly eclipsed by the adjacent Abbey of
St. Peter (Gloucester Cathedral). Its
medieval decline was further stimulated
by an acrimonious dispute over ownership
between the Archbishops of York,
Canterbury and the Bishop of Worcester.
This led the latter to excommunicate the
canons of St. Oswald's and forbid the
citizens of Gloucester from trading with
them! Eventually King Edward I was forced
to intervene. Reasserting its Royal Free
Chapel status, he claimed the priory was
exempt from episcopal power and lifted
the ban. The complex survived the
Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1530s, though
the last seven canons and their servants
were naturally ejected. The arches of the
north aisle were blocked up and it became
the parish church of St. Catherine in
1548. It was a highly popular place of
worship for a while. However, the
building was largely destroyed by
Royalist cannon fire during the Civil War
Siege of Gloucester and was eventually
demolished, by the City Council, in 1653.
The stone was used to rebuild a new
market house. Only the northern arcade of
the nave survived, built into a series of
outhouses and sheds. It remains preserved
today as a picturesque ruin in a park off
Archdeacon Street.
Related Pages:
Saxon Churches
Tour of the Ancient Severn Valley
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