English: Newark Priory, Near Pyrford Surrey, near to Pyrford Village, Surrey, Great Britain.

Newark Priory was founded at the end of the twelfth century by Ruald de Clane and his wife Beatrice of Send and dedicated to the Virgin Mary and Thomas a Beckett. It was a "novo loco" - a new place for monks from nearby, the name changing over the years to Newstead and then finally Newark. King Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries in 1539. At Newark, the prior was pensioned off, valuables sent to the Tower of London and the land given to the Master of the Kings Horse.

Shortly after the Civil War (1642 - 1645) Sir Richard Weston initiated the project to construct the Wey Navigation Canal. Work started in 1651 and was completed in 1653 at an eventual cost of �16,000. The canal covered fifteen miles with twelve locks managing a fall of sixty-eight feet. 200 men were employed on the work. The locks including that at Pyrford were some of the earliest in England and are now maintained by the National Trust. (<a title="http://www.pyrford.com/history/pyrford.html)" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.pyrford.com/history/pyrford.html)">Link</a><img style="padding-left:2px;" alt="External link" title="External link - shift click to open in new window" src="http://s0.geograph.org.uk/img/external.png" width="10" height="10"/>