Polsloe Priory, also known as St Katherine's 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 ...

priory for women (a nunnery) in

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

, England. It was founded in around 1159 on land to the east of Exeter, on a site that is now part of the city's suburb of Polsloe. At the time it was the only religious house for women in Devon, but two others were founded later: at

Cornworthy Cornworthy is a village and civil parish in the South Hams, Devon, England. The hamlet of East Cornworthy lies due east of the village at . The nearby Cornworthy Priory, originally established for nuns of the order of St. Austin, is now a G ...

and Canonsleigh Abbey. The first prioress of whom any record survives was Avelina in 1218. Amongst the holdings of the priory was the Church of St Mary, Marston Magna in

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

. In common with most other Catholic institutions, it was dissolved by Henry VIII, in 1539, even though it had paid a fine of £400 for exemption from the

First Suppression Act The Suppression of Religious Houses Act 1535 ( 27 Hen 8 c 28; 1536 in modern dating), also referred to as the Act for the Dissolution of the Lesser Monasteries and as the Dissolution of Lesser Monasteries Act, was an Act of the Parliament of ...

of 1536. At dissolution it had 14 nuns, including the prioress and subprioress. Most of the buildings have been demolished, but one remains, built of the local red sandstone and believed to date from around 1320.

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

have designated it a Grade II*

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 ...

. As of 2016 it is used by the local community association for occasional events, having passed from private to City Council hands in 1934.

See also

References

Sources

Further reading