Furness Abbey, or St. Mary of Furness, is a former monastery located to the north of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. The abbey dates back to 1123 and was once the second-wealthiest and most powerful Cistercian monastery in the country, behind Fountains Abbey, prior to its dissolution during the English Reformation. The abbey contains a number of individual Grade I Listed Buildings and is a Scheduled Monument.

History of the abbey

Early history

thumb|upright=1.27|Ruins of the abbey's former infirmary

Founded in 1123 by Stephen, Count of Boulogne, The site originally chosen was at Tulketh on the banks of the River Ribble but after three years the monks found the site to be unsuitable and moved to Furness. Located in the 'Vale of Nightshade', south of Dalton-in-Furness, the abbey is built entirely out of local sandstone. It passed in 1147 to the Cistercians, who gradually enlarged and rebuilt the original ornate church. The majority of the current ruins date from the 12th and 13th centuries. By the 15th century, it had been completely remodelled and had become the second richest and most powerful – as well as one of the grandest – Cistercian abbeys in England, behind Fountains Abbey. In around 1246, Abbot Laurence Acclorne died in suspicious circumstances, possibly murdered by three monks poisoning his communion chalice.

The monks of the abbey were large landowners, and the most powerful body in what was then a remote border territory. In particular, they were heavily influential on the Isle of Man. One of the kings of Mann and the Isles is buried at the abbey, as are many of the Bishops of Sodor and Man. Rushen Abbey on the Isle of Man was built on land owned by the monks. They also owned mines on the island, and built Piel Castle to control trade between the Furness Peninsula and the Isle of Man.

Being about 70 miles down the coast from Scotland, the monks occasionally found themselves in between the frequently warring Scots and English. The abbey was sacked in 1316 by Robert the Bruce, and had to be abandoned for two years. In 1896, while touring industrial Northern England, Chinese statesman Li Hongzhang visited the abbey site. Viceroy Li stayed longer than expected, so that his schedule had to be rearranged. The ruins were handed over to state care in 1923.

Burials

  • William de Mowbray
  • William Russell, former Bishop of Mann and the Isles
  • Rǫgnvaldr Guðrøðarson
  • Rǫgnvaldr Óláfsson

Remains

The red sandstone ruins of the abbey are impressive and extensive. Of the cruciform church, the late 12th century transepts, a fine example of Cistercian early Gothic architecture, and the 15th century Perpendicular Gothic presbytery still stand to the wallhead. The night stairs door remains in the south transept. The presbytery retains an elaborate sedilia. The crossing piers and some fragments of carved stone in the transepts survive from the Savignac church, which had an apsidal east end. The nave has largely been reduced to foundation level, but enough survives to show that it alternated circular and eight-shafted piers, unusually for a Cistercian church. The lower part of the 16th century west tower remains - in appearance it would have been like that built by Abbot Marmaduke Huby at Fountains.

The south and west ranges of the cloister, which contained the warming room, refectory, cellars and lay brothers' accommodation, have largely been reduced to their foundations. The east range, however, is well-preserved. The first floor housed the dormitory, and lancet windows survive. The ground floor has an imposing run of five round-headed arches facing the cloister. These gave access to two book cupboards, the chapter house, the slype and the day room. The 13th century chapter house has a vaulted vestibule opening into an elaborate room with paired lancets and blind tracery, formerly vaulted. To the east of the dormitory was the reredorter. Its drain is still water-filled. Another sighting is that of a squire's daughter. She was known to meet her lover at the ruined abbey after the Reformation, although one day her partner took a journey out to sea from which he never returned. Such tunnel stories are common to many medieval buildings, due to the presence of partially-buried drains. At Furness, there are two main drains, running east and west of the main buildings.

Mystery plays

thumb|upright=1.5|Furness Abbey, Cumbria, by [[Elizabeth Cameron Mawson (1877)]]

Furness Abbey has hosted a number of large-scale mystery plays. The first of these were performed over several consecutive nights in 1958. The mystery plays continued throughout the 1960s until the recruitment of participants, perhaps over 100, became difficult. Author Melvyn Bragg attended the 1988 mystery plays revival, which were the last such performances at the abbey.

Access and facilities

Furness Abbey is located off Manor Road close to Barrow's main thoroughfare, Abbey Road, which is named after the Abbey itself. The Abbey also lies next to the Furness Line and was served by Furness Abbey railway station until closure in 1950. The closest stations are now Roose and Dalton.

English Heritage operates a small visitor centre at Furness Abbey which includes a number of stone carvings and effigies as well as a gift shop. It, alongside the abbey is open to the public in the summer season. During winter venturing into the Abbey is strongly discouraged due to the Abbey grounds being prone to flooding.

In literature

In addition to work by William Wordsworth, Furness Abbey features twice in the Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Books of the 1830s, both with a poetical illustration by Letitia Elizabeth Landon: in the 1832 edition: Furness Abbey, in the Vale of Nightshade, Lancashire to a drawing by Harwood, in which she 'sighs for the days of the veil and the vow', as an escape from the vanity of the modern world; and, in the 1835 edition: Chapter House, Furness Abbey to a painting by Thomas Allom, a descriptive passage from the French of Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve.

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File:Furness Abbey 08.jpg|Detail of some of the abbey's arch ways

File:Furness Abbey 10.jpg|Ruined pillars within the chapter

File:Furness Abbey 04.jpg|View towards the former quire and presbytery along the nave

File:Furness Abbey Ruins, The Lake District.jpg|Ruins of the infirmary

File:Furness Abbey 01.jpg|The abbey viewed from the south-east including the reredorter

File:Furness Abbey 09.jpg|Ruins of the east range

File:Furness_Abbey_Capells_Extra_Portas_Gateway-geograph.org.uk-2433985.jpg|Former gateway to the abbey

File:13th_century_grave_cover_(Furness_Abbey)_(cropped).jpg|Grave cover on display in the visitor centre

Furness_Abbey,_1888.jpg|1888 imagination of the abbey prior to destruction

File:Furnes_abbey_by_W._Byrne_%26_S._Middiman_-_GMII.jpg|1778 print of the abbey

File:Edward_Dayes_-_Furness_Abbey,_Lancashire.jpg|Painting of the abbey by Edward Dayes

File:Furness_Abbey_Manuscript.jpg|1412 manuscript relating to the abbey

File:Furness Abbey by Henry Fox Talbot.jpg|Furness Abbey by Henry Fox Talbot, circa 1850s

</gallery>

See also

  • List of monasteries dissolved by Henry VIII of England
  • Listed buildings in Barrow-in-Furness
  • Abbot's Wood, Cumbria

Further reading

  • Atkinson, Rev. J.C., The Coucher Book of Furness Abbey, Printed from the Original Preserved in the Record Office, London, Part 1, London, 1886 [https://archive.org/details/coucherbookfurn03atkigoog]

References

  • English Heritage
  • Information for teachers: English Heritage
  • Risk assessment information for teachers: English Heritage