The priory established in Newent was a cell of Cormeilles Abbey, founded in Normandy in 1060 by William FitzOsbern, 1st Earl of Hereford. The abbey received an endowment from him that included the manor of Newent and surrounding woods, the church and its income, and other property he owned in England. The once Benedictine priory became part of the College of Fotheringhay after the suppression of alien priories during the Hundred Years' War with France. Its site is now occupied by the Court House, adjacent to the parish church.