Ruins of Grace Dieu Priory, Ashby Road, Belton, Leicestershire
These are the ruins of an Augustinian nunnery. It was founded in c1240 by Roesia de Verdun. It was a large priory with sixteen nuns in 1377. It was closed as part of the Dissolution of the monasteries in 1538. In 1539 the priory became the residence of John Beaumont. It was also the childhood home of the early 17th century dramatist Francis Beaumont. In 1696 it was bought by Sir Ambrose Phillipps, a successful London lawyer of the Middle Temple and King's Sargeant to James II. He had most of the buildings pulled down. It was in ruins by 1730.
