Norton Priory Museum & Gardens sits on the edge of Runcorn, on a monastic site founded in 1134 and described as the most excavated in Europe. Visitors see the 12th-century undercroft, the priory ruins and thousands of excavated objects, including the twice life-size statue of St Christopher. The 2.5-acre Georgian walled garden opens in summer and holds the National Collection of Tree Quince. Run by the Norton Priory Museum Trust, an independent charity with no government funding.