Furness Abbey
"The extensive red sandstone ruins of Furness Abbey are set in the beautiful
wooded Vale of Nightshade. By the time of the Dissolution of the Monastaries
in the 1530s, Furness was the second riches Cistercian abbey in England after
Fountains.
Before it became Cistercian, Furness belonged to the Savignac Order and today,
remains of the earlier monastary can be seen among the later Cistercian remains."
From the English Heritage guidebook.
Images taken 01 February 2004
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Bow Bridge near Furness Abbey. This late-medieval stone bridge across
Mill Beck carries a route to nearby Furness Abbey, which was founded
in 1123 by Stephen, later King of England. (Text from the English
Heritage website).
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Furness Abbey
This is the view from the 'far' end, as the site was closed for
lunch when we arrived. This is the infirmary chapel. |
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Another view of the infirmary chapel. The octogonal walls define
where the kitchen was; the door facing the kitchen enters into the
buttery.
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Taken from the same location, I'm looking over the Abbot's House
toward the East Range, with the West Tower in the background.
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Approaching the abbey from the Outer Court. The low ruins in the
foreground was a guest house and later a stable block. To the right
with the large Window is the North Transept; the High Altar, Sedilia
and Presbytery are to the left of the transept and the Nave going
to the West Tower are off the image to the right.
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Looking down the North Transept to the South Transept.
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A couple interesting bits of stonework, that look like they came
from a different part of the original abbey.
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The Sedalia, amazingly well preserved. There were 4 seats on the
right for the priest an dhis assistants, the left side held the
piscina.
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Another view if the sedalia.
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Looking from the High Altar, across the Crossing which connects
the North and South Transepts, looking down the Nave toward the
West Tower. John is listening to the audio tour.
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A decoration over some arches. Despite its age, it still has relatively
sharp edges, unlike decorations in most ruins we've visited.
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Looking toward the undercroft. The window in about the center is
the same window of the South Transept from an earlier picture.
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The infirmery Chapel, buttery and kitchen again.
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Looking at the ruins from in front of the Abbots House
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