Whalley Abbey

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Whalleye

In the civil parish of Whalley.
In the historic county of Lancashire (Modern Authority of Lancashire, 1974 county of Lancashire).

Cistercian abbey founded in1296 and dissolved in 1537. The upstanding remains include the North-East gateway, the North wall with round bastions along the roadside, the ruins of the east and south ranges of the cloister, the abbot's lodging, Peter of Chester's Chapel, the North-West gateway and the foundations of the nave. The church was partly excavated between 1930-4 and, along with the octagonal chapter house, the plan shows through the turf. The gatehouse is in guardianship. Licence to crenellate issued 1348.

This site has been described as a;
Fortified Ecclesiastical site.
The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Possible.
Masonry ruins/remnants remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.
This site is a Grade 1 listed building protected by law*. (Images of England number 183537, 183536)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SD73013610

PastScape number; 44508

Books

Yates, Sarah (ed), 2002, Heritage Unlocked; Guide to free sites in the North West (English Heritage) p60-1
Knowles, David and Hadcock, R. Neville, 1953, Medieval religious houses in England and Wales (Longmans) p118
Turner, T.H. and Parker, J.H., 1859, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol3 pt2 p217, 415

Journal Articles

Coulson, C., 1982, 'Hierarchism in Conventual Crenellation: An Essay in the Sociology and Metaphysics of Medieval Fortification' Medieval Archaeology Vol26 p69-100
Hall, A. Howard, 1954-5, Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne Vol1 p298-9
1936, Transactions of the Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian Society Vol51 p119-121

Guidebooks

Ashmore, O., 2003 [6edn], A Guide to Whalley Abbey (Blackburn Diocesan Board)
Ashmore, O., 1962, A Guide to Whalley Abbey

Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)

Calendar of Patent Rolls (1348-50) p124

Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)

Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p271

Most of the sites or buildings recorded in this web site are NOT open to the public and permission to visit a site must always be sought from the landowner or tenant

The information on this web page may be derived from information compiled by and/or copyright of English Heritage and other individuals and organisations.

It is an offence to disturb a Scheduled Monument without consent. It is a destruction of everyone's heritage to remove archaeological evidence from any site without proper recording and reporting. Don't use metal detectors on historic sites without authorisation.

Please help me to make this as useful a resource as possible by contacting me if you see errors or if you can add information.
I do acknowledge the help I get with this site.

*The listed building may not be the actual medieval building, but a building on the site of, or incorporating fragments of, the described site.

¤¤¤¤¤

Whalley Abbey

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SD73013610

Sources of information, references and further reading