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Furness Abbey |
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Furness Abbey Cumbria
Furness abbey was founded in 1124 and as the years went by the abbey grew to become one of the greatest Cistercian monastic sites in north of Britain. In scale it challenged Fountains abbey in North Yorkshire, and throughout the later Middle Ages the two houses were always arguing over land ownership in Cumbria. The average income was £805 in 1535, Furness was suppressed in 1537, and hardly anything has changed in the building details, when T Beck in 1840, and 1880's manage to clear away the scrub around the abbey buildings. A detail analytical survey of the ruins was carried out in the 1980's, the archaeologists identified the form of early south transept and presbytery. During the twelfth century the church suffered from subsidence, a problem that continues today. The building towards the south has been demolished to floor level or below ground; it is still possible to work out how they were developed from the evidence of excavation. The whole of the precinct at Furness survives, covering some 73 acres. A wall that may be traced over most of its length encloses it. The inner court lay to the north of the church, and was entered through an outer gate and an inner gate, both of which can be traced. Beyond the guest hall is the wall that enclosed the monk’s cemetery, with a fine fourthteeth century gate. A second gatehouse, with a single gate, hall was provided in the precinct wall to the west of the cloister buildings. The remainder of the precinct is known only from earthworks, and a series of watercourses that ran down the east side of the valley. Interesting Facts Furness abbey had a quarried its own stone from its lands. The cloister was originally one hundred and five feet or thirty-two Metres Square. A square ended room of four bays replaced the Savigniac chapter house. Like Fountains, Jervaulx and Furness in particular held vast tracts of upland moor around the Yorkshire Dales. Furness had about six hundred oxen, and two hundred sixty cows on its Cumberland granges in 1297. Anaffay on the River Lune in 1314 between the boatmen of Furness Abbey and Lancaster Priory centred on how many catches each could take. Furness abbey in 1216 was granted timber by King John for a bridge to be built at Lancaster, and Henry III made a further grant of twenty oaks in 1252. Also Furness abbey had its very own iron mine in Alinscale. |
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Furness Abbey |
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Or see the Marrick Priory Documents for yourself on this website |
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