Furness Abbey
Furness Cistercian Abbey | |
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![]() The ruins of Furness Abbey |
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location |
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Coordinates: | 54 ° 8 '7 " N , 3 ° 11' 52" W |
Serial number according to Janauschek |
241 |
founding year | 1147 |
Year of dissolution / annulment |
1537 |
Mother monastery | Savigny Monastery |
Primary Abbey | Clairvaux Monastery |
Daughter monasteries |
Swineshead Abbey (1147) |
Furness Abbey (St. Mary of Furness) is a former Cistercian abbey in England . The ruins of the monastery are on the outskirts of the town of Barrow-in-Furness in what is now Cumbria , between Barrow and Dalton-in-Furness east of the A 590 road.
history
The monastery was founded in 1124 in Ashton-on-Ribble, a suburb of Preston, by the later King Stephen , who was also Count of Boulogne , as a monastery of the Congregation of Savigny , but it was moved to the Woods of Furness as early as 1127 . Furness settled Swineshead Abbey , Rushen Abbey on the Isle of Man , Byland Abbey , Calder Abbey and Inch Abbey in what is now Northern Ireland . With the Congregation of Savigny it joined the Cistercian Order in 1147. The monastery thus belonged to the filiation of the Clairvaux Primary Abbey . After entering the Cistercian order, he was subordinated to various Cistercian monasteries in Ireland , often as a result of the Mellifont conspiracy , including Abington Abbey (possibly a daughter of Furness), Fermoy Abbey , Inislounaght Abbey and Corcomroe Abbey . It is said to have been the wealthiest Cistercian monastery in England after Fountains Abbey , expanded a port on Walney Island to promote its wool and iron trade, built a castle in Piel and exercised jurisdiction in Dalton-in-Furness . The names of 32 abbots of the monastery have been handed down. In 1535 the abbey was estimated to have an annual income of £ 805. In 1537, probably because of his opposition to King Henry VIII , the monastery was withdrawn from the crown and awarded to Thomas Cromwell . In the 16th century, John Preston, the owner of the complex, had a manor house built, which was replaced by a hotel in the 19th century and later by the Abbey Tavern. As Barrow grew, the city moved closer to the facility. With the exception of the south wing of the enclosure, large parts of the monastery complex remained in ruins. The ruins were sung about by William Wordsworth in 1805. In 1923 Lord Richard Cavendish sold the facility to the Office of Works (later Department of the Environment, now managed by English Heritage ).
Plant and buildings
The facility is built from local red sandstone. The large church (nave with 10 yokes, transept with three side chapels on both sides in the east, rectangular choir) is in the north of the complex. A large tower was planned in the west, but it has remained unfinished. Only the bases of the pillars of the ship have survived. The crossing and transepts, on the other hand, are almost completely preserved. The enclosure is located to the south (right) of the church and has an unusually long east wing, the ruins of which have largely been preserved, while only the foundation walls of the west wing remain.
See also
- Jocelin of Furness , around 1200, hagiographer
literature
- Anthony New: A guide to the Abbeys of England and Wales. Constable & Company, London 1985, ISBN 0-09-463520-X , pp. 189 ff., With a plan.