Autumn Holiday Part Eight - An Abbey not so virtuous!

 So I woke up from the first night in the lodge like death warmed up. Streaming nose and eyes, a fever and feeling very under the weather. I thought I had managed to dodge James's cold, but here it was in all its glory. So that was our first day gone, with me confined to bed, and him confined to the sauna and hot tub. Not sure if confined is quite the right word for him! The second day was a bit better we managed a small trip out to the Lake District, or more specifically Windermere.

It's your typical cute little Lake District town. Lots of artisan shops, great views and just an all round nice place to be. Plus, ice cream is on tap there, So enjoy a picture of my ice cream in front of Windermere.

I was also surprised by the colour choices of the public toilets there, who knew orange and blue was such an ideal colour for public toilets? We had lunch, and I was starting to feel ill again, so we headed back to the lodge early so I could go back to bed.

The next day I was feeling better, and so we decided to head out to Barrow-In-Furness, in particular to visit the ruined Abbey there. Come one, you must have been expecting a couple more ruined Abbeys to be visited!

The Abbey is surrounded by lush greenery, in a secluded area just outside of the town of Barrow-in-Furness itself. Differently to other Abbies we have visited, it has a rather sombre and forlorn ambience to it, although I can't quite put my finger on why, and neither could James who also had a similar feeling.

It's made of this stunning red coloured stone, which contrasts beautifully with the greenery around it. At it's peak, the Abbey here was one of the wealthiest and most powerful in the North West of England, and it started off well. The Abbey was founded by Stephen, count of Boulogne & Mortain, who would go on to become King of England in 1135. From its origins, the Abbey grew in power, creating several daughter Abbies and Houses, not just in England, but also on the Isle of Man and in Ireland too.

The Abbey also saw some discontent too, one abbot was killed with a poisoned chalice in 1246, and a fight broke out in the stables involving the death of a servant from the rival Fountains Abbey not long after. And we were all thinking life was peaceful and safe in the Abbey, I bet you didn't expect that!

The Abbey recovered from these scandals quite quickly, and you can see was a very wealthy establishment by some of the surviving stonework across the site. However, further problems in 1316 when the Scot's raided and severely damaged the Abbey. The Abbey recovered, but was further hit by the black death in 1349, which killed many of the residents, monks and lay brothers alike.

Further dubious goings on occurred towards the end of the 1400's, after a period of recovery, scandal hit when Alexander Banke was elected Abbot, who was thrown out once for dishonesty and theft, and after fleeing to London, was readmitted and made Abbot again, only for things to continue. Parts of the church were also rebuilt due to subsidence, and Alexander built the great tower, parts of which are still standing today. Perhaps that accounts for the moody nature of the Abbey, there was a lot of bad goings on, in a place designed for good to occur!

In several of the pictures, you can see metal bracings, supporting the walls. The Abbey, after many years as a ruin, is in need of further support to remain visitable. I like the fact that they have painted the metal supports, to make it blend it with the colour of the Abbey's brickwork as best as possible.

The Abbey suffered greatly from the dissolution of the monasteries. It was assessed at having an income and assets of £805, making it the second richest Abbey in the country, and a natural target for the suppression. In 1537, the Abbot Pyle, surrendered the Abbey, and could only stand and watch as anything valuable was plundered, before the roof was torn down.

It's interesting to me, how when you read about the history of many of the Abbies we visit, they really explain about the learning, the religious fervor, & the charity that would go inside. Furness Abbey is different in that sense, as yes, it was incredibly rich and powerful, but also had more than its fair share of violence and deceit, much of which were of its own doing by those running it. Deceit is not a word used often to describe religious institutions, rather, it is one that is becoming used more often.

A view of the watercourse than runs below the Abbey, which would provide drinking water to the monks, while flushing waste away.

The Abbey is ran by and looked after by English Heritage, and entrance costs £9 for adults, although as usual, you can save more by either booking in advance or becoming a member. There's also a little museum showcasing some of the finds of the Abbey, as well as a little shop, where there are alcoholic testers! Well, you've got to sample things when offered!

I left Furness Abbey in deep thought, curious about what other devious goings on occured there, but were never documented. Fascinating really!

We then headed into Barrow-In-Furness to have a little wander around. We headed over to the Dock Museum for a look around. I was feeling a bit under the weather again by this point, and my energy was lacking, so we didn't spend as long there as we wanted to. James really enjoyed it, he studied yacht building at university, so is very interested in all things maritime. The museum was free entry, so we didn't feel guilty about only being there for an hour. What I saw was good, but I just didn't feel good enough to do more.

There was this lovely scale model of the Oriana, with her iconic stern design. My mum remembered going to down to watch the cruise ships coming into Southampton, and always recognised the ship. That was entertainment years ago, going down to Western Shore in Southampton to wave at the cruise ships as they came and went. I remember my mum taking me as a kid down to watch them and run about on the beach. Although it wasn't the Oriana, but I do remember the new Cunard queens coming together for a special event, although I was too young to really understand it.

But that's life isnt it? You do things as a child and you think how boring things are, only to re-evaluate and do them as an adult and really enjoy it. I remember being dragged to Hadrian's Wall as a child and just not getting the significance of being at the Roman Empire's border. As an adult now, I can't believe I even had that attitude! But things change and we mature, and eventually (when I get to it) I can tell you all about my visit to Hadrian's Wall as an adult, and how I absolutely loved it. But that's a story for another day!