Ulverscroft PrioryAs we travel through this fair county of ours, not many of us may realise the huge importance which the church would have had on our daily lives if we were living here in medieval times. But many of the old abbeys and priories that were once nestled away in the county have fallen into disrepair, after the monasteries were disolved by Henry VIII.
Ulverscroft Priory is in the north of Bradgate Park, in a clearing of Charnwood forest.
There are several priories located in this area due to the solitude the forest afforded. Abbey Park | | Remains of Leicester Abbey in Abbey Park |
Nothing but the groundworks remain of Leicester Abbey, which was built in the 12th century. The abbey ruins contain a memorial to Thomas Cardinal Wolsey, who was laid to rest in the grounds after he died en route from York to London on 29 November 1530. Wall at Abbey Lane
As well as the well-known earthworks of Leicester Abbey there are other areas of the park, which deserve a special mention.
Owston Abbey | | Site of Owston Abbey |
Owston is in the east of the county, near Tilton. There is now a modest parish church where the abbey used to stand, and Peter says it's built in a strange shape. He thinks the parish church looks like a small fragment of a much bigger church, as if the parishioners knocked down the large abbey and only kept the area that was useful to them. Launde AbbeyLaunde Abbey is still used as a spiritual retreat today.  | | Launde Abbey in East Norton |
The Abbey is an Elizabethan Manor House that was built on the site of an Augustinian Priory. The original priory was founded in 1119, but all that remains of the priory church is the chapel. It is still used for worship today by local residents. | 
