Lanercost Priory

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Lanercost Priory from inside

Lanercost Priory from outside

Lanercost Priory was founded in 1165 AD^[1] to house Augustinian Canons. It is situated at the village of Lanercost, Cumbria, England.

It was subject to raids and wars, since the border with Scotland was about 15 miles to the north. It suffered a crippling economic burden when Edward I was resident there for six months during his last campaign in 1306-7, before moving onto Carlisle and then dying at Burgh-by-Sands immediately before he could enter Scotland. All this was recorded in the Lanercost Chronicle.

Lanercost was dissolved as a priory in 1538 by Henry VIII. A small part of its nave was roofed over for use as a parish church, and in the 19th century the whole nave was roofed and divided from the crossing by a wall to make a larger parish church, which still functions today. In its churchyard is the tomb of Thomas Addison.

[edit] Roman era history

Hadrian's Wall, the most important Roman monument in Great Britain is situated about one kilometre north of Lanercost Priory.^[2] The wall, was, unlike common perception, not a major battlefront to prevent invasion, but a barrier to inderdict unwanted immigrants from the north, who, the Romans thought, were a threat to the peacefulness of settled Brittania.^[3] The River Irthing marked an important transition in construction of Hadrian's Wall according to C. Michael Hogan. West of the River Irthing "turf and timber prevailed, while cut stones with limed mortar interstices were used to the east" of the river.^[4] At Gilsland the tributary Poltross Burn flows into the River Irthing. Crossing Hadrian's Wall at Gilsland, its course as it turns west is lined with sites from Roman Britain, including Birdoswald Roman Fort, at the top of another steep gorge carved by the river from the deep till overlying the area.