Grace Dieu Priory - Coalville

The ruins of two towers, a chapel and walls lie in a lonely field beside a brook. These are all that remain of Gracedieu Priory.

Founded in 1240 for Augustinian canonesses by Lady Roesia de Verdun, whose tomb lies in earby Belton's Church. Ruthlessly suppressed by Henry VIII, the Order was dissolved in 1539 and the Priory became a private residence. The estate of Gracedieu passed from the Beaumonts to the Earl of Huntingdon and back again to the Beaumonts who built a magnificent Tudor House where Sir John Beaumont, friend and confidant of Shakespeare, was born. In 1690, the estate passed to St Ambrose Phillips of Garendon who demolished most of the remaining buildings in 1696. A descendant of Phillips built Gracedieu Manor in 1833-5, close to the ruins. It was designed in the Gothic style by William Railton, who also designed Nelson's Column in London. At one end of the House, linked to it by a picturesque tower, is a delightful chapel which was designed by Pugin. This little place of worship is rich with monuments, paintings and some superb German stained glass designed under Pugin's direction. The Manor House became the home of Charles Booth, a wealthy Liverpool businessman