Llanthony Secunda Priory gets £311,400 lottery funding

The medieval range is attached to a Victorian farmhouse

A medieval priory in the centre of Gloucester is to be restored after its owners were awarded more than £300,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).

The Llanthony Secunda Priory Trust said the development grant would go towards "bringing Llanthony back to life".

The scheduled monument was founded in 1136 and although the site is open, the buildings are "too fragile to enter".

The trust plans to start the "Reformation Project" early next year and apply for a full grant later.

The site includes a tithe barn, gatehouse, stable block, some very early monastic brick walling and a medieval range which is attached to a Victorian farmhouse.

'English Civil War'

The trust said the aim of the project was to "repair and conserve the priory buildings and landscape to create a vibrant community and learning space in the city of Gloucester".

The trust's aim is to create a community and learning space

Llanthony Secunda Priory was initially the daughter house of Llanthony Priory in Abergavenny, but became an important and influential institution in its own right, in the Gloucester area, in both religious and secular society.

Chair of the trust Jeremy Williamson, said they wanted "the priory's story to be brought to life for today's audience".

He said its history covered "dissolution, agrarian revolution, the English Civil War and the Siege of Gloucester, through to the industrial age, neglect and despoliation and the miracle of its survival today".

Mr Williamson said: "We are delighted to have secured the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund, which provides the trust with the platform from which to develop and ultimately deliver its ambitions".

He said the long term aim was to bring the building back into use with a commercial tenant which would then "provide a long term financial stability for the trust."