St Frideswide's Priory was established as a

priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. They were created by the Catholic Church. Priories may be monastic houses of monks or nuns (such as the Benedictines, the Cistercians, or t ...

of Augustinian

canons regular The Canons Regular of St. Augustine are Catholic priests who live in community under a rule ( and κανών, ''kanon'', in Greek) and are generally organised into Religious order (Catholic), religious orders, differing from both Secular clergy, ...

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

in 1122. The priory was established by Gwymund,

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

Henry I of England Henry I ( – 1 December 1135), also known as Henry Beauclerc, was King of England from 1100 to his death in 1135. He was the fourth son of William the Conqueror and was educated in Latin and the liberal arts. On William's death in 1087, Henr ...

. Among its most illustrious priors were the writers

Robert of Cricklade Robert of Cricklade (–1174 × 1179) was a medieval English writer and prior of St Frideswide's Priory in Oxford. He was a native of Cricklade and taught before becoming a cleric. He wrote several theological works as well as a lost biography ...

and Philip of Oxford.

History

Frideswide was the daughter of a 7th-century sub-king of

Mercia Mercia (, was one of the principal kingdoms founded at the end of Sub-Roman Britain; the area was settled by Anglo-Saxons in an era called the Heptarchy. It was centred on the River Trent and its tributaries, in a region now known as the Midlan ...

named Dida of Eynsham whose lands occupied western

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

and the upper reaches 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 ...

. When his wife Safrida died, Dida assisted his daughter in building a monastery, dedicating it to the Holy Trinity, the Virgin Mary and all the saints. Frideswide became the first abbess. The original

nunnery A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican Comm ...

founded by Frideswide was destroyed in 1002, during the events of the St. Brice's Day massacre. The king in recompense rebuilt it, and established secular canons there."Houses of Augustinian canons: The priory of St Frideswide, Oxford", ''A History of the County of Oxford'', Volume 2. (William Page, ed.) London: Victoria County History, 1907. 97-101
British History Online. Web. 12 February 2023 Henry I gave the church with its endowments to Gwymund, a royal chaplain. In 1122 Gwymund installed Augustinian canons. The second prior, Robert of Cricklade, wrote a book on miracles attributed to the intercession of Thomas à Becket. In 1336 the citizens of the town compelled the prior to forego the priory's special rights during the six days' fair beginning on St. Frideswide's day. Baroness Montagu was a major benefactor of St Frideswide's. In 1524,

Cardinal Wolsey Thomas Wolsey ( ; – 29 November 1530) was an English statesman and Catholic cardinal. When Henry VIII became King of England in 1509, Wolsey became the king's almoner. Wolsey's affairs prospered and by 1514 he had become the controlling f ...

dissolved the Priory. Using funds from the dissolution of Wallingford Priory and other minor priories, he then used its premises, together with those of other adjacent religious houses, to found a new college to be called Cardinal College on the land where the Priory once stood. After Wolsey fell from power in 1530, 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. ...

took over the nascent foundation, which he renamed Christ Church ("''Aedes Christi''"). The Church's five western bays of the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

made during the time of the Augustinian canons were demolished to make space to build the main quadrangle of the new college (now called Tom Quad). The intention was to demolish the remainder of the Church and replace it with a chapel on the north side of the quadrangle. That never happened, and the surviving portion of the Church, including the five remaining bays of the nave, became both the chapel for the new college, Christ Church and the

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

for the new

Diocese of Oxford The Diocese of Oxford is a Church of England diocese that forms part of the Province of Canterbury. The diocese is led by the Bishop of Oxford (currently Steven Croft (bishop), Steven Croft), and the bishop's seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, ...

which Henry VIII had separated from the

Diocese of Lincoln The Diocese of Lincoln forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England. The present diocese covers the ceremonial county of Lincolnshire. History The diocese traces its roots in an unbroken line to the Pre-Reformation Diocese of Leice ...

Burials

Frithuswith Frithuswith, commonly Frideswide (; c. 65019 October 727), was an English princess and abbess. She is credited as the foundress of a monastery later incorporated into Christ Church, Oxford. She was the daughter of a sub-king of a Mercia name ...

* Lady Elizabeth Montacute * William Orchard (architect) * Edward Pococke

Notes

External links

British History Online - The priory of St Frideswide, OxfordSaint Frideswide's Monastery at Oxford: Archaeological and Architectural Studies
from ''Oxoniensia'' vol. 53 {{coord missing, Oxfordshire 1524 disestablishments in England Christian monasteries established in the 1120s Monasteries in Oxford Augustinian monasteries in England 1122 establishments in England