Cholsey Abbey
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Cholsey Abbey was an Anglo-Saxon nunnery in Cholsey in the English county of Berkshire, which was founded in AD 986.
After King Edward the Martyr was murdered, his step-mother, Elfrida, was implicated in the crime. Edward's death had allowed Elfrida's son, Ethelred the Unready, to become King of England. Both Elfrida and Ethelred were instrumental in establishing Cholsey Abbey: an act of expiation for Edward's death.
Following the Danish attack on Wallingford in 1006, it is thought that the invaders burnt the nunnery to the ground. However, some ruins may have survived to be rebuilt as Cholsey parish church where Anglo-Saxon masonry survives in the tower.
[edit] References
- Royal Berkshire History: Cholsey
- British History Online: Victoria County History of Berkshire: The Abbey of Reading (mentioning Cholsey Abbey)
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