February 1189 A.D.—Present. Carmel Priory, Cartmel, Cumbria, UK—Founded 1189 by Augustinian Canons Regular; Founded by William Marshall, Baron of Carmel and Earl of Pembroke; Dissolved 1536
February 1189 A.D.—Present. Carmel Priory, Cartmel, Cumbria, UK—Founded 1189 by Augustinian
Canons Regular; Founded by William
Marshall, Baron of Carmel and Earl of Pembroke;
Dissolved 1536; Church in
Parochial Use; Diocese of Carlisle; 278
Miles NW of London About 2200 As the Crow Flies (Up Near SW Scotland)
No author. “Carmel Priory on the Cartmel Peninsula.” Cumbria
and the Lake District. N.d. http://www.edgeguide.co.uk/cumbria/cartmelpriory.html.
Accessed 1 Dec 2014.
Cartmel Priory on the Cartmel Peninsula
The distinctive tower of Cartmel Priory.
Welcome
to the EDGE Guide to Cartmel Priory. Founded in 1190, this striking building was built
by the Baron of Cartmel and occupied by the Augustinian Canons, as at Carlisle
Cathedral and Lanercost Priory.
Little is known of the Priory's history up to the Dissolution.
During the Dissolution, when Henry
VIII took control of the Church, the Canons were ejected (despite appeals by
the people of the area), and four of them were hanged, as were 10 farmers who
had supported them.
The whole of the Priory's property
was taken by the Crown: as usually happened the lead was stripped off the roof,
as was the norm in order to speed up the Priory's decay.
It would also have been normal for
the stone to be taken from the walls for use on other buildings, but the Priory
survived thanks to its founder, William Marshall, who 350 years earlier had
made sure that an alter within the Priory be given to the people of Cartmel
village and a priest provided for them.
The people of Cartmel village
successfully appealed to the Crown to be allowed to continue using the Priory.
Until 1618 the villagers continued
to attend services in the choir while the rain came through where the roof of
the nave had once been.
Considerable financial help was
provided for the restoration of the roof in 1618 by George Preston of nearby
Holker Hall.
At that time the Priory and it's
surrounding buildings were considerably larger than that which remains today.
Stone from most the Priory's buildings was used in the construction of the very
picturesque village of Cartmel.
The Priory Gatehouse survives in
the village square and illustrates the impact the original range of buildings
must have had on the visitor.
Cartmel Priory Gatehouse.
In 1643 some of Cromwell's
'Roundhead' troops stayed overnight in the village, stabling their horses in
the church. The troops did some damage here as they did in most places they
occupied.
Bullet holes can be seen in the door in the SW corner of the nave.
By 1830 the church was in need of
repair and a long period "restoration" began.
Victorian restoration techniques
were enthusiastic rather than sympathetic, some would say that they were no
more than vandals, but the decay of the fabric of the building was halted.
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