Reasons for Designation
From the time of St Augustine's mission to re-establish Christianity in AD 597
to the reign of Henry VIII, monasticism formed an important facet of both
religious and secular life in the British Isles. Settlements of religious
communities, including monasteries, were built to house communities of monks,
canons (priests), and sometimes lay-brothers, living a common life of
religious observance under some form of systematic discipline. It is estimated
from documentary evidence that over 700 monasteries were founded in England.
These ranged in size from major communities with several hundred members to
tiny establishments with a handful of brethren. They belonged to a wide
variety of different religious orders, each with its own philosophy. As a
result, they vary considerably in the detail of their appearance and layout,
although all possess the basic elements of church, domestic accommodation for
the community, and work buildings. Monasteries were inextricably woven into
the fabric of medieval society, acting not only as centres of worship,
learning, and charity, but also, because of the vast landholdings of some
orders, as centres of immense wealth and political influence. They were
established in all parts of England, some in towns and others in the remotest
of areas. Many monasteries acted as the foci of wide networks including parish
churches, almshouses, hospitals, farming estates and tenant villages. Some 225
of these religious houses belonged to the order of St Augustine. The
Augustinians were not monks in the strict sense, but rather communities of
canons - or priests - living under the rule of St Augustine. In England they
came to be known as `black canons' because of their dark coloured robes and to
distinguish them from the Cistercians who wore light clothing. From the 12th
century onwards, they undertook much valuable work in the parishes, running
almshouses, schools and hospitals as well as maintaining and preaching in
parish churches. It was from the churches that they derived much of their
revenue. The Augustinians made a major contribution to many facets of medieval
life and all of their monasteries which exhibit significant surviving
archaeological remains are worthy of protection.
Although some of the buildings of Lanercost Priory remain in present day use,
large areas within the former precinct remain unencumbered by modern
development and contain extensive upstanding remains of medieval fabric. These
include the eastern part of the church, the Prior's House, the vaulted cellars
on the cloister south range, foundations of the cloister east range and the
later chapter house, the gateway arch, parts of the precinct wall, and the
base of a 13th century standing cross. Additionally, undisturbed earthworks
survive in The Garth to the north west of the church. This allows the
development and workings of much of the monastic precinct to be studied.
Details
Lanercost Priory is located in the valley of the River Irthing 3.5km north
east of Brampton and includes the upstanding and buried remains of parts of a
priory founded by the Augustinian order, together with upstanding and buried
remains of the priory precinct wall and the base of a medieval standing cross.
The burial ground is totally excluded from the scheduling as it is much
disturbed by later burials and remains, in part, in active use. The area
occupied by Abbey Farm is also not included as the nature and extent of any
archaeological remains here has yet to be confirmed.
The monument is constructed of dressed sandstone, some of which is thought to
have been removed from Hadrian's Wall a short distance to the north of the
priory. It includes the ruins of the eastern end of the church, the cellars on
the south range of the cloister, and the Prior's House, which are all now in
the care of the Secretary of State. The precinct wall which enclosed the
priory is also clearly visible in places. The nave of the medieval priory
church subsequently became the parish church. This church, dedicated to St
Mary Magdalene, remains in use. North of it lies the base of a medieval
standing cross.
The well preserved standing remains demonstrate the usual layout of an
Augustinian priory with the church running east-west and forming the north
range of a four-sided complex known as the cloister. Domestic buildings such
as the kitchens and dining hall formed the southern range, the prior's lodging
and administrative buildings the west range, and lay-brothers' quarters and
chapter house the east range.
The earliest standing remains at Lanercost are the eastern part of the church
which, together with most of the monastic buildings, was completed by the end
of the 12th century. The nave of the priory was built in the early years of
the 13th century and by 1220 the whole of the priory had been completed.
The south transept of the church originally contained the Chapel of St
Catherine. It now contains the tomb of Sir Thomas Dacre, who died in 1525, and
a second Dacre tomb with a mutilated effigy. The north transept originally
contained the Lady Chapel. It now contains the graves of several members of
the Howard family, the fine 15th century tomb of Sir Humphrey Dacre who died
in 1485, and the tomb of Sir Rowland de Vaux, nephew of the founder of the
priory, Sir Robert de Vaux. Separating the north and south transepts are the
choir and sanctuary; the choir would have contained wooden stalls and seating,
while at the east end of the sanctuary, on a raised step, stood the high
altar, with an aumbry or recess behind in which sacred vessels were kept.
The cloister measures 15.5m by 16m and has walkways on all sides. The north
range is formed by the nave of St Mary's Church. The upper floor of the west
range now functions as the church hall - known as Dacre Hall - and the whole
range is considerably altered from its original construction when it would
have contained administrative offices on the upper floor with storage cellars
beneath. At the south end of the west range is the ruin of the Prior's House.
The south range contains vaulted storage cellars which originally lay beneath
the now destroyed refectory or dining hall. The east range contains
foundations of what was originally a long two-storied building, the ground
floor of which was used mainly for storage, though the section nearest the
church may have been the vestry, and the room next to it an early chapter
house. The upper floor would have been the dormitory where the canons slept.
Jutting out on the eastern side of this building are foundations of the later
chapter house where the canons would assemble each morning immediately after
first mass.
West of the church is a 13th century fortified tower with 16th century
additions that is now used as a vicarage but was originally the guest house of
the outer court of the priory. To the north of this building is a large open
area known as The Garth. This area contains various earthwork remains of
further buildings and other structures associated with the priory, however,
the precise nature and function of these earthworks is not fully understood.
Further earthworks of a similar nature exist to the south of the south range
of the cloister. Also situated within The Garth is the base of a standing
cross which is Listed Grade I. It is dated 1214 and includes a stepped plinth
upon which is a chamfered square socket stone with a fragment of the cross
shaft with carved decoration to the edges. The priory is bounded by a 13th
century precinct wall constructed of red sandstone, some of it removed from
Hadrian's Wall. It still survives up to c.1.5m high on the north side of the
priory. Although demolished elsewhere the wall foundations are still visible
as an earthwork bank on the western and eastern sides of the precinct. West of
the priory are the remains of the 13th century gatehouse consisting of a
gateway inner arch and fragments of the flanking tower, buttresses, blocked
entrance to a now destroyed porter's lodge, and buried remains of the
gatehouse outer arch.
Lanercost Priory was founded c.1166 by Robert de Vaux. Edward I visited the
priory on three occasions in 1280, 1300, and again in 1306/7 when he was taken
ill and remained for six months until his recovery. In between Edward's
earlier visits the Scots ransacked the priory in 1296 when they burned the
cloister. No sooner had the damage been repaired than it was destroyed again
the following year by Scots under the leadership of William Wallace.
Documentary sources indicate considerable building work was undertaken at the
priory during Edward's convalescence when the royal entourage of up to 200
people had to be accommodated. In 1346 King David II of Scotland ransacked the
buildings and desecrated the church. The priory was rebuilt but many of the
estates had to be sold to meet the costs of this work. Lanercost Priory was
dissolved in 1537 under the orders of Henry VIII and the buildings were
granted to Sir Thomas Dacre who made alterations and converted some of the
monastic buildings, including Dacre Hall, into a dwelling house by 1559. The
north aisle of the church was shut off from the rest and used as a parish
church, while a parsonage was built for the vicar to the west of the 13th
century tower. The remainder of the monastic buildings were allowed to fall
into decay. In 1716 the ruins of the priory passed to the crown upon the death
of the Lanercost Dacres. About 1740 it was decided to enlarge the space used
by the parish church by restoring the nave. In 1896 the priory was purchased
by the Earl of Carlisle. Throughout the 20th century various parts of the
priory have been placed in the guardianship of the Secretary of State.
Many of the buildings within the area of the scheduling are Listed Grade I
including the parish Church of St Mary; the fortified tower and former guest
house of the outer court which is now used as a vicarage; the 13th century
precinct wall to the north of the priory and the 18th century graveyard wall;
the gateway west of the priory; and the cloister west range which includes
Dacre Hall and all other rooms on the first floor, the cellar and all other
rooms beneath Dacre Hall, and the Prior's House at the south end of the west
range.
A number of features are excluded from the scheduling, including the present
Church of St Mary; the fortified tower and guest house now used as a vicarage;
the English Heritage ticket office and all fixtures and fittings; the west and
south graveyard walls; the gateway arch west of the priory; a tool shed
adjacent to the precinct wall; the surface of the access drive, surfaces of
adjacent roads, car park, paths and walkways; surfaces of adjacent roads; all
fences; although the ground beneath all these features is included. The burial
ground is totally excluded from the scheduling.
MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
