Yenston Priory was a Benedictine

Benedictine

Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...

 priory in Henstridge

Henstridge

Henstridge is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated miles east of Sherborne in the South Somerset district, near the border with Dorset. The parish includes the hamlet of Yenston...

, Somerset

Somerset

The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

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It was a cell of the Abbey of Sever in Normandy

Normandy

Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...

, France. It was founded by Hugh d'Avranches, 1st Earl of Chester

Hugh d'Avranches, 1st Earl of Chester

Hugh d'Avranches , also known as le Gros and Lupus was the first Earl of Chester and one of the great magnates of early Norman England.-Early career:...

, who died around 1100 and was also known as Hugh Abrincus, and Hugh Lupus. Around 1468 it was granted to Eton College

Eton College

Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....

. After the dissolution of the monasteries

Dissolution of the Monasteries

The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...

 the land was held by Sir Thomas Bell

Thomas Bell (Mayor of Gloucester)

Sir Thomas Bell the Elder was an English cap manufacturer, mayor of Gloucester and MP. He was a manufacturer of caps in Gloucester and one of the city's largest employers and wealthiest citizens and a great benefactor of the city and its people. He is described in contemporaneous documents as a...

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Stone from the priory was used to build Monmouth House in the village, and traces of its buildings may remain in the outhouses.