The North(ish) Lass

Explore the North.

Tag: monastic history

  • Four Cumbrian Historical Properties To Visit This Summer

    Four Cumbrian Historical Properties To Visit This Summer

    Furness Abbey

    You can find Furness Abbey on the Furness peninsula in the South Lakes, just outside the town of Barrow-In-Furness. Now ruined, in its heyday, Furness was the second wealthiest Cistercian Monastery in England, behind only Fountains Abbey (found in Yorkshire). The Abbey is built from local sandstone and the monks were the preeminent local landowners up to the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 16th Century (thanks Henry VIII!). They were also heavily involved in the politics of the region, playing an important role in the fraught border relations between England and Scotland, and also exercising strong influence over the Isle of Man(n). One of the Kings of the Isle of Mann is buried at Furness Abbey.

    The ruins of the Abbey are very impressive, some reaching three stories or over 130ft.

    There are plenty of myths and legends surrounding Furness Abbey, including one that the Holy Grail and/or Prince John’s treasure is buried in tunnels underneath the land. This seems unlikely seeing as Prince John’s treasure was lost on The Wash in Lincolnshire – over 245 miles away on the other side of the country! As for the Holy Grail well… I thought a ghostly knight was looking after that in the ruins of Petra somewhere.

    Sizergh Castle

    Sizergh Castle is a Grade I listed building on the edge of the Lake District. It is currently the private home of the Strickland family (and has been owned by the family for over 800 years), although the property is cared for by the National Trust.

    The front aspect of Sizergh Castle

    It is thought that the sixth wife of Henry VIII, Katherine Parr, stayed at Sizergh for an extended period of time after the death of her first husband (she was married a total of four times, Henry VIII being her third husband). One of the highlights of the interior of the Manor House is the gorgeous Inlaid Chamber, which contains Elizabethan panelling. The panelling was housed in the Victoria and Albert Museum, but was returned and restored to the house in 1999. The beauty of this panelling shows the political power and imagination of the Strickland family in that century. Ardent Catholics (as many Northern families were), Thomas Strickland went into exile with James II in the following century.

    There are over 2,400 items in the Sizergh collection that have been curated by twenty-six generations of the Strickland family.

    The Gardens at the manor house are beautiful, including a rockery, a herbaceous border, an orchard, and a kitchen garden. There is an accessible 1.5km loop around the garden for people to follow and enjoy the different areas. If you’re lucky you can see the rare Hawfinch in the woodland around the castle, as well as

    Lanercost Priory

    Lanercost Priory is a beautiful ruin found just off the road between Carlisle and Hexham, before Cumbria becomes Northumberland, and it is one of the most peaceful places I’ve visited. It’s wonderful to just step inside the ruins of the old monastic buildings and just feel the peace. Despite not being religious, I can definitely understand why the monks chose this place as the site for their monastic house!

    It was built in the 1160s or 1170s and is dedicated to Mary Magdalene, an unusual dedication in the North of England at the time. You can see Roman stonework and carvings in the surviving ruins as some of the stone used in the building was pilfered from the nearby Hadrian’s Wall.

    The ruins of Lanercost

    The important Lanercost Chronicle, written about the thirteen century wars between the England and Scotland was created by the monks of the Priory. The religious house played a key role in these wars, and played host to Edward I (“the Hammer of the Scots”) three times in the latter years of his reign. Ironically, the Priory would also host Robert the Bruce less than ten years later during his campaign against Edward II, prior to the Battle of Bannockburn.

    The Priory was converted into a Tudor mansion in the 16th century after the dissolution of the monasteries by the Dacre family, an influential local gentry family. The family tombs can be found in the still-operating church attached to the Priory ruins. The old Priory fell into ruins, apart from the part still operating as a church, which was then re-roofed in the 19th century.

    There used to be a very good tearooms and giftshop complex (not operated by English Heritage) attached to the Priory, but there is mixed information as to whether these have reopened, after closing in late 2024. Oh well, guess I’ll just have to head back up there to double check…

    Muncaster Castle

    Muncaster Castle is found on the coastal road on the Furness Peninsula, halfway between Dalton-In-Furness and Whitehaven. It is owned by the Pennington Family, who have lived there for 800 years, and still hold it privately, although they are a member of Historic Houses. There is something of a legend surrounding the Pennington Family and Muncaster Castle, originating in the fifteenth century, when after a defeat at the Battle of Hexham in 1464, Henry VI fled to the castle – a distance of over ninety miles through some pretty rough terrain – for sanctuary. As thanks, Henry gifted the Pennington’s a Venetian glass drinking bowl with the wish:

    “As long as this bowl remains unriven, Penningtons from Muncaster never shall be driven”

    The glass remains intact to this day, and the Penningtons still own the castle.

    Parts of the current castle date from the 14th Century, including the pele (pronounced “peel”) tower and the Great Hall, although it is believed that pele tower is built on Roman ruins that may date back as far as 79AD.

    The Great Hall at Muncaster

    Muncaster is also listed as one of the “most haunted” castles in England (which is a bit of claim, considering I’m sure that every castle has plenty of ghosts), with stories of “Tom Fool” causing mischief for the family and guests, as well as reports of a child crying in the night when guests have stayed in the Tapestry Bedroom. The story is that this may be the ghost of Margaret Pennington, a child who was often sickly, and died at the castle in the eighteenth century. If you’re interested in this kind of thing, Muncaster does off “ghost nights” where small groups can spend the night in the Tapestry Bedroom and wait for the ghosts to show themselves.

    During the Second World War the house was used as a safehouse for artworks of International importance, that were transported away from London to keep them safe from bombing during The Blitz. These included works by Van Gogh, Manet, and Turner.

    So, as you can see, lots of wonderful historical properties to see in Cumbria this summer! Which of these have you visited before? Is there any that you want to go to?

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  • A Week In Northumberland (Part Three)

    A Week In Northumberland (Part Three)

    Last one I promise! You can read Part One, Two, and the extra bit about the trip to the Farne Islands, respectively…

    On the day before heading back to Lancashire, dad and I decided to visit Lindisfarne, perhaps better known as Holy Island, a tidal island just off the cost of Northumberland. The island is managed and maintained by the National Trust. I’d always been a bit nervy about visiting Holy Island before because of the high tide cutting the island off twice a day; I’ve always had a fear of being trapped anywhere, and I don’t know, I guess I just imagined being stuck on the causeway as the tide rushed in. I also (for some bananas reason) imagined that the causeway over to the island was literally driving on the sand, and there was the potential to get stuck in it – my brain hadn’t computed it was actually a tarmac road. I guess, living near Morecambe Bay, I’d imagined something more bonkers like trying to 4×4 it from Arnside to Grange-Over-Sands, dodging quicksand as you went.

    Causeway from Holy Island to the mainland

    Anyway, we checked the tide times, something you must do if you plan to visit Holy Island, and noted that the safe crossing time was between 9am – 3.30pm. Perfect. We drove up the A1 to the turn-off (it’s only about a 30 minute drive from Seahouses), and headed out over the causeway. There’s also a walking route for those who wish to walk over to the island (it’s a pilgrimage route for those who are interested in that sort of thing), although I imagine the safe crossing times are probably a shorter window for walkers, as it would take you a bit longer to get out of the way of the oncoming tide. Despite all the warnings about the crossing, about one vehicle a month gets stuck on the causeway, meaning a rescue has to be launched by the RNLI/HM Coastguard, which reportedly costs about £3,500 per rescue.

    Once reaching the main island, because my parents are blue badge holders, we were able to drive up into the small village in order to park. Other cars have to park a little way outside of the settlement in order to protect it from the problems associated with lots of vehicles/pollution, and walk into the village. One thing I did find surprising about Lindisfarne was that it was bigger than I expected. I had imagined the ruins of the priory, a museum, and maybe a collection of houses with a café. In fact there was quite a thriving community – there’s a sixteenth century castle out on the peninsula (quite a walk), the priory ruins with museum, along with another museum about the history of the island, several cafes, a few pubs, shops, a hotel, a gelato seller, and lots of houses – some of which have permanent residents, others of which are holiday lets.

    The island was very busy, given that it was crossing time, but I could imagine during the off times twice a day, and at night, it would be extremely peaceful out there. The only downside out there, other than a tiny one, is that there’s no food shop, as such, so you better get your food before you cross otherwise you’re a bit stuck (for half a day). In the few hours we were there, we wandered around the quaint little streets, stopped off in a nice cafe which had some extremely friendly birdlife (at one point it felt like I was having to fight the sparrows for the rights to my sausage roll), and had a look in the museum before looking in the priory, which is looked after by English Heritage.

    A friendly sparrow after the remnants of my sausage roll

    I was a little bit disappointed with the priory information, I was hoping for more detail about the Viking raids of the 8th & 9th century, particularly the first one; what happened, how it unfolded, the reasons behind it etc. etc., instead the information was more focused on monastic life, and the lives of St Cuthbert and St Aiden (the reason why the island is called Holy Island btw). Which, cool, I guess, but I’ve never really been a huge nerd for monastic history. It has its moments, I suppose.

    What Lindisfarne is most famous for, is the Lindisfarne Gospels, which these days can be found in the British Library. They do occasionally make the trip back to Lindisfarne to be displayed in the museum there, but rarely, so if it’s those you want to see – the British Library is a much safer bet. The gospels themselves are absolutely stunning – pictured below is the front page of the Gospel according to Luke. There were produced in the early 8th century, a presumed to be the work of a monk named Eadfrith, who became bishop of Lindisfarne. It is postulated that the gospels were created in honour of St Cuthbert, and they are considered to be one of the greatest surviving examples of Hiberno-Saxon work.

    The Viking raid on the island in 793 is often considered the “beginning” of the Viking Age, and shockwaves rippled through the Christian West following the attack. There had been other raids before, but this one was more shocking as it hit at the “cradle of Christianity” in the Kingdom of Northumbria, where many saints relics were held. It was widely believed that God had sent the Vikings as punishment for perceived sins of Christians.

    “Never before has such terror appeared in Britain as we have now suffered from a pagan race … The heathens poured out the blood of saints around the altar, and trampled on the bodies of saints in the temple of God…” – Alcuin, Chronicler.

    There were several more attacks into the mid 9th century, causing the priory to be abandoned. The surviving monks took the relics of St Cuthbert and St Aidan to Durham Cathedral. Following the Norman Invasion of Britain in 1066 and the cessation of Viking Raids, monks returned to the island, rebuilding and reinstating the relics. The priory operated until the Dissolution of the Monasteries under Henry VIII in 1536, when it was permanently closed and stripped of it’s assets, many of which were sold.

    The ruins of Lindisfarne Priory

    I have to admit, Anglo-Saxon history is a period of history I don’t know a huge amount about. I studied monastic history and the hagiography of saints, as one of my modules for a term when I was at university, but that was about it. I always keen to learn more, so whilst I was in the English Heritage shop, I bought a book ‘Anglo Saxons’ by Marc Morris, and look forward to reading it to learn more about this interesting and unstable period in British History.

    Anyway, back to the present day, and after nearly getting blown away on the beach, dad and I headed back across the causeway and for Seahouses.

    We headed home the next day, after a wonderful week away. I really love that coastline – it’s rugged, beautiful, the beaches are clean with soft sand, there’s lots of wildlife, and plenty to do when the weather is fine like we had it. We’ve been up there several times, and positive we’ll head back again in the future. We have to, I’ve yet to see Dolphins in the North Sea and that’s one of my bucket list things to do!