Lenton Priory was a Cluniac monastic house in Nottinghamshire, founded by William Peverel circa 1102-8.

The priory was granted a large endowment of property in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire by its founder, which became the cause of violent disagreement following its seizure by the crown and its reassignment to Lichfield Cathedral.

Lenton Priory a substantial endowment which included: the townships of Lenton, Keighton, Morton and Radford (all in Nottingham), Courteenhall, Northamptonshire, and all of their appurtenances and seven mills; land and woodland in Newthorpe and Papplewick; control of the churches of St Mary, St Peter and St Nicholas, all in the town of Nottingham; the churches at Langar, Linby and Radford; the tithes raised from Peverel's fisheries throughout Nottingham; portions of the tithes from his lands throughout the Peak District including those from Ashford, Bakewell, Bradwell, Buxton, Callow, Chelmorton, Cowdale, Darnall, Dunningestede, Fernilee, Holme, Hucklow, Newbold, Quatford, Shallcross, Stanton, Sterndale, Tideswell and Wormhill; all the tithes raised from his colts and fillies in his stud-farms in the Peak District; the tithes from the lead and venison from his lands in Derbyshire; part of the tithes from Blisworth and Duston and the churches of Courteenhall, Harlestone, Irchester and Rushden, all in Northamptonshire; and the church at Foxton, in Leicestershire.

[1] King Henry II's first charter granted the priory freedom from taxes, tolls and customs duties.

[1] In 1199 King John issued a charter allowing the monks to take a cart of dead wood from "the forest of Bestwood" every day.

In another charter towards the end of his reign, King John granted the monks game ("harts, hinds, bucks, does, wild boars, and hares") from the royal forests in Nottingham and Derby.

[1] This disagreement became violent when in 1250-1, the monks of Lenton Priory armed themselves and attempted to steal wool and lambs from the disputed parish of Tideswell, Derbyshire, which Lichfield controlled.

The commission ruled that Lenton Priory should be fined 100 marks on top of the £60 they had already paid Lichfield Cathedral in "compensation for the damage".

The commission attempted to prevent further violent outbreaks by allotting the priory a portion of the tithes from some of the disputed parishes.

This, however, provided less than 25 years of peace, as the dispute was reignited in 1275 and was "frequently renewed up to the time of the dissolution of the religious houses".

The following year King Henry III granted the monks quarry rights in the Royal Forest in order to get stone to rebuild the tower.

Not used to the colder climate in England, in the winter of 1257/58, Pope Alexander IV had to give permission for the monks to wear caps during church services due to the "vehement cold".

However in 1316 whilst visiting Clipston, Nottinghamshire, King Edward II took the chapel from Lenton and gave it to the Nottingham Whitefriars, of whom he was very fond.

In March, the prior with eight of his monks (Ralph Swenson, Richard Bower, Richard Atkinson, Christopher Browne, John Trewruan, John Adelenton, William Berry, and William Gylham) and four labourers of Lenton were indicted for treason and executed.

[1] Source:[6] The second royal charter King Henry II granted the priory gave the monks permission to hold an eight-day fair starting on The Feast of Saint Martin: 11 November.

[10] The Sisters of Nazareth sold the property in the early years of the twenty-first century, and the site was redeveloped for housing.

In 2020 Lenton Priory was excavated by archaeologists for the More4 television programme The Great British Dig, which was broadcast on 3 March 2021.

They uncovered an unrecorded medieval wall at the east end of the priory, which was interpreted as a previously-unknown Lady Chapel which had been added to the original Norman building.

[12] The stone's size and the style of the carvings draw on the 12th century Norman baptismal font from the Priory, one of the last tangible links to the site, which can be seen half a mile away in Holy Trinity Church, Lenton.