Visited July 2025

Set on a secluded headland in North Somerset (now managed by the National Trust) Woodspring Priory, or Worspring Priory as it was once known, came into being due to the utterance of these now infamous words- 'Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?' Henry II uttered these words in frustration with Thomas à Beckett, not really expecting anyone to take him literally. Unfortunately for Henry, this led to Thomas' murder in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170 at the hand of Henry's nobles, including one Reginald Fitzurse, owner of the manor of Worspring in North Somerset.

The act was made all the worse as it took place in a cathedral, in a flagrant breach of the Right of Sanctuary . Henry II was appalled at the events his words had caused, and did public penance. Two generations later, in 1210,  William de Courtenay, the Grandson of Reginald Fitzurse, founded a Priory in Woodspring, allegedly to atone for the murder of the now-canonised St Thomas the Martyr by his Grandfather. 

*NB- the Courtenay family of North Somerset were a cadet branch of the Devon Courtenay family, who owned Powderham Castle and Tiverton Castle.

Review

William de Courtenay also owned nearby Castle Batch and gave over his lands in Worle, including the castle, to support the Priory. Despite this it wasn't a rich priory, and there were usually fewer than ten members of the community at any one time.

However, in the 15th century the Priory came into some money from an unknown source, and embarked on an ambitious rebuilding phase, of which the Priory Church is a survivor to this day. The building work was still in progress when the Priory was dissolved under Henry VIII.

After that the new owners converted the buildings into a home, and the whole site focused on farming, which is still the case for the surrounding land today. It was thanks to this conversion of the existing buildings rather than complete demolition that led to the survival of the Priory in its present form. Much has been lost over the years, but there is enough still standing to give an idea of how the Priory once looked.

The present day buildings are now run as holiday lets by the Landmark trust, all except the Great Tithe Barn, which is still in use for farming as it is used by the National Trust who manage the surrounding headland. The Priory Church has been converted to a museum, which is open on Mondays and Fridays only.

It is a little tricky to find the entrance to the museum, as the signage is pretty poor in our opinion. We ended up walking towards the holiday lets, only to be scolded by the housekeeper who did then show us the correct way in; there is a (relatively small) sign on the path just past the car park, which points to the right hand side where there is a kissing gate which is the access to the orchard, which then leads to the museum.

However, even if you see the sign, the kissing gate is right next to a private house, so we wouldn't have just wondered through the gate without permission, as it seemed to us that the gate was a private access to the back of the house. Very confusing but we got there in the end.

The museum is small and illustrates the history of the Priory, and some of the associated artifacts. Mum loves a good monastic floor tile, so was pleased to find some examples on display.

There isn't much there for small children, no trails or hands-on stuff, but it doesn't take long to view the museum, then there are pleanty of beautiful walking routes across the headland which will certainly appeal to children. It is also very cool inside the building and we were grateful for that on a very hot day, so makes a good place to break your walk if it is getting hot outside. There are often sheep in the orchard surrounding the Priory so kids might enjoy watching them (please remember to shut all the gates behind you to keep the sheep out of the Priory and in the fields!)

There are no facilities at the Priory, but if you need to eat we would recommend Garden Park in Tickenham. It is a garden centre, but with a fabulous cafe based in a railway carriage. Certainly something different and makes a worthwhile stop on your journey. Or else head onto Weston-super-Mare for all the delights of the sea-side!

More info:  Woodspring Priory