Founded by Queen Ealhswith, Alfred the Great's wife, in 903, the Nunnaminster became one of the largest and foremost centres of learning and art in England. In 964, the Nunnaminster, Old Minster, and New Minster were brought into a single enclosure to ensure isolation from the growing city. The monastic buildings were demolished at the Dissolution of the Monasteries, and Queen Mary Tudor gifted the site to the City upon her marriage in Winchester to Philip of Spain in 1554. (Mostly to defray the huge costs associated with the wedding)
