St Frideswide's Priory

[2] Frideswide was the daughter of a 7th-century sub-king of Mercia named Dida of Eynsham whose lands occupied western Oxfordshire and the upper reaches of the River Thames.

[3] When his wife Safrida died, Dida assisted his daughter in building a monastery, dedicating it to the Holy Trinity, the Virgin Mary and all the saints.

[6] The second prior, Robert of Cricklade, wrote a book on miracles attributed to the intercession of Thomas à Becket.

After Wolsey fell from power in 1530, King Henry VIII took over the nascent foundation, which he renamed Christ Church ("Aedes Christi").

The Church's five western bays of the nave made during the time of the Augustinian canons were demolished to make space to build the main quadrangle of the new college (now called Tom Quad).