Godstow Abbey

Oxfordshire, United Kingdom — — By Robert Watts

Distance5.9 KM

Duration1.46 Hours

Godstow Abbey was a nunnery that was consecrated in 1139. It lasted until 1539 when it was suppressed by Thomas Cromwell. It is most famous for being the final burial place of Rosamund Clifford, who was a long-term mistress of Henry II. These days however, the abbey and the nearby trout in are famous for being in The Book of Dust by Philip Pullman. In the book however both get rather flooded out.

A large ruin of a building with blue sky
This is the outside of the abbey. It is quite a large building - at it's peak there were 24 nuns living here.
A stone walll (with no roof) that has green ivy growing up it
This is all that remains of the on-site chapel.

After we visited the ruins of the abbey we went for a walk up one side of the Thames and then back along Port Medow on the other side. Although there was less of the abbey there than I expected, it was still a lovely walk.