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History of Sandwell Priory

Sandwell Benedictine Priory.

Originally the poor or destitute of the parish would have been cared for by the Priory which was established by 1160 in Sandwell Valley. Sandwell Priory was only a small Benedictine monastery.

The earliest buildings would have been the Priory Church built of local sandstone with the supporting buildings of wood, wattle and daub which were later replaced by stone. The main building after the church was the chapter house where the business affairs of the priory were conducted.

The head of the priory was the Prior who was buried in the Chapter house when he died. During an archaeological excavation between 1982 and 1988 the remains of five priors were discovered and re-interred in All Saints Church. A covered cloister walk was surrounded by a dormitory, refectory, kitchen and store rooms.

However, Sandwell Priory was one of the first to go in the Dissolution of the Monasteries during Henry VIII’s reign.