The Catholic church has sold the ruins of an 800-year old priory for £10.
Formerly owned by the Rosminian Order, the Grace Dieu Priory in Leicestershire has been the subject of negotiations for over two years.
Its low price was a ‘peppercorn sale’ – and was agreed upon in exchange for continued use of the site by the Friends of the Priory group.
It was bought by the Grace Dieu Priory Trust. Chairman David Whitt told BBC News: “As a boy I used to cycle past the ruins, they were just a heap of stones in the middle of a field.
“We formed in about 1996 and after lots of conservation work to the priory, eventually it was ready to open to the public… We were approached to see if we would be interested in converting the lease we held on the land into a freehold - we said yes please straight away.”
The original priory was closed in 1538, during Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries. It was stripped of its pews and steeple, and converted into a Tudor house before falling into a state of disrepair.
The first event at the site under its new ownership will be a Carol Service on the 1st December.