March 1160 A.D.—Present. Conishead Priory, Ulverston, Cumbria, UK—Founded 1160 by Augustinian Canons Regular
March 1160 A.D.—Present. Conishead Priory, Ulverston, Cumbria, UK—Founded 1160 by
Augustinian Canons Regular; Priory
Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary; Occupied at 16 Oct 1536; Currently a
Buddhist Manjurshri Kadampa Meditation Center
Conishead Priory
Contents
History of the site
The present building
Buddhist monastery
See also
References
External links
Conishead Priory
From Wikipedia, the free
encyclopedia
Conishead
Priory is a large Gothic Revival building on the Furness peninsula near Ulverston in Cumbria. The priory's name translates literally as 'King's Hill Priory'.[1] Since 1976 to the present, the building has been
occupied by a Buddhist community.
Contents
History of the site
An Augustinian priory was founded at Conishead in the twelfth century and existed there until the Dissolution
of the Monasteries. The origins
of the medieval priory which was founded on the grounds of the present house
was founded as a hospital and subsequently developed into a priory during the
reign of Henry II (1145–1189). It is thought to have been established as early
as 1167 by Gamel de Pennington, and run by the Augustian order.[2] However, William de Lancaster II, baron of Kendal
also claimed to be the owner.[3] After the dissolution the lands were then leased to
Thomas Stanley, 2nd Baron Monteagle and afterwards briefly belonged to William
Paget, 1st Baron Paget,
before being bought in 1548 by William Sandys, a brother of Archbishop
Edwin Sandys. Sandys was killed in a
dispute in 1559 and is commemorated by an effigy in Ulverston church; his son
Francis died without issue in 1583 leaving two married half-sisters, Margaret
Dodding and Barbara Philipson, as heirs. Margaret's grandson George Dodding, a
zealous Roundhead,[4] later bought out the Philipsons; his son Miles died
in 1683 leaving two daughters. One died childless, so the estate passed through
her sister Sarah, wife of John Bradyll of Portfield, to their son Dodding
Braddyll, Whig MP for Lancaster 1715–22.[5] Dodding's son Thomas Braddyll in turn died
unmarried in 1776, leaving Conishead to Wilson Gale, his first cousin once
removed, who changed his name to Wilson
Gale-Braddyll. Throughout this period the
building itself changed considerably.[6]
The present building
Conishead Priory
Wilson Gale-Braddyll was
succeeded in 1818 by his only son Lt-Col Thomas (1776–1862), who further
altered the family name the following year by becoming Thomas
Richmond-Gale-Braddyll. In 1821 he served as High Sheriff of Lancashire,
and that same year Conishead was demolished to make way for a new house.
The designer of the new
Conishead was Philip William Wyatt, son of James Wyatt and one of an illustrious clan of architects.
However, he was not destined to enjoy success in the field; he was dismissed
from the project while it was in progress,[7] was declared bankrupt in 1833 and sent to the
debtors' prison,[8] dying in 1835. Wyatt's replacement was George
Webster of Kendal, from another architectural family. It is possible
that Webster was originally asked to draw up plans before Wyatt was approached;
there are a pair of existing plans[9] of the 1st and 2nd floors of the present priory
dated 1818 – the year that Bradyll inherited the estate.
The building took some 20
years and around £140,000 to complete,[10] but its owner was bankrupted by disastrous
speculations in the Durham coal mines[11] and forced to sell it to Henry William Askew of
Minard Castle, Inverary[12] in 1850. The Priory was Askew's residence until he
sold it in 1874, during which time he remortgaged it at least five times using
it as collateral. Interestingly, it appears he also shared the Priory with
Henry Schneider, the iron mining entrepreneur.[13] In 1874 the Priory was bought by John Poole,[14] a local solicitor of Ulverston, who sold much of
the estate for development, one of the main purchasers was William Gradwell, a
developer from Barrow in Furness. Poole sold the Priory and surrounding park
(approx. 150 acres) to a Scottish syndicate in 1878, who converted it to a spa hotel.[15] The hotel was a popular destination until at least
the turn of the century, so much so that the Priory had its own railway
station. In 1883, the Furness Railway Company opened the Bardsea Loop Line[16] which never went further than Conishead Priory. The
railway embankment and station houses can still be seen today, situated just to
the west of the house. In 1925 the Priory and its grounds were bought by the
Conishead Co. Ltd, who made considerable improvements.[17] Just four years later the Priory was up for sale
again, and purchased, somewhat ironically, by the Durham Miners Welfare
Committee for £35,000.[18] The Committee employed the architect Arthur Kellett
of Barnard Castle to redesign the interior for the priory's use as a
convalescent home.[19] The Priory was opened as a convalescent home on 29
August 1930, with up to 150 miners being admitted every two weeks to recuperate
from mining injuries.[20] In 1933 the Welfare Committee built a Staff House
in the grounds some 200m north of the Priory with two cottages for ground staff
at either end. The Staff house later became a nursing home before being
converted into apartments. During World War II the Priory served as an emergency
hospital for air-raid victims although in the event it was not used as such but
was instead use for wounded servicemen,approximately 8,000 of whom were treated
there. The Welfare Committee reopened the Priory as a convalescent home in
April 1946.[21]
In 1970 the Welfare Committee put the Priory and its grounds up for sale, and in 1972 it sold, the estate split in two, one part and the Staff House to a Mr. Fisher and the Priory and other part to a Miss. Vickii Jones of Wigan. There were plans for the Priory to revert to a hotel and a caravan park in the grounds, but, unable to get planning permission, the Priory was put back on the market.[22]
In 1970 the Welfare Committee put the Priory and its grounds up for sale, and in 1972 it sold, the estate split in two, one part and the Staff House to a Mr. Fisher and the Priory and other part to a Miss. Vickii Jones of Wigan. There were plans for the Priory to revert to a hotel and a caravan park in the grounds, but, unable to get planning permission, the Priory was put back on the market.[22]
Buddhist monastery
Since 1976 Conishead Priory
has been the home of Buddhist Communities most recently Manjushri Kadampa Buddhistcommunity,
who have done much to preserve its structure restored by previous communities.
The Kadampa
Buddhist Templehas been
built in the grounds.[23]
See also
References
3.
Jump up^ Farrer,W & Brownbill, J., (1908), The Victoria History of the County of
Lancashire, Vol.2, p140
4.
Jump up^ Victoria County History. (1914). "Townships:
Ulverston". A History of the County of Lancashire: Volume 8.
6.
Jump up^ Gastrell, Rt. Rev. Francis. (1850). Notitia Cestriensis. Vol. II part III. Manchester: printed for
The Chetham Society, editor F. R. Raines.
7.
Jump up^ Robinson, John Martin. (1991).A Guide to the Country
Houses of the North West. London: Constable
8.
Jump up^ Robinson, John Martin. (2004). "Wyatt, Benjamin Dean
(bap.1775, d.1855)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press.
13.
Jump up^ Casson, R., 1900, Some Retrospective Jottings of an Old
Furness Worthy, H.W. MAckereth's Seventh Annual Furness Year Book, p33
16.
Jump up^ Batty, R. and Paescod, M., 1996, Furness Railway 150: A History of the
Furness Railway, Celebrating a 150 Years of railways in Furness
20.
Jump up^ Anon, 2009, Wardley, The History, The Collieries, The
Community, The People, The Places[1]
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