On the banks of the Isis, about two miles from Oxford, are the remains
of Godstow Nunnery. It was founded towards the end of the reign of Henry
I. by Editha, a lady of Winchester, and when dissolved in the reign of
Henry VIII. it was valued at £274. per annum. A considerable portion of
its buildings remained until the end of the reign of Charles I. about
which time they were accidentally destroyed by fire. The present remains
consist chiefly of ranges of walls on the north, south, and east sides
of an extended area. Near the western extremity of the high north wall
are the remains of two buttresses. There is a small building which abuts
on the east, and ranges along the southern side, which was probably the
Chapter House of the Nuns. The walls are entire, the roof is of wood,
and some of the rafter work is in fair preservation. It is in this
building that the remains of Rosamond are supposed to have been
deposited, when they were removed from the choir of the church, by the
order of Hugh, Bishop of Lincoln, in 1191. On the north wall is painted
a pretended copy of her epitaph in Latin. Many stone coffins have at
various times been found on this spot.