Godstow
|
The ruined Godstow Abbey. |
Godstow (
Oxfordshire,
England) is to the west of the
River Thames opposite Lower
Wolvercote north of
Port Meadow at
Oxford.It is mainly known for the ruined
Godstow Abbey (also known as
Godstow Nunnery), which was given to the foundress by
John of St John around 1133 and was expanded in
1139 through an additional grant of land.
The abbey was converted into
Godstow House by George Owen. It was occupied by his family until
1645, when the building was badly damaged in the
Civil War.
During the
19th and
20th centuries, the ruined abbey was used for collecting livestock during the annual rounding up of animals on Port Meadow.
In
Victorian times,
Charles Dodgson (aka Lewis Carroll) brought
Alice Liddell (aka Alice in Wonderland) and her sisters, Edith and Lorina, for river trips and picnics at Godstow.
Also alongside the Thames at Lower Wolvercote and Godstow is
The Trout, a well-known
public house, close to
Godstow Bridge. The bridge was built in
1792.
* 'Wolvercote: Site and remains of Godstow abbey',
A History of the County of Oxford: Volume 12:
Wootton Hundred (South) including
Woodstock (1990), pp. 311â€"13. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=1485. Date accessed:
11 January 2006.
*
Haunted Churches â€" Godstow Nunnery
