Tucked down an anonymous side street and sandwiched between an old brewery and modern flats and overlooked by a multi-storey car park are the ruins of a medieval Dominican friary.
The friary was established in 1263 by Henry III but fell into ruin after the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII.
Today only fragments of the church and monastery remain visible, and only with thanks to archaelogist, Nina Layard, who is commemmorated on a blue plaque on the wall of the former Unicorn brewery, and later excavations in the 1970s and 1980s. The footings and sacristy wall of the friary church, dedicated to St Mary, can be seen in the small grassed area. Other remains of the other friary buildings are buried beneath the flats and the old brewery.
There are two interpretation boards about the site, one in front of you, and one along the footpath towards the centre of the grassed area.
To claim this virtual:
1) Please send me a message with the two town structures that lie below Lower Orwell Street and above the church and cloisters on the information board plan. You do not need to wait for a response to log your find.
and
2) Please post a photograph of yourself, your GPS or a personal item with the church ruins in sight. You do not have to include your face (unless you want to).
Virtual Rewards 4.0 - 2024-2025
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between January 17, 2024 and January 17, 2025. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 4.0 on the Geocaching Blog.