Whalley Abbey

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Ruins of Whalley Abbey
Ruins of Whalley Abbey

Whalley Abbey is a former abbey complex in Whalley, Lancashire, England, which is now used as a "Retreat and Conference House".[1]

Contents

[edit] History

Though there has been Christian activity in Whalley since at least Anglo-Saxon times, it was not until 1296 that the abbey came into existence. At that date, Cistercian monks arrived from Stanlow Abbey on the Wirral after a series of violent storms and a fire devastated their erstwhile domicile.

The abbey was dissolved in 1537 during Henry VIII's Dissolution of the Monasteries. Subsequently, the last Abbot, John Paslew and some of the monks were executed for treason, having participated in the Pilgrimage of Grace.

The abbey was acquired by the Church of England in 1923 and, three years later, came into the possession of the Diocese of Blackburn.

The abbey is a Grade I listed building, with Grade II lodge and gate posts, and is on the Buildings At Risk Register.

[edit] Trivia

The abbey features heavily in W. H. Ainsworth's novel "The Lancashire Witches", which also deals with the circumstances leading up to Abbot Paslew's death.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Welcome to Whalley Abbey - Whalley Abbey in the Ribble Valley

[edit] External links

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