Bungay Priory was a

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

nunnery in the town of Bungay in the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

of Suffolk. It was founded c. 1160-1185 by the Countess Gundreda, wife or widow of

Hugh Bigod, 1st Earl of Norfolk Hugh Bigod, 1st Earl of Norfolk (1095–1177) was the second son of Roger Bigod (also known as Roger Bigot) (died 1107), sheriff of Norfolk and royal advisor, and Adeliza, daughter of Robert de Todeni. Early years After the death of his eld ...

, upon lands of her '' maritagium'' and was confirmed to her and her second husband Roger de Glanville by King Henry II. It was dissolved in about 1536. At the time of the suppression it consisted of a prioress and 11 nuns. The priory church, the Church of the Holy Cross, became the Church of St Mary, the parish church in Bungay.Church of St Mary (including Ruins of Benedictine Convent), Bungay
British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 2011-04-30. Although ruins of the priory remain to the east of the church, any remaining intact buildings are likely to have been destroyed in the Bungay fire of 1688 which severely damaged the church itself.
Suffolk churches website. Retrieved 2011-04-30.
Retrieved 2011-04-30. The church and the ruins of the priory are a

Grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. Date of foundation
The foundation date of c. 1160, proposed in some older authorities, represents an earliest possible date, and is unconfirmed. Gundreda, daughter of Roger de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Warwick, was the second wife of Hugh Bigod, and not of his father Roger Bigod. Hugh Bigod died in 1176 or 1177 and Gundreda's marriage to Roger de Glanville followed that. The witnesses to Henry II's charter of confirmation to her include John, Bishop of Norwich who was elected in 1175, and this charter, made at

Geddington Geddington is a village and civil parish on the A4300, previously A43, in North Northamptonshire between Kettering and Corby. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 1,503, virtually unchanged from 1,504 at the 2001 census. ...

, Northamptonshire, is confidently dated to 1188. The original foundation however could have been based upon lands received in connection with her first marriage settlement and the confirmation prompted by the second marriage.S.J. Bailey, 'The Countess Gundred's lands', ''The Cambridge Law Journal'' Vol. X no. 1 (1948), pp. 84-103.

References

{{Coord, 52.455, 1.439, display=title Monasteries in Suffolk 12th-century establishments in England 1530s disestablishments in England Christian monasteries established in the 12th century Benedictine nunneries in England Bungay