Whalley Abbey is a former

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The conce ...

in Whalley,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, England. After the dissolution of the monasteries, the abbey was largely demolished and a

country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...

was built on the site. In the 20th century the house was modified and it is now the Retreat and Conference House of the

Diocese of Blackburn The Diocese of Blackburn is a Church of England diocese, covering much of Lancashire, created on 12 November 1926 from part of the Diocese of Manchester. The diocese includes the towns of Blackburn, Blackpool and Burnley, the cities of Lancas ...

of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

. The ruins of the abbey are recorded in the

National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, an ...

as a designated Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

, and are a

Scheduled Ancient Monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

History

Monastery

In 1296 the

monks from Stanlow Abbey moved to Whalley. Stanlow Abbey had been founded on the banks of the

River Mersey The River Mersey () is in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it has formed part ...

in the 1170s by

John fitz Richard John fitz Richard (died 11 October 1190) was an Anglo-Norman soldier, Baron of Halton and hereditary Constable of Chester. Historical records refer to him as "John, Constable of Chester". He died at Acre in the Holy Land. Origins He was ...

, the constable of Chester. This abbey had suffered a series of misfortunes, including flooding in 1279, the destruction of the church tower in a gale in 1287 and a fire in 1289. In 1283

Henry de Lacy Henry de Lacy, Earl of Lincoln (c. 1251February 1311), Baron of Pontefract, Lord of Bowland, Baron of Halton and hereditary Constable of Chester, was an English nobleman and confidant of King Edward I. He served Edward in Wales, France, and Sc ...

, tenth Baron of Halton agreed to the move from Stanlow to Whalley but this was not achieved until 1296. The first stone was laid by Henry de Lacy in June 1296 and at least part of the site was consecrated by the Bishop of Whithern in 1306. Building proceeded slowly and the foundation stone was laid in 1330. Stone for building the abbey was obtained from quarries at

Read Read Read may refer to: * Reading, human cognitive process of decoding symbols in order to construct or derive meaning * Read (automobile), an American car manufactured from 1913 to 1915 * Read (biology), an inferred sequence of base pairs of ...

and Simonstone. A royal licence to build a

crenellated A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interva ...

wall around the site was obtained in 1339. The church was completed in 1380 but the remainder of the abbey was not finished until the 1440s. In 1480 the North East Gatehouse, which provided a new entrance to the abbey, was completed. In the 16th century, John Paslew, the last Abbot of Whalley, reconstructed his own lodgings and added a

Lady Chapel A Lady chapel or lady chapel is a traditional British term for a chapel dedicated to "Our Lady", Mary, mother of Jesus, particularly those inside a cathedral or other large church. The chapels are also known as a Mary chapel or a Marian chapel, an ...

. The abbey closed in 1537 as part of the dissolution of the monasteries. Also that year Abbot Paslew was executed for

high treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

for his part in events connected with the

Pilgrimage of Grace The Pilgrimage of Grace was a popular revolt beginning in Yorkshire in October 1536, before spreading to other parts of Northern England including Cumberland, Northumberland, and north Lancashire, under the leadership of Robert Aske. The "most ...

the previous year.

Private house

In 1553 the abbey lands and the manor of Whalley were sold for just over £2,151 to John Braddyll of Brockhall and Richard Assheton of

Lever A lever is a simple machine consisting of a beam or rigid rod pivoted at a fixed hinge, or ''fulcrum''. A lever is a rigid body capable of rotating on a point on itself. On the basis of the locations of fulcrum, load and effort, the lever is div ...

near

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish people, Flemish weavers settled in the area i ...

. The properties were divided and Assheton took the monastic site and buildings. The abbot's house and the infirmary buildings were demolished and a large house was built on the site. In the 17th century most of the remaining church and monastic buildings were pulled down. The house passed through a succession of owners and further alterations were made to it in the 19th century. Around 1900 the house and grounds were bought by Sir John Travis Cragg.

Modern Religious Centre

In 1923 the house and grounds were purchased by the Anglican Diocese of Manchester when the bishop was William Temple. When the diocese was divided in 1926, the property passed to the new

. In 1930 Canon J. R. Lumb was appointed as the first warden of the centre and it has since become a centre of religious education with residential accommodation for guests. Two of the ground floor rooms have been converted into chapels. In the 1930s the site of the abbey church was excavated and the foundations discovered were exposed and consolidated.

Present day

Retreat and conference house

The former private house, which is now a retreat and conference house, was reopened in September 2005 following refurbishment. It contains conference rooms, a dining room and ''en suite'' rooms for residents. The north range contains a visitor centre, with a coffee shop, exhibition centre and a bookshop. A spirituality programme is available for resident and non-resident guests. Guided tours of the abbey ruins can be arranged in the summer months. Gatehouse,Whalley Abbey - geograph

Abbey ruins and grounds

Only the foundations of the church remain. The remains of the former monastic buildings are more extensive. The west range, which was the lay brothers' dormitory, consists of two stories, and is roofed. This is currently used as a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

church hall. To the south of the cloister, part of the walls of the former kitchen and refectory remain. The east range is more complete and includes parts of the walls of the former monks' day room, parlour and vestry.

Other related buildings

The North West Gateway is separately listed Grade I. It is built in

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

rubble Rubble is broken stone, of irregular size, shape and texture; undressed especially as a filling-in. Rubble naturally found in the soil is known also as 'brash' (compare cornbrash)."Rubble" def. 2., "Brash n. 2. def. 1. ''Oxford English Dictionar ...

, is in two storeys and is roofless. It is also a

. The lodge at the entrance to the abbey grounds is listed Grade II. It dates probably from the late 18th century, and is built in

ashlar Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...

sandstone with a stone slate roof. Also listed Grade II are a pair of gatepiers at the entrance to the grounds.

Anti social behaviour

In August 2021 there was criminal damage to ancient ruins at the Abbey and drug taking, as well as shouting, swearing and screaming until the early hours, with 150 youths caught breaking laws. Underage drinking and harassment of the Reverend and his wife was reported as well as assaults on security staff, and on police officers. Neighbouring houses were pelted with stones..

References

;Bibliography *

External links

Whalley Abbey Virtual Tour

Photographs by Peter GlassArchitectural details of the 2005 refurbishment
{{Authority control Grade I listed churches in Lancashire Monasteries in Lancashire Cistercian monasteries in England Tourist attractions in Lancashire Grade I listed buildings in Lancashire Grade I listed monasteries Religious organizations established in the 1290s English Heritage sites in Lancashire Christian monasteries established in the 13th century 1537 disestablishments in England Demolished buildings and structures in England Buildings and structures in Ribble Valley 1296 establishments in England Monasteries dissolved under the English Reformation Scheduled monuments in Lancashire