PEOPLE in Eynsham are often asked where the famous Norman abbey lies.

But with no visible remains after the building was destroyed by Henry VIII’s forces, it is often hard to explain.

But on Wednesday, a new trail was opened to show where the abbey once stood and what it looked like.

Father Martin Flatman, the man behind the trail, said: “Everyone who comes to visit asks where the abbey is.

“I thought we could do something about that because it’s such an important part of Eynsham’s history.”

Father Flatman’s Catholic church, St Peter’s, in Abbey Street, paid for the trail to be built.

It consists of nine information plaques in the grounds of St Peter’s and neighbouring St Leonard’s Church of England in the High Street.

The abbey was built in 1109 on the grounds of a formed Anglo-Saxon abbey, dating back to 1005.

It stood until the 16th century, when it was destroyed on the orders of Henry VIII during the reformation.

During England’s split from the Roman Catholic Church many Catholic churches and abbeys were razed to the ground.

But many of Eynsham Abbey’s stones can still be seen today as they were used to build some of the village’s cottages.

In 1989 an excavation by Oxford Archaeology uncovered the foundations of Eynsham Abbey, and this information was used to build the trail.

But the dig also discovered Bronze Age artefacts that date back some 3,000 years.

Father Flatman said: “It’s quite an ancient place.

“We think there may well have been a pagan site here.”

He said this may have been why the Catholic abbey was built, effectively to reclaim the land for God.

Father Flatman said: “You can feel the history of the place.

“People have been praying here for centuries. It feels really special.”

At the opening, pupils from Eynsham Community Primary School, in Beech Road, were on hand to help visitors.

One of those taking part was Thea Powell, 10, of Eynsham.

She said: “Thea said: “The most interesting thing I learnt was that the monks wouldn’t have their own rooms, they all slept in one room.

“It was quite interesting to find out how different it was then to how it is now.”

The trail is open at all times and an accompanying leaflet is available at St Peter’s Church.