Cartmel Priory
Cartmel Priory, at
Cartmel,
Cumbria,
England, is a
priory founded in
1190 by
William Marshal, later 2nd
Earl of Pembroke for the
Augustinian Canons and dedicated to
Saint Mary the Virgin and
Saint Michael.
Between
1327 and
1347 a chapel with four
traceried windows was provided by
Lord Harrington in the south choir aisle, and in fact his
tomb is still in the building. The gatehouse, which apart from the church itself is the only surviving structure of the priory, was built between
1330 and
1340.
In the
15th century extensive work was undertaken in part, due to damage (believed to be from natural causes) in the northern part of the church. In the east end of the church, the early
lancet windows were replace by one huge window of stained glass,
misericords were installed in the choir, and the tower was extended. Unusually, the extension to the tower sits at a 45-degree angle on top of the base, a feature believed to be unique in England. Work continued on the building intermittently into the 16th century, when the
choir screen was constructed.
The priory was
dissolved in
1536, and four of the monks were hanged, along with ten villagers who had supported them.
In normal circumstances, the church would have been demolished along with the rest of the buildings associated with the priory, however, the founder
William Marshal had given an
alter within the church to the village, and provided a priest along with it. The villagers petitioned to be allowed to keep the church as it was their only place of worship, and this was granted.
However, despite the villagers' being allowed to keep the church, the lead was stripped from the nave, and until
1618 when
George Preston, a landowner at nearby
Holker Hall, provided considerable finances to allow the roof to be reinstated, the villagers actually worshipped in the
choir, rather than the
nave of the church. In
1643 some
Roundhead troops stayed in the village, stabling their horses in the church. Bullet holes from this time are still visible in the southwest door of the nave.
It was used after the dissolution as a prison and later between
1624 and
1790 as a
grammar school.
By
1830 the church was in need of repair again, and underwent a restoration, which by some has been described as "more enthusiastic than sympathetic".
In
1923 the gatehouse became a
museum, and was used for exhibitions, and meetings, before being presented in
1946 to the
National Trust who continue to operate it as the "
Cartmel Priory Gatehouse".
