Thetford – Church of the Holy Sepulchre

This priory was founded in 1148 and it takes its name from the Augustinian order of the Holy Sepulchre, of which there are no other remains in the country. The order didn’t have the wealth of other religious establishments, such as St. Mary’s Priory, and failed to grow in size and power. They did own the comb of Thomas Becket though as one of their most holiest of relics.

The Reformation inevitably wasn’t kind to the order  and the building was seized by the Crown and the order dissolved in 1536. The nave survived and was turned into a barn, but the structure of the building continued to decline.

This entrance was built in the eighteenth century when the building was used as a barn, and then subsequently blocked off. Parts of the building were also used as ornamental gardens.

There was a lot of structural work going on when I visited in 2018, with some of the information signs being inaccessible. The site is now managed by the English Heritage, with no charge being made for admission.