The ruins of Wenlock Priory are sited on the fringe of Much Wenlock. Its story began when an Anglo-Saxon monastery for both men and women was founded here in about AD 680 by King Merewalh of Magonsaete.
Wenlock was refounded as a priory for Cluniac monks, and the impressive ruins reflect the Cluniac love of elaborate architectural decoration. Parts of the great 13th-century church still stand high. But the priory’s greatest glory is the extravagant chapter house with its interlocking round arches on carved columns.
In Edwardian times Wenlock Priory’s socialite owners created the topiary-filled gardens which remain such a distinctive feature of the priory today.