Lanercost Priory

Hello from Soggy Scotland, where we've just had  - if I remember right - two months' worth of rain in one day...   As I made my way home from work, my car was forced to swim, but thankfully it survived the experience.

The Lugtonridge Shield is playing hard to get as far as images are concerned - I've got some great photos somewhere, but i seem to have misplaced them.  But the drawing is crawling on apace...

I thought I'd devote a series of posts to the lovely Lanercost Priory in Northumberland, which we visited on the way home from our recent Haltwhistle sojourn.  Unfortunately, the weather was unpleasant, to say the least, so the photos are - how can I put it?- atmospheric...

An exterior view showing the west front:-
 

 

Somewhere in there is a very pleasant facade with three large lancet windows.  There are two carved stone heads lurking somewhere which have been interpreted as representing Edward I (Altogether now, all you Scotophiles out there- Booo!!) and Queen Eleanor.

Here's the main entrance in the West Front, though sadly I'm too much of an architectural numpty to tell you whether this is transitional or Gothic Proper:-
 

 

My English Heritage guidebook is a bit lacking in information relating to phasing.  It became a site of worship in the 12th century, and its location, close to the Scottish border, meant it suffered during the Scots Wars of Independence.  Robert I (aka Robert the Bruce) raided it in a southern sortie in 1311, and Edward I and his court stayed here in 1306-7, which might not have had much impact on the building's fabric, but must have had a significant effect on its income and economy.

The church, in a much truncated form, has been retained as the parish church, while the rest of the prior hsa become ruinous.  Here's a view of the cloisters:-

 

 

Lanercost Priory

Hello from Soggy Scotland, where we've just had  - if I remember right - two months' worth of rain in one day...   As I made my way home from work, my car was forced to swim, but thankfully it survived the experience.

The Lugtonridge Shield is playing hard to get as far as images are concerned - I've got some great photos somewhere, but i seem to have misplaced them.  But the drawing is crawling on apace...

I thought I'd devote a series of posts to the lovely Lanercost Priory in Northumberland, which we visited on the way home from our recent Haltwhistle sojourn.  Unfortunately, the weather was unpleasant, to say the least, so the photos are - how can I put it?- atmospheric...

An exterior view showing the west front:-
 

 

Somewhere in there is a very pleasant facade with three large lancet windows.  There are two carved stone heads lurking somewhere which have been interpreted as representing Edward I (Altogether now, all you Scotophiles out there- Booo!!) and Queen Eleanor.

Here's the main entrance in the West Front, though sadly I'm too much of an architectural numpty to tell you whether this is transitional or Gothic Proper:-
 

 

My English Heritage guidebook is a bit lacking in information relating to phasing.  It became a site of worship in the 12th century, and its location, close to the Scottish border, meant it suffered during the Scots Wars of Independence.  Robert I (aka Robert the Bruce) raided it in a southern sortie in 1311, and Edward I and his court stayed here in 1306-7, which might not have had much impact on the building's fabric, but must have had a significant effect on its income and economy.

The church, in a much truncated form, has been retained as the parish church, while the rest of the prior hsa become ruinous.  Here's a view of the cloisters:-