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 UNIVERSITY 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 THE 
 WORDSWORTH COLLECTION 
 
I Cornell University 
 P Library 
 
 The original of tiiis book is in 
 tine Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924104091354 
 

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PYE 
 
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 same quantity on going 
 
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 THE 
 WORDSWORTH COLLECTION 
 
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 Preserves the Teeth, and imparts 
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 Prepared only by 
 
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ADVERTISEMENTS. 
 
 IttMm aui Jrog^tk "^nM^ Companji. 
 SUMMER TOURS. 
 
 aiAIT'S CAUSEWAY, POUTRTJSH, Al^D 
 BELEAST. 
 
 UNTIL 31st OCTOBEE, TOURISTS' TICKETS, available 
 by any btit Limited Mail Trains, DUBLIN to PORT- 
 RUSH (for the Giant's Causeway), via BELFAST, or via 
 ANTRIM instead of Belfast, will be issued Daily (Sundays 
 excepted), at the Amiens- street Terminus, available for 
 Return for One Month, exclusive of the day of issue, enabling 
 the Holders to break the journey at GORAQHWOOD, 
 BELFAST, or ANTRIM (for Lough Neagh), either going or 
 returning. 
 
 1st Class. 2nd Class. 
 
 For One Passenger ... 47^. Gc?. 355. 
 
 BELEAST, aiAIT'S CAUSEWAY, LOJmOI- 
 UEEEY AID EmSKILLEI. 
 
 UNTIL 31st OCTOBER, TOURISTS' TICKETS, available 
 by any but Limited Mail Trains, DUBLIN via BEL- 
 FAST, or via ANTRIM instead of Belfast, to PORTRUSH 
 (for the Giant's Causeway), returning via LONDONDERRY, 
 ENNISKILLEN, and DUNDALK, to DUBLIN, will be 
 issued Daily (Sundays excepted), at Amiens-street Terminus, 
 available for Return for One Month, exclusive of day of issue, 
 enabling Holders to break the journey at DROGHEDA, 
 GORAGHWOOD, BELFAST, ANTRIM (for Lough 
 Neagh), LONDONDERRY, STRABANE (for the Donegal 
 Scenery), and ENNISKILLEN (for the scenery of Lough 
 Erne). 
 
 1st Class. 2nd Class. 
 
 For One Passenger ... 52*. ... 38s. 6cL 
 
 l'\.riict.s AUbtw-l 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS. 
 
 THE DONEGAL HIGHLANDS, BUNDORAN, 
 LOUGH ERNE, DERRY, &c. 
 
 Until 30th SEPTEMBER, TOURISTS' TICKETS, 
 
 Available for One Month, exclusive of day of issue (by any but Limited 
 
 Mail Trains), will be issued at Amiens-street Terminus, Dublin, Daily 
 
 (Sundays excepted), to Ballyshannon, returning from Londonderry or 
 
 Strabane ; or to Londonderry or Slrabane, returning i>i(i Ballyshannon, 
 
 and enabling the holders to break the journey at Enniskillen or Belleek.. 
 
 Return Fares. 
 
 For One Passenger . . ist Class, 39J'. 6d. 2nd Class, 29J. 6d. 
 
 These Fares do not hicltide atiy conveyance by Road. 
 
 When booking, Passengers must state by which Route they propose to 
 
 travel, and must obtain their Tickets accordingly. 
 
 WARRENPOINT AND ROSTREVOR. 
 
 UntU ^31st OCTOBER, TOURISTS' TICKETS, 
 Available for One Month (bj' any but Limited Mail Trains), will be issued 
 Daily (Simdays excepted;, from the Amiens-street I'ermlnus, Dublin, to 
 Wanenpoint, for Rostrevor. (An Omnibus in connection with the Trains 
 runs between Warrenpoint and Rostrevor : Fares — (jd. inside, and 3^;'. 
 outside.) Return Fares. 
 
 For One Passenger . . ist Class, 24,?. 6d. ; 2nd Class, i8j. 
 Return 'Pickets, issued by the 5 p.m. Train on Saturdays, at the 
 following low Fares, will be available for Return by any Train on the 
 Monday following: — ist Class, 19.?. yi. ; 2nd Class, 13J. <jd. 
 
 BUNDORAN. 
 
 Until 31st OCTOBER NEXT, INCLUSIVE, TOURISTS' TICKETS, 
 
 Available for One Month, exclusive of day of issue, will be issued from 
 Amiens-street Terminus, Dublin (by any but Limited Mail Train), to 
 Bundoran and back, Daily (Sundays excepted), at the following 
 Return Fares. 
 For One Passenger . . ist Class, 36.?.; 2nd Class, 27J. 
 By 2 p.m. Train on Saturdays onlj'. Return Tickets, available for One 
 Week, will be issued at the following 
 
 Return Fares. 
 ist Class, 20^^. ; 2nd Class, 15J. ; 3rd Class, \os. 
 These Tickets do not enable the Holders to break the journey at Ennis- 
 killen, Irvinestown, Belleek, or Castlecaldwell. 
 
 The scenery in the vicinity of Bundoran is of a varied and delightful 
 description, and the climate is all that could be desired to render ft the 
 favourite resort of those in search of health and recreation. To the 
 geologist the cliffs and mountains open out a vast field for research, and 
 the disciples of Izaak Walton will find in the neighbourhood ample .scope 
 for the practice of their art in Sea, Lake, and River Fishing. 
 
 A Reduction in Fares if two or more persons travel together. Children 
 imder 12 years of age Half the single Passenger Fares. These Rules apply 
 to all the preceding Tours. 
 
 J. P. CULVERWELL, Secretary. 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS. 
 
 OPTICAL AND SCIENTIFIC APPAEATTJS. 
 
 Ulitrostopcs, (Ltkstopcs, Opera nuij J^iflJj Classes. 
 STEREOSCOPES, GALVANIC AND ELECTRIC APPARATUS. v 
 
 PHOTOGRAPHIC APPARATUS AND CHEMICAL GLASS. 
 
 HARVEY, REYNOLDS, &. CO., 
 
 IMPORTERS OF FRENCH, GERMAN & AMERICAN GOODS, 
 14, COMMERCIAL STREET, LEEDS. 
 
 GLASGO^W AND THE HIGHLANDS. 
 
 Royal Route, via Crinan and Caledonian Canals. 
 
 By Roj^al Mail Steamer " lona," from Bridge Wharf, Glasgow, daily 
 
 (Sundays excepted), at 7 a.m., conveying passengers for North and West 
 
 Highlands. See Time-bills with Maps, free by post, on application to 
 
 I^avid Hutcheso-N & Co., 119, Hope Street, Glasgow. 
 
 SIXPENN^MHAND-BOOKS. 
 
 Each Book is well Ulustrated, and has an attractive Cover in Colours. 
 
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 THE MAGIC-LANTERN. 
 
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 COOKERY. 
 INDIAN CLUBS, 
 DUMB-BLELS, &c., 
 
 The GRAPHOTYPING COMPANY, Limited, 
 7, Garrick Street, Covent Garden, W.C. ; 
 
 SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, & Co., 
 
 Stationers' Hall Court ; 
 AND ALL BOOKSELLERS. 
 
 THE CUEE EOE TOOTHiCHE. 
 
 NERVINE. 
 
 U NTE R'S 
 
 Sold by all Chemists, Is. l^d. 
 
AD VER TISEMENTS. 
 
 PURELY VEGETABLE. 
 FOR INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL USE. 
 
 "A most excellent and valuable Family Medicine." — \ 
 
 Dr. Hunting. 
 
 A Safe, Prompt, and Eflfectual Remedy 
 for sudden Colds, Catarrh, Coughs, 
 Sore Throats, Bronchitis, Asthma, 
 Croup, Dyspepsia, Liver Complaint, 
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 Complaints, Lumbago, Cramp and 
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 Rheumatism in the Face or Head, 
 Pains in the Side, Back, Loins, 
 Joints, or Limbs. 
 
 Sold by Chemists everywhere. 
 
 Put up in Bottles at Is. \\d.. Is. 9cZ., 4s. 6(i., and lis. The 
 
 large bottles are much the most economical to purchase — a lis. 
 
 bottle contains as much as 15 of the small size. 
 
 Price of the INHALER (a most valuable article in aU diseases 
 of the Throat and Lungs) 2s. 6d each, in case complete. 
 
 Principal Depot :— 
 17, SOUTHAMPTON ROW, LONDON, "^.C. 
 
11 
 
FuRNESs Abbey 
 
 AND WINDERMERE DISTRICT. 
 
THE 
 
 Cnxtrxsfs ^ittxirt^qxie ^ixxk 
 
 TO 
 
 FuRNESS Abbey 
 
 AND WINDERMERE DISTRICT. 
 
 WITH TWELVE TINTED ILLUSTRATIONS, AND A 
 MAP OF THE DISTRICT. 
 
 Seconlr iStiitton. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 The GEAPHOTYPING COMPANY, Limited, 
 
 7, Garrick Street, W.C. 
 
 SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, & CO., Stationers' Hall Court. 
 
 ULVEBSTON: D. ATKINSON, King Street. 
 

 V 
 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 THE GKAPHOTTPING COMPACT, LIMITED, 7, GABRICK STEEET, 
 
 COVENT GARDEN, W.C. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 'E are not without a -hope that, in publishing 
 a Second Edition of the Guide to Eurness 
 Abbey, we are presenting to the public the 
 fullest and most trustworthy handbook ex- 
 tant for that noble ruin and its charming neighbour- 
 hood. Such revision as we found necessary has been 
 made, and, with the addition of the tinted plates and 
 new map, we trust our tourist friends will find herein 
 a really "Picturesque Guide." 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 
 APPROACHES :— 
 
 
 Page 
 
 From Carnfoeth . 
 
 . 
 
 . 1 
 
 SiLVERDALE 
 
 
 2 
 
 Arnside . 
 
 . 
 
 o 
 
 Grange 
 
 
 . . 3 
 
 Cark 
 
 
 . 5 
 
 Ulverston . 
 
 
 . . 6 
 
 LiNDAL . 
 
 . 
 
 . 8 
 
 DA.LTON 
 
 
 . . 8 
 
 Froii Fleetwood . 
 
 . 
 
 . 9 
 
 Barrow 
 
 
 . . 11 
 
 E,oose 
 
 
 . 13 
 
 From Ambleside 
 
 
 . . 13 
 
 BOWNESS 
 
 
 . 16 
 
 Lake Side 
 
 
 . . 17 
 
 Haverthwaite 
 
 
 . 19 
 
 Greenodd . 
 
 
 . . 20 
 
 From Coniston 
 
 . 
 
 . 22 
 
 TORVER 
 
 
 . . 23 
 
 Woodland 
 
 • 
 
 . 24 
 
 JiROUGHTON 
 
 
 . . 24 
 
 Foxfield 
 
 . 
 
 . 25 
 
 KiRKBT 
 
 
 . . 25 
 
 FURNESS ABBEY . 
 
 
 . 27 
 
 The Abbott's Private 
 
 Chapel 
 
 . . 28 
 
 The Church . 
 
 • 
 
 . 29 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 FUENESS ABBWi:— {continued). Page 
 
 The Western Tower or Belfry . . . . 30 
 
 The Transept 31 
 
 The North Transept 31 
 
 The Chancel 31 
 
 Sedilia 32 
 
 Monuments, Tombs, etc 33 
 
 Vestry and Chantries 35 
 
 Conventual Buildings 36 
 
 Chapter House 36 
 
 Scriptorium 37 
 
 Refectory 37 
 
 Dormitory 37 
 
 Cloisters 38 
 
 Guest Hall 38 
 
 Infirmary 39 
 
 Miscellaneous Particulars . . . .39 
 
 HISTOKICAL SKETCH 42 
 
 Translation of the Foundation Charter of 
 
 Stephen, Earl of Bologne 43 
 
 The Monks 44 
 
 The Abbots 47 
 
 Proceedings, Benefactions, and Eevenues . . 49 
 
 Dissolution 5.3 
 
 Translation of the Surrender of Furness 
 
 Abbey f;4 
 
GUIDE TO FURNESS ABBEY. 
 
 APPROACHES. 
 
 FKOM CAR]^7FORTH. 
 
 " No poetry in railways ! foolish thought 
 Of a dull brain to no fine music wrought." 
 
 " Of all the antagonists to mental depression, travelling is 
 the most vigorous ; not the flight from place to place, as if 
 evil were to be outrun ; nor the enclosure of the weary of 
 life in some narrow vehicle that adds fever and pestilence 
 to heaviness of heart ; but the passing at our ease through 
 the open air and bright landscape of a new country." — 
 Rev, Dk. Croly. 
 
 HE Furness Eailways having been coiiiiected 
 vi^ith the graud system of railway communica- 
 tion, by tlie completion of the " Over-sands " 
 line, visitors from the South are now carried with 
 greater despatch and comfort to the district of Furness, 
 " the key to the Lakes," than in the old coaching days, 
 when passengers embarked at HestEauk, in a four-wheel 
 locomotive, under the guidance of a venturous Jehu, 
 and entered upon the crossing of the treacherous sands 
 with many misgivings. If the rattling train does not 
 invest the trip with so much romance, or allow time 
 for a prolonged gaze at the rising hills from the vast 
 wilderness of sand, as the old coach did, the jDractical 
 comfort, the ease and absence of risk, not to speak of 
 the novelty, and the tantalizing rapidity with which 
 peeps of lovely scenery pass across the vision in 
 
 B 
 
FURFESS ABBEY. 
 
 kaleidoscopic succession, more than compensate for the 
 change, and we are ready to say with Charles Mackay, 
 
 "Blessings on Science, and her handmaid Steam." 
 
 The train takes us out of the station at Carnforth 
 junction, a place of rapidly-increasing importance from 
 its participation in the iron trade of the district, and 
 after crossing the river Keer, and skirting a portion of 
 the Lancaster sands, glides along through meadows, 
 and by mosses and streamlets, whose still, dark, peat- 
 coloured water contrasts greatly with the foaming tide 
 just passed. Beyond, and further inland, may be seen 
 rugged limestone upheavals, ridges of which branch 
 out in strange and grotesque forms in ewevj direction. 
 "We soon arrive at the station of 
 
 SILVERDALE 
 
 (Three miles and three-quarters from Carnforth, and twenty- 
 one miles and a quarter from Furness Abbey). 
 
 This delightfully sequestered spot is not seen to advan- 
 tage from the railway, as it lies away a mile over the 
 hill, but is becoming much frequented by lovers of 
 quiet rural life during the season. It is a straggling 
 village, but contains some nice residences and a small 
 church. Two hotels as well as lodging houses aflbrd 
 excellent accommodation for visitors, who annually 
 enjoy sea-bathing on the fine sands. 
 
 Leaving Silverdale, we pass by fields, an occasicmal 
 farmstead or cottage, and crossing a little open we 
 espy, betw3en two wooded hills, the old tower of 
 Arnside, once the abode of the Stanleys, one of those 
 massive piles built by the ancient lords of the soil, 
 and common hereabouts, for the defence and temporary 
 shelter of the inhabitants during the frequent expe- 
 ditions of Scottish maraudei's or other unprincipled 
 freebooters who infested the northern counties. Im- 
 mediately after this we reach 
 
 ARNSIDE 
 Six miles from Carnforth, nineteen miles from Furness Abbey). 
 From this place a view of the estuary of the Kent is 
 obtained as far as Milnthorpe, with the tops of the 
 
ARNSIDE. 
 
 Westmorland mountains in the distance. Nearer, is 
 AVhitbarrow Scar, a bare weather-beaten mass of rock, 
 and at our feet the channel of the river Kent. Arn- 
 side is a favourite watering-place of the people of 
 Kendal, and is much frequented in summer, the two 
 hotels and many private houses being generally crowded 
 with people. The " Knot," the hill which rises above 
 the place, affords charming and varied prospects. 
 
 Quitting the station, we round a point ; the sea-side 
 portion of the village comes into sight, and has a very 
 pretty effect by the time we reach the viaduct, especially 
 if the tide be flowing. The sensations we experience 
 on seeing the waves lashing the embankment and the 
 iron pillars of the bridge, which the train rapidly 
 traverses, can be better imagined than desci"ibed, and 
 there is a certain feeling of relief as we once more 
 reach terra firma. Here a large tract of land has been 
 reclaimed by a work of stone jutting from the line to a 
 point of land marked by a projecting crag. We are 
 now rushing past the edge of the Methop Fell, covered 
 with holly and yew ; next over the river Winster, which 
 divides Westmorland from this detached portion of 
 Lancashire. About a square mile of land has here 
 been snatched from the sea. Snugly ensconced between 
 rising hills, plentifully decorated with trees, a peculiar 
 looking eminence attracts the eye from its partially 
 isolated situation — Castle Head, once a Roman-British 
 station, now part of the grounds belonging to a large 
 mansion which peeps above the woods at the foot. 
 
 A little on the sea-side of the railway, Holme Island, 
 the marine residence of A. Brogden,Esq., M.P., rises out 
 of the sea. It is now approached by a substantial road- 
 way ; but a few years ago could only be reached by 
 crossing the sands from the pretty village of 
 
 GRANGE 
 
 (Nine miles and a half from Carnforth, fifteen miles and a half 
 from Furness Abbey). 
 
 Grange has been highly extolled as a retreat for in- 
 valids during every season of the year, and, judging 
 from the number of straugers who annually crowd its 
 
 B 2 
 
FURNESS ABBEY. 
 
 inns and lodging-houses, appears to keep up its cha- 
 racter. In the village aud the immediate neisfhbour- 
 hood are several fine residences, charmingly situated, 
 many delightful walks, numerous objects of interest, 
 and there is, as at Aimside, ample scope for the natu- 
 ralist to prosecute his researches. The climate is said 
 to resemble Matlock, Buxton, and Torquay. 
 
 A spacious and magnificent hotel, the property of a 
 limited liability company, occupies a commanding posi- 
 tion near the station, and provides accommodation for 
 a large number of visitors. 
 
 A fine prospect is here obtained of the opposite shore, 
 from Milnthorpe, Arnside, and Silverdale, to Lancaster, 
 Morecambe, and Fleetwood. The model Temple of 
 Vesta, on Holme Island, is also seen. 
 
 An omnibus runs daily between Grange, Newby 
 Bridge, and Lake Side, Windermere. 
 
 Leaving Grange, we speed along, passing the village 
 in full view, with its pretty little decorated Gothic 
 church, and houses with terraced gardens dotted here 
 aud there ; and as we rush by the shore more villas 
 and lodging-houses present themselves at intervals — at 
 Cart-lane a cluster of them — sliowing that the whole of 
 this side of the estuary of the Kent is in high favour. 
 Kent's Bank is now seen, where former travellers 
 usually commenced the crossing to Lancaster. The 
 long building, once an hotel; is now converted into 
 "lodgings," and among the liouses hereabouts the 
 most conspicuous is Abbot's Hall, close to the rocks, 
 which we quickly dash ]mst, emerging into the open by 
 Wyke Farm. 
 
 From this point the huge unvv^ieldy form of Hum- 
 phrej^ Head is visible, remarkable for the fine views 
 from its summit, as well as for some rare j^lauts on its 
 sides, and for the existence, at its base, of the far-famed 
 mineral spring called Holywell. Near this jDlace, also, 
 is the bone cave of Kirkhead, where many extraor- 
 dinary remains have lately been found, the result of a 
 most careful and systematic exploration conducted 
 under the superintendence of Mr. J. P. Morris of 
 Ulvei^ston. On the right is now seen the village of 
 Allithwaite, and close by the railway Wraysholme 
 
GRANGE. 5 
 
 Tower, with which is connected a legend of the Har- 
 rington family, concerning " the last wolf" which was 
 hunted down in the neighbouring rocks. It has now 
 degenerated into a farm building ; the " pride, pomp, 
 and circumstance " of its former clays are extinguished, 
 and the sounds of i-evelry which once echoed within its 
 walls have given place to tlie more peaceful and less 
 romantic noises of a farmyai'd. 
 
 Crossing the high-)'oad, the train now enters the 
 station of 
 
 CARK 
 
 (Thirteen miles and a half from Carnforth, and eleven miles and 
 a half from Furness Abbey). 
 
 It is the station for Flookburgh and Cartmel. The 
 former place, as its name indicates, is a fishing village, 
 its inhabitants, with the exception of a few agricul- 
 turists, being devoted to catching flukes and cockles, 
 which abound on the adjoining sands. 
 
 Cark Hall is a fine specimen of an old manor house, 
 but has been suffered to fall into decay. It was the 
 residence of the ancient family of Eawliuson, one of 
 whom, with other justices, sent George Fox, the first 
 Quaker, to prison, in Lancaster Castle, in 1663. 
 
 Cartmel is a quiet old place, like a cathedral town in 
 miniature, happy in tlie possession of a fine old Priory 
 Church, one of the very few which escaped destruction 
 at the general demolition of monasteries. It is a curious 
 building, but possesses many points of architectural 
 beauty, including a fine oak screen and choir stalls in 
 excellent preservation. There is a curious library of 
 ancient black-letter volumes attached. It has been 
 recently restored, and is well worth a visit. 
 
 Emerging from the cutting beyond Cark station, we 
 have a glimpse of the village, with a few exceptions 
 peopled by fishermen, and now proceed at a rapid pace 
 along the rock-bound coast. 
 
 The train, leaving parcels of reclaimed land, soon 
 after ajDproaches the well-timbered enclosures of his 
 Grace the Duke of Devonshire, v^^hich either slope 
 gently towards what was once the beach, or alternate 
 with steep banks, or pretty richly-wooded dells. 
 
FURNESS ABBEY. 
 
 Holker Hal], the favoui^ite seat of the Duke, may be 
 desci'ied between the trees on the rig-ht. His Grace 
 makes this mansion a frequent residence. He is noted 
 for his public spirit and generous sentiments ; and 
 consequently, as may l)e supposed, exerts a consideraljle 
 influence in the affiiirs of the district, in which he ta,kes 
 a lively intei'est. 
 
 The finely-wooded grounds of Conishead appear on 
 the left, extending to the shore, and over the tops of 
 the trees are seen the spires and minarets of the Priory, 
 a modern mansion, erected in a style of princely mag- 
 nificence, upon the site of an ancient building of that 
 name. Beyond, the hill of Birkrigg is seen, and the 
 coast line stretching away to the extremity of Furness. 
 Chapel Island, a very picturesque object in the bay, 
 contains the remains of a chapel built by the priors of 
 Conishead for the use of those who were crossing 
 the sands. We are now rumbling over a second 
 viaduct traversing the Leven estuary, which drains 
 the lakes of Coniston and Windermere ; and here 
 is obtained a glance at the Lake Mountains, rising 
 in rugged wildness, and nowhere seen to so much 
 advantage as from this point. The village of Sandside, 
 with the stone pier and masts of vessels, is observed on 
 the left, and then we ascend a gradient towards the 
 town of 
 
 ULVERSTON 
 
 (ITineteeu miles from Carnforth, and six miles from Furness 
 Abbey). 
 
 The houses are of grey stone, and are snugly situated 
 on slopes or at the base of hills, which protect the 
 town, on the norlh and east sides, from inclement 
 blasts, and have a picturesque appearance. The hill of 
 Hoad, on which stands the monument to Sir John 
 Barrow, Bart., late secretary to the Admiralty, is a, 
 prominent object. 
 
 Ulverston is an important town of 9186 inhabitants, 
 and the capital of Furness. It contains two churches. 
 Independent, Weslej^an, and Catholic chapels, besides 
 many handsome public and private buildings. It is 
 
ULVERSTON. 
 
 mainly celebrated for its market, which is held every 
 Thursday, and, being the centre of au important dis- 
 trict, large quantities of grain and other commodities 
 are disposed of The town has linen and cotton 
 factories, flour and paper mills, tanneries, iron-foundries, 
 and large mercantile concerns ; the whole appearance 
 of the place imparting the idea of substantial industry 
 and prosperity. 
 
 The houses are well built and have neat exteriors — 
 the streets, with a few exceptions, being regular and 
 spacious, and in the vicinity are numerous villas and 
 mansions. Being at the entrance to the Lake District, 
 it is a favourite starting point, or temporary sojourn, 
 for tourists, and formerly coaches ran daily to Miln- 
 thorpe on the Lancaster and Caidisle Piailway, and over 
 the sands to Lancaster. It is now the junction for the 
 line to Lake Side, Windermere. 
 
 Pleasant excursions may be made to various objects 
 of interest in the neighbourhood, as Chapel Island, 
 Conishead Priory, Swarthmoor Hall, formerly the 
 residence of George Fox, the founder of the Society 
 of Friends, and near to it the meeting-house erected 
 by him ; Barrow's Monument, the cottage in which the 
 worthy baronet was born, and the charming village of 
 Bardsea, much resorted to in summer by visitors in 
 search of change or restoration to health. An omnibus 
 meets some of the trains during the season to convey 
 passengers to Bardsea. 
 
 Leaving Ulverston station, the train pursues its course 
 through a cutting in the drift, past the village of 
 Pennington — the plain, white, though conspicuously 
 situated, little church attracting attention. In a level 
 meadow between the church and the railway, and near 
 the latter, may be seen a large oval mound covered with 
 trees, supposed, and with some reason, to be an ancient 
 Saxon tumulus, as its name of Ella-barrow indicates, a 
 corresponding hollow on the other side of the field 
 looking as if it had furnished the earth for the sepul- 
 chral monument. The owner has not thought it worth 
 his while hitherto to settle the question with local anti- 
 quarians by opening the barrow to test the correctness 
 of their conjectures. On the hill-side above this are 
 
FURNESS ABBEY 
 
 the remains of an old fortification, probably British or 
 Saxon, called Castle Hill, supposed to have been the 
 site also of the residence of the ancient family of Pen- 
 nington, lords of Mnncaster, who lived here before the 
 Conquest. "VVe now perceive on the right the mines of 
 Lindal Moor (Harrison, Ainslie, & Co.), and reaching 
 the depot where waggons of rich-looking oxide are ac- 
 cumulated, we descend the opposite gradient towards 
 
 LINDAL 
 
 (Twenty-two miles from Carnforth, and tlu'ee miles from 
 Turness Abbey). 
 
 Here we enter the Mining District of Furness, for on 
 each side of the line between us and the coast are 
 the extensive beds of haematite iron ore, which yield 
 upwards of 600,000 tons annually. The village lies over 
 to the right, and has a large tarn in the centre, round 
 which the houses are placed. After passing through a 
 tunnel in the limestone rock of about 600 yards in 
 length, and rattling downwards for about a mile, we 
 arrive at 
 
 DALTON 
 
 (Twenty-three and a half miles from Carnforth, and one mile 
 and a half from Purness Abbey) . 
 
 Dal ton was the ancient capital of Furness, and a place 
 of great importance when the Abbey was at the zenith 
 of its splendour, for it was the nearest market town to 
 which the monks could resort ; besides, at this place 
 the abbots held their manorial courts and sat in judg- 
 ment on criminal cases. The only remains of their 
 strong castle is the tower on the top of the hill near 
 the market-cross. It has lately been restored, and is 
 used for holding the court of the Duke of Buccleuch, 
 lord of the manor, and serves also as an armoury for 
 the local rifle corps. The church is remarkable for an 
 ancient stone font, said once to have belonged to Fur- 
 ness Abbey. Dalton is supposed to have been the site 
 of a Eoman station. Within the last few years the 
 town has increased in a remarkable degree; the popula- 
 tion now slightly exceeds 30,000. We pass through a 
 short tiinnel, and emerge into a pleasant vallej^, which 
 
JIONUMENT TO SIR JOHN EARllOW, BART.— HILL OF HOAD. 
 
DALTON. 
 
 iiniTows as we approach ; and embowered in trees on 
 either side are two fine mansions, on the right Mill- wood, 
 and on the left Abbots-wood, the residence of James 
 Ramsden, Esq., J.P. The train glides through trees of 
 nobler size into the veiy midst of the sequestered spot 
 where the Abbey of St. Mary of Furness rears its 
 venerable head 
 
 " Like ancient E,oine, majestic iu decay." 
 The bustle of the arrival and other incidental cir- 
 cumstances having subsided, we find but one step leads 
 into that delightful retreat which even yet breathes 
 an odour of sanctity, and which those old pioneers of 
 religion chose with their usual good taste for their 
 secluded abode. 
 
 FROM FLEETWOOD. 
 
 " I look forth 
 Over the boundless blue, where, joyously. 
 The bright crests' of iDnumerable waves 
 Glance to the sun at once, as when the hands 
 Of a great multitude are upward flung 
 In acclamation." — Bryant. 
 
 Steamboats ply in summer between Piel and Fleet- 
 wood, in connection with trains to and from Preston, 
 also between Piel and the Isle of Man, and steamers 
 run daily to and from Belfast for the trains of the Fur- 
 ness and Midland Eailway. The voyage across the bay 
 occupies on an average one hour and a half, and the 
 trip is a remarkably pleasaut one in fine weather. 
 Before we approach Piel, we have an excellent view 
 atibrded us of the gloomy ruin of the ancient castle of 
 Piel of Fouldrey, which exhibits little or no traces of 
 exterior oriiament, its walls being reduced to a mere 
 shell, its outworks demolished, and a part of the very 
 hill on which it was raised Avashed away by the tide. 
 The outer walls, in many parts entire, enclose a large 
 space, and are encircled by a moat. The Castle was 
 
10 FURNESS ABBEY. 
 
 built by one of the Abbots of Furness, iu tlie reign of 
 Edward III., according to one writer a.d. 1327, but it 
 is supposed that long before that time the Danes built 
 themselves a station here. The walls are very massive, 
 and are formed of boulders from the beach, with here 
 and there a piece of limestone or Permian sandstone 
 for the exterior and interior facings, the middle being 
 filled up with rubble and grout work run in hot lime, 
 rendering the whole so massive that several huge blocks 
 which have fallen within reach of the tide still preserve 
 their integrity. The doorways and windows are of 
 red sandstone. This ancient fortress was constructed 
 on the general plan of castles of the Anglo-Norman 
 period, which often occiapied a considerable space of 
 ground, and usually consisted of three principal divi- 
 sions — the outer court or bailey, the inner court, and 
 the keep or donjon, that is, the main central building. 
 Within these courts were a chapel, stable, and soldiers' 
 lodgings. The outer circumference of the whole was 
 defended by a lofty and solid perpendicular wall 
 strengthened at intervals by towers, and surrounded 
 by a ditch or moat. The entrance archway through 
 the outer walls wasj besides the massive gates, crossed 
 by a portcullis, which could be instantaneously dropped 
 upon any emergency; and the crown of the arch was 
 pierced with holes, through which molten lead and 
 pitch, and heavy missiles, could be cast upon the as- 
 sailants below. The keep was the last retreat of the 
 garrison, and contained the apartments of the baron or 
 commandant. The solidity of its construction in this 
 instance is so great, that we find it retaining its out- 
 ward form in the midst of the most dilapidated ruin. 
 The inner court, as well as the outer, was protected by 
 a moat. As we pass this relic of olden time, we 
 cannot help reflecting, while we contemplate its "gaping 
 chinks and aged countenance," on those stirring times, 
 the so-called "dark ages," when the mailed nobles made 
 might right, declared their pleasure and called it law, 
 acting upon 
 
 " The good old rule, the simple plan, 
 That those should take who have the power, 
 And those should keep who can." 
 
FIEL CASTLE. 11 
 
 And truly one feels a touch of sadness when gazing on 
 such monuments of departed grandeur, for although 
 there is none of that architectural beauty in their 
 peculiar style, characteristic of religious edifices of the 
 same period — no " lofty pointed windows, with their 
 storied panes, to admit the full broad stream of radiant 
 splendour," or to give the idea of elegance to the 
 structure — yet, as it stands in picturesque outline, all 
 is "massive, great, and impressively solemn." We 
 now come alongside the pier at Eoa Island, near which 
 is the coastguard station and hotel, with the village of 
 Eampside close by, and, entering the waiting train, are 
 soon spinning along to Furness Abbey. It was at Piel 
 where Lambert Simnel, who pretended to be one of 
 the princes said to have been murdered in the Tower, 
 landed with Colonel Swart, 2000 Germans, and some 
 Irish followers, in the I'eign of Henry VII., marching- 
 through Ulverston to Stoke, where they were met by 
 the king's forces and entirely defeated. Simnel, who 
 was a baker's boy, and doubtless a monomaniac, or a 
 simple tool in the hands of designing men, was taken 
 prisoner, and by the king's clemency was appointed to 
 a post of insignifi.cance in the royal household. Beyond 
 an expanse of sand, we descry the masts of a number 
 of vessels, and the buildings of the rapidly-increasing 
 seaport town of 
 
 BARROAV, 
 
 With the tall chimneys and flaming furnaces of Hind- 
 pool in the distance. 
 
 This thriving town has increased in a most extra- 
 ordinary manner, from a mere hamlet to a place of 
 18,000 inhabitants, in about twenty years, mainly 
 through the rapid development of the mineral riches 
 of the district, since the opening of the Furness Rail- 
 way, by which the port of Barrow became available 
 for purposes of shipment ; also through the erection at 
 Hindpool, by Messrs. Schneider, Hannay, & Co., of 
 their large blast furnaces, the property of the Barrow 
 Haematite Iron and Steel and Mining Co., which are 
 capable of turning out about 160,000 tons of hsema- 
 tite pig iron yearly. These works well deserve a 
 
visit. A comprehensive plant has been contrived for 
 making steel by the Bessemer process, in a special 
 manner, and in unusual quantities, by a powerful 
 company, so that ere long the district will prove a 
 noted mart for the iron trade. These works will be 
 the largest of their kind in the world, and when in 
 fall vigour will, it is expected, turn out 1400 tons of 
 steel weekly, and give employment to 2000 men. There 
 are two beautiful churches, as well as Congregational, 
 Wesleyan, Roman Catholic, and other chapels. Barrow 
 possesses also a town-hall and market-house, a tem- 
 perance hall, and a mechanics' institute. 
 
 The town is a wonderful example of the results of com- 
 mercial enterprise, for in addition to the large block of 
 buildings necessary for a r;iilway terminus and its 
 executive, there are extensive manufactories and hives 
 of industry, covering a large space of ground, ^vhich 
 must eventually tend greatly to the advancement of 
 the town. 
 
 An immense outlay has also been incurred in the 
 formation of docks on a grand scale, and efforts are 
 being made to produce a harbour capable of affording 
 accommodation for vessels of large tonnage, so as to 
 establish and secure advantages which, if obtained, 
 will enhance the value of this seaport to a considerable 
 extent, and impart to it a position of importance on 
 the coast. The main dock or float covers 120 acres, 
 and there is a graving dock 500 feet long. These docks 
 will receive vessels drawing twenty-five feet of water. 
 In 1847, the iron ore carried by the railway was 103,768 
 tons ; in 1857 it had increased to 562,095 tons, of which 
 545,099 were shipped ; and in 1863 it amoxmted to 
 621,525 tons, of which 406,625 were sent to Barrow 
 for shipment and consumption at the iron works, the 
 residue being carried inward by rail. Of copper ore 
 the shipments from this port are about 3000 tons 
 annually, and of slate about 6000 tons out of a produc- 
 tion of about 20,000 tons, the remainder being sent 
 into the country by railway. In 1867, Barrow received a 
 charter of in corporation, and James Ramsden,Esq., J.P., 
 Managing Director of the Furness Railways, was elected 
 the first mayor. 
 
Passing the point where the road turns off to Barrow, 
 the train stops for a few minutes at 
 
 ROOSE, 
 
 A small road-side station, and very shortly afterwards, 
 proceeding through some meadow land, dashes through 
 a short tunnel into the very grounds of the Abhey. 
 
 FSOM AMBLESIDE. 
 
 " 'Turn where we may,' said I, ' Ave cannot err 
 In this delicious region.' Clustered slopes, 
 Wild tracts of forest ground, and scattered groves, 
 And mountains bare, or clothed with ancient woods, 
 Surrounded us ; and as we held our way 
 Along the level of the glassy flood 
 They ceased not to surround us ; change of place, 
 From kindred features diversely combined, 
 Producing change of beauty, ever new." — The Excursion. 
 
 Ambleside is a small market town, of 9658 inhabi- 
 tants, situated directly under Wansfell, and upon 
 the spot formerly occupied by a Eoman station, the 
 name of the fort having been lost in obscurity. It is 
 enclosed by mountains on all sides except towards the 
 south-west, the houses having a pleasing appearance, 
 thouo-h irregularly built, for the place enjoys a situation 
 of great beauty, commanding charming prospects of the 
 parks of Eydal and Brathay, and the lake of Winder- 
 mere. Ambleside is on the border of a well-wooded 
 valley, watered by several streams, the principal one 
 beino- the Rothay, v.diich flows from Grasmere and Ej^dal 
 lakes, and joins the Brathay from Langdale shortly 
 before entering Windermere. The old church, built 
 in 1812, stands in the western part of the town, but, 
 beino- found too small to accommodate the visitors in 
 summer, the new church of St. Mary v/as consecrated 
 in 1854, and is very remarkable in appearance. It is 
 nearly in the centre of the valley, between the Knoll 
 (Miss Harriet Martineau's residence) and the lake, and 
 
14 FURNESS ABBEY. 
 
 is built of dark grey stone, but the spire is of freestone, 
 as are also the mullions of the windows, the copings of 
 the buttresses, and the facings of the doors. The church 
 will seat 900 persons ; and in the north-east corner are 
 three stained glass windows, one of which was pre- 
 sented by friends of "Wordsworth, both English and 
 American, as a memorial of the poet. The Town Hall 
 is a new and handsome building, presented by the late 
 Benson Harrison, Esq., and besides proving of great 
 utility, is an ornament to the place. Stock Ghyll Force 
 is a veiy attractive object, the water from the crags and 
 mossy wilds of Kirkstone tumbling down a fine fall 
 through a deep mountain glen, choked with trees, and 
 then running among loose rocks and overhanging 
 foliage until at last it joins the Eothay. The water of 
 " The Force *' takes three leaps, being divided by pro- 
 jecting rocks, but altogether making seventy feet in 
 height. Among many other rare plants and ferns 
 luxuriating here may be found the Hymenophyllum 
 Wilsoni. The adventurous will enjoy the falls more by 
 descending from the bank to the stream, and, although 
 there may not be much water, it looks better, being 
 clearer, than when, after heavy rains, the river is 
 swollen and the water muddy. Numerous excursions 
 may be made from Ambleside, such as to Eydal Falls, 
 the lakes of Rydal and Grasmere, the pass of Kirk- 
 stone, Wansfell, Loughrigg Fell, Fairfield, and Trout- 
 beck. Steamboats ply regularly from Ambleside to the 
 rest of the stations on the lake, timing with the trains 
 at Lake Side Station, for Ulverston en route for Furness 
 Abbey. On leaving Ambleside, on the left we notice 
 Wansfell Holm, and afterwards, on the same side, 
 Dove's Nest, the house inhabited by the talented Mrs. 
 Hemans for one summer. Being fairly afloat, we 
 are at liberty to indulge in those delightful visions 
 which have been described to us as ever-varying 
 and inexhaustible, and we cannot fail to be satis- 
 fied that the scene of loveliness before us has not 
 been over-rated. We can experience in a very insig- 
 nificant degree the feelings which prompted those 
 earnest pourtrayers of the beautiful in nature, in poetry 
 and prose — Wordsworth, Professor Wilson (Christopher 
 
AMBLESIDE. 15 
 
 North). Southey, Mrs. Hemans, and Hartley Coleridge 
 — to write so lovingly of this " gem of purest ray 
 serene." Towards the north, surrounding the head 
 of the lake are the lofty mountains beyond Ambleside, 
 " the stern and bleak companions of the mist and 
 cloud," disposed with uncommon grandeur of outline 
 and magnificence of colour. Along the western shore 
 as far as High Wray, a range of rocky fells rises over 
 the water, covered here and there with dwarfish shrubs 
 of birch, oak, hazel, and pine, "and patches bright of 
 bracken green and heather black." Altogether the 
 character of the scenery about that portion of the lake 
 above the Ferry is more expansive, and approaches 
 more to stateliness and graceful beauty, than the lower 
 part. Windermere is nearly eleven miles in length, 
 one mile in breadth, and upwards of 240 feet in depth. 
 It is situated between the counties of Lancaster and 
 "Westmorland, the greater part of its margin being in 
 the former. Several streams flow into it from different 
 directions, but the principal are the Brathay and 
 Eothay, the streamlets from Esthwaite Water, Blelham 
 Tarn, and Troutbeck ; while the chief outlet is the 
 Leven, issuing from the foot, near Newby bridge. 
 Although the I'oads along each side of the lake ai-e 
 very pleasant and good, still greater advantages are to 
 be derived from a trip by the steamboat, particularly 
 if time be precious to the visitor. 
 
 Low-wood inn, separated from the margin of the lake 
 by the high-road, is soon reached : it is very pleasantly 
 situated, and is a good point to select, especially for those 
 who wish to avoid the bustle and excitement of the 
 larger stations on the lake. It is a favourite place of 
 sojourn of Earl Russell. On the opposite shore is 
 Wray Castle, a splendid mansion built in the Perpen- 
 dicular style, and one of the most enviable dwellings 
 in the region of the lakes, both from its interior beauty 
 and the views it commands. 
 
 About one mile below Low-wood we pass Ecclerigg, 
 with its pretty pier, afterwards the woods of Calgarth 
 Hall, once the residence of the late celebrated Bishop 
 Watson (Llandaff), and on the other shore High Wray. 
 Below Calgarth we see the Priory, one of the hand- 
 
16 FURNESS ABBEY 
 
 somest residences in tlie lake district. Haj'rigg House, 
 which stands near the water's edge, was for several 
 years the summer I'esidence of the celebrated William 
 Wilberforce. We are now gliding by the fine woods of 
 Eayrigg, and the woods around Elleray, once the home 
 of the late Professor Wilson, embowering several gentle- 
 men's seats, recently erected in pretty situations. High 
 above on the hill side is the village of Birdthwaite. 
 After steaming by the little island of Hough Holme, 
 we enter 
 
 BOV/NESS, 
 
 Which is picturesquely situated upon the edge of a 
 little bay, and has all the a))pearance of a bvisy minia- 
 ture port. The houses, with many-coloured walls, and 
 irregular roofs, are placed u])on various j^oints and 
 eminences, and environed by trees, above which ai'e 
 seen swelling the summits of the hills behind. Belsfield, 
 the seat of H. W. Schneider, Esq., occupies a command- 
 ing site, and being built amid beautifully wooded and 
 sloping grounds, forms a conspicuous object. The 
 church, dedicated to St. Martin, is an ancient edifice, 
 with a square tower, and a large curiously painted 
 chancel window, the glass of which is supposed to have 
 belonged to Furness Abbey. Richard Watson, bishop 
 of Llandafl', was bviried here, and a brief inscription 
 upon a small plate records his name, age, and death. 
 The school is an elegant structure, built through the 
 liberality of the late Mr. Bolton, of Storrs. The hotels 
 are excellent, commodious, and comfortable, and every 
 facility for excursions may be obtained. Bowness is six 
 miles from Ambleside, eight miles from Kendal, and 
 two from Birthwaite or Windermere, the nearest rail- 
 way terminus. After leaving Bowness, and before we 
 ap]:)roach the Ferry, we come in sight of Belle Isle, upon 
 which is erected a circular mansion, 54 feet in diameter. 
 The island is rather more than a mile in circumference, 
 and contains upwards of 30 acres ; it possesses some 
 pretty walks, shaded by fine old trees, and was 
 the scene of severe conflicts during the Civil War. 
 Miss Agnes Strickland, in one of her descriptive 
 novels, introduces numerous references to this spot. 
 
BOWNESS. 17 
 
 Smaller islands cluster uear Belle Isle, upon which the 
 lily of the valley luxuriates. The Ferry Hotel stands 
 entirely alone, and is conspicuous at a great distance. 
 Here the lake narrows, and a ferry is established across 
 it, being a continuation of the road from Kendal to 
 Hawkshead. Behind the house a station is erected 
 on a rocky eminence, commanding views of the lake 
 throughout the whole extent — 
 
 " With promontory, creek, and "bay, 
 And islands that, empurpled bright, 
 Float amid the liveliest light, 
 And mountains, that like giants stand. 
 To sentinel enchanted land." 
 
 Winding round the hotel, the waters of the lake 
 here form a pretty secluded creek, still and deep, over- 
 looked and shaded by a rocky pyramid, which shoots 
 up abruptly from the water's edge, its steep sides being 
 covered to the topmost pinnacle with trees of various 
 hues. This little inlet is cut off from the lake by a 
 small wooded island, and looks 
 
 ' ' So wondrous wild, the whole might seem 
 The scenery of a fairy dream." 
 
 A little below the Ferry points, and almost on the 
 middle line, Berkshire Island is passed, afterwards two 
 other islands, Grass Holme and Ling Holme, on the 
 western margin, while on the opposite point may be 
 observed Storrs Hall, a fine mansion seated amongst 
 splendid grounds extending to the edge of the lake. 
 Another of the numerous islands called Silver Holme 
 comes into view, and on the same side Graythwaite, 
 then The Landing, with the hills of Finsthwaite and 
 Eusland in the back-ground. On the other side the 
 lake is bounded by the range of hills called Oartmel 
 Fell, at the foot of which stands ToAvn Head, and 
 further on Fell Foot, the dark form of Gummers 
 How towering above them. Here we arrive at the 
 foot of the "English Zurich," and land at the 
 
 LAKE SIDE 
 
 Station of the Furness Eailway, where the train is 
 waiting for the arrival of the boat. The station, with 
 
 c 
 
18 F URN ESS ABBEY. 
 
 its novel style of building, and the new pier, have quite 
 altered the appearance of this part of the lake, but pro- 
 vide better accommodation than formerly existed. The 
 line follows the side of the narrowing lake and river 
 Leven, aloug the richly- wooded banks of which the 
 train moves slowly at starting, as if to recompense the 
 tourist for invading this charming spot, by giving him 
 time to admire the clear water and the grassy slopes. 
 Conveyances meet the trains and boats from Grange 
 and Newby Bridge. 
 
 Newby Bridge is now passed, where the comfortable 
 and substantial-looking Swan Inn stands alongside the 
 bridge and close by the bank of the Leven. The 
 accommodation at this hotel is excellent — in fact it 
 is justly celebrated for its liberal commissariat, and 
 for the kindly reception afforded to visitors. The 
 situation is full of beauty and quiet, and possesses 
 the attraction of delightful walks in the neigh- 
 bourhood, with opportunities for boating and fish- 
 ing, so that a few days may be spent here very 
 agreeably. There is a fine hill behind the house, rising 
 rather abruptly, upon which is erected a square tower 
 in commemoration of the great naval victories of 
 this country. The distance from the hotel is about a 
 mile, and, although the path is somewhat steep and 
 rugged, the goal once reached gives ample remuneration 
 for the toil. To the north, stretches the full length 
 of Windermere, its banks dotted with villas whose 
 grounds slope to the water's edge ; to the east, Cart- 
 mell Fell ; on the south, the Leven may be traced, 
 winding along till it is lost in Morecambe bay ; and on 
 the west, the "cloud-capped" mountains of Conistou. 
 The succession of views almost beggars description, 
 for at every tui-n some fresh beauty of wood, rock, or 
 water, is seen ; hills, bleak and barren, and rocks, bare 
 and steep, alternate with others which are enlivened by 
 the various tints of moss, heath, or shrubs; while craggy 
 valleys and wooded heights succeed each other in one 
 vast panorama, dazzling in brightness and multitude 
 of form and feature. 
 
 The journey from Newby Bridge to Ulverston used 
 to be performed by coach in summer, but this convey- 
 
LAKE SIDE. 19 
 
 ance has given way to the branch line of railway from 
 Ulverston. Following the course of the river for a 
 mile, beyond which a delightfully secluded road is only 
 separated from it by occasional clumps of trees, we 
 have a good view of the stream as its progress is con- 
 stantly impeded by fragments of rock, over which it 
 dashes, making innumerable falls, and again subsides 
 into a rippling current ; while on each side of the vale 
 the fells rise abruptly to a considerable altitude, now 
 and then jutting out in rugged crags, but more 
 frequently softened and rendered beautiful by the 
 variety of the foliage with which the steep acclivities 
 are clothed. For the most part the lower slopes are 
 overgrown with shrubs and brushwood, backed by the 
 tall spires of the firs, which contrast with the grey 
 rocks shooting up here and there in fantastic forms. 
 Then we reach the village of Backbarrow, where are 
 large cotton mills, with the residence and grounds of 
 the owner, and we hear the deep boom of machinery 
 and the noise of village life 
 
 " Through sounds of foaming waterfalls." 
 
 A short distance further and we pass one of the 
 charcoal iron furnaces of Harrison, Ainslie & Co., a 
 specialty in the manufacture of iron. After this, con- 
 tinuing along the side of a wooded height, we reach 
 
 HAVE RTH WAITE 
 
 (Three miles from Lake Side, and twelve miles and a half from 
 Furness Abbey).. 
 
 On the other side of the valley are the hills of Bigland, 
 and those of Haverthwaite immediately above us. 
 The latter, more precipitous in form, are covered with 
 a dense tangle of underwood, from the midst of which 
 rise in profusion trees of different kinds — the elegant 
 mountain ash, the stately pine, the gnarled oak, tha 
 delicate birch, the sombre yew and Scotch fir, mingling 
 their branches in a density of luxuriant foliage. 
 After leaving the station and emerging from the tunnel 
 we catch a glimpse of the pretty little church and par- 
 sonage of Haverthwaite, sheltered by trees, and situated 
 in the most delightfully sequestered spot it is possible 
 
 c 2 
 
20 FURNESS ABBEY. 
 
 to imagine, presenting of themselves a little rural 
 picture, while their position commands a splendid view 
 of Leven's vale. 
 
 The house and grounds of Hollow Oak are espied 
 on the right as the train comes out of the cutting. The 
 extensive powder manufactory of the Lowwood Co. 
 stands below on the left and over the river, the Swiss- 
 like appearance of the clock tower adding a pictur- 
 esqueness to the already attractive scene. In a few 
 minutes we are crossing the Haverthwaite mosses. 
 To the right is a vast extent of " peat bog," composed of 
 the decayed vegetable matter perhaps of centuries. 
 A large accumulation of it has taken place, and 
 moisture being held in absorption, immense compact 
 masses have gradually formed, which have in time 
 assumed a black colour. In some instances the bog is 
 formed almost entirely of mosses, sometimes of mosses 
 mixed with the remains of other plants. The peat is 
 cut or " graved," and arranged in stacks to dry, when 
 it is supplied to the surrounding neighbourhood, 
 the inhabitants using it extensively as an article of 
 fuel ; but since the facilities for the transit of coal 
 have increased, peat has not been in such great demand 
 as formerly. Machinery has been erected for com- 
 pressing the peat, to be used in the charcoal furnaces 
 of Ne wland and Backbarrow, 
 
 We are hurrying past Eoudsey Wood, famous for the 
 lily of the valley, which grows in luxuiiant profusion, 
 and attracts numbers of visitors during the flowering 
 season, and are soon upon the embankment over the 
 sands of the estuary of the Leven, where we see the 
 woods of Underfield terminate in Leckbarrow Point, 
 the abrupt projecting crag with the road at its base, 
 where the river Crake, flowing from Coniston Lake, 
 joins the Leven. At the head of the meadow beyond, 
 Penny Bridge Hall may be seen, and before us lies 
 
 GREENODD 
 
 (Six miles from Lake Side, and nine miles and a half from 
 Tumess Abbey), 
 
 Into which station we are brought after ci-ossing an 
 iron bridge less ornamental than useful. This village 
 
GREEN ODD. 21 
 
 once enjoyed a considerable shipping trade, but its 
 "wharves are now almost deserted, and its warehouses 
 empty ; yet the bustle and activity caused by the 
 railway traffic has amply compensated for the loss of 
 coaches and coasters. It is situated at the entrance to 
 the valley of the Crake, the scenery of which is highly 
 interesting, at first characterised more by sylvan and 
 fertile beauty than by any features of a bold and 
 striking character, wdth one or two exceptions, where 
 hills of varied form and elevation are adorned with 
 picturesque groups of trees and plantations, amongst 
 which a few jutting crags are now and then seen. 
 
 dvancing, the country spreads out into ample 
 meadows, through which the Crake pursues its sinuous 
 course, interrupted occasionally by the different manu- 
 factories — then, once more free, glides along hastily on 
 its way to the bay. The scenery assumes a wilder 
 tone as the foot of Coniston Lake is apiDroached, the 
 river winding more irregularly, forming little creeks 
 where flourish all sorts of aquatic plants, or splashing 
 over the fragments of moss-grown rock, or eddying in 
 ripples round islets of sedge and rushes that acci- 
 dentally intercept its course. The foot of Coniston 
 Lake is easily reached from this place, being only a 
 walk of four or five miles. 
 
 The line from Greenodd to TJlverston skirts the 
 estuary of the Leven for a short distance, and, passing 
 Plumpton mosses, joins the main line of the Furness 
 Eailway near Plumpton Hall, once the property of Mr. 
 Morritt, of Sir Walter Scott's " Eokeby ; " and in full 
 view of the hills of Hoad and Outrake, the former 
 surmounted by the monument erected in honour of 
 Sir John Barrow, we reach the town of TJlverston. 
 
22 FUENFSS ABBEY 
 
 FROM CONISTOM". 
 
 " Ye crags and peaks, I'm with j'ou once again ! 
 
 ******* 
 
 Again ! — 0, sacred forms, how proud you look ! 
 
 How high ye lift your heads into the sky ! 
 
 How huge you are ! how mighty and how free ! 
 
 Ye are the things that tower, that sliine — whose smile 
 
 Makes glad — whose frown is terrible — whose forms, 
 
 Kobed or unrobed, do all the impress wear 
 
 Of awe divine."— Knowles. 
 
 Coaches from Ambleside bring tourists and visitors to 
 Couiston, which, besides forming a favourite station 
 from whence to make excursions to the neighbouring 
 vales of Tilberthwaite, Yewdale, and Langdale, to 
 ascend the Old Man Mountain, and explore the copper 
 mines, is a very pleasant place for a summer sojourn. 
 There are some good inns : the Waterhead Hotel, 
 which had the honour of accommodating, a few years 
 ago, the late Queen Marie Amelie of the French, and 
 suite ; the Crown Inn, and the Black Bull, the last 
 entertaining, on two occasions, De Quincey, "The 
 English Opium Eater." Tennyson, the poet-laureate, 
 and Gerald Massey have both resided here. The 
 church is an old building, plain and unpretending. 
 Coniston " Old Man " * is one of the most conspicuous 
 mountains in the Lake District, and is remarkable for 
 its rugged outline and bold aspect, having the most 
 prominent peak and the greatest altitude of any of 
 the Coniston range, being 2580 feet above the level 
 of the sea. Tt contains valuable mines of copper, 
 as well as quarries of fine slate. The summit of 
 the Old Man commands a series of views from their 
 extent and diversity immensely gratifying to the eye, 
 and well worth the toil of the ascent. Besides com- 
 prehending the immediate district of Eurness and 
 
 * Derived from the British words aid, a bill, maen, a stone ; a 
 block of stone, a stony hill. 
 
CONISTON. 23 
 
 Cartmel, Morecambe Bay, South Cumberland, and the 
 Westmorland mountains, it is said that even Snowdon 
 and the Isle of Man maybe obsei'ved on a clear day by 
 following the direction of the Duddon towards the far 
 horizon. Coniston Lake, or Thurston Water, as it is 
 also called, is between six and seven miles long, little 
 more than three-quarters of a mile in width, aud the 
 greatest depth about forty fathoms. Its waters were 
 once celebrated for yielding the finest char, as well as 
 pike and trout ; but of late years, owing, it is said, to 
 the influx of the water from the copper mines, they 
 have disappeared. The railway station is on the side 
 of a hill above the village, looking down upon it and 
 the waters of the bright lake, which sparkle in the sun- 
 shine. The upper end of the lake is enclosed by magnifi- 
 cent mountains, " cragged and stern, and earthquake- 
 tossed," and upon its banks sloping down to the 
 water's edge are fine pleasure-grounds and woods, 
 studded with villas, which make a very pretty effect. 
 Conspicuous amongst them is Coniston Old Hall, at 
 present a farm-house, but once a seat of the Le 
 Flemings. It has been the subject of an historical 
 tale, illustrative of the Jacobites and the Eevolution 
 of 1688. 
 
 A pretty little screw steam yacht, "The Gondola," 
 plies on the lake in the season, in connection with the 
 Turness Railway at Coniston. 
 
 As the train whirls along from Coniston, a grand 
 panoramic scene lies before the traveller, into which 
 enter all the beauties of fell, rock, wood, and water, 
 with their charming and innumerable varieties, aud he 
 is entranced with the colossal firmness of the mighty 
 hills, the sublimity of the crags and slopes, and "the 
 poetry which breathes from tlieu* streams, dells, and 
 airy heights," as with a delightful vision. We soon 
 reach the station at 
 
 TORVER 
 
 (Two miles and a half from Coniston, and sixteen miles and a 
 half from Fumess Abbey) . 
 
 Torver is a small village from which many persons 
 prefer to make the ascent of the Old Man. Here, it is 
 
said, stood an old church, consecrated by Archbishop 
 Cranmer, on the site of the present building. 
 
 Leaving this place we speed along down a gradient 
 over a rough tract of country, mostly known as " fell" 
 land, with here and there a homestead, where some 
 hardy son of toil resides and occupies himself with 
 tilling his little enclosure and tending the mountain 
 sheep. On these unfrequented wilds are many traces 
 of the ancient Celt, whose rude stone walls and cir- 
 cum valla tions, with piles of stones scattered about in 
 endless confusion, afford more lasting indications of 
 the earlier possessors of the soil than any of the elabo- 
 rate and pompous erections in other places of following 
 races. The eye may rest perhaps 
 
 " On many a cairn's grey pyramid 
 "Where urns of mighty chiefs lie hid." 
 
 To the antiquarian, the neighbourhood offers endless 
 employment ; and the student of nature, who sees 
 beauty everywhere, will find in this seemingly out-of- 
 the-way place, much that is pleasing, interesting, and 
 instructive. It is in such haunts as these that the 
 initiated 
 
 ' * Find tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, 
 Sermons in stones, and good in everything." 
 
 We next arrive at 
 
 V/OODLAND 
 
 (Six miles from Coniston, and thu-teen miles from Furness 
 Abbey). 
 
 A few minutes more and we are hurrying on down the 
 valley, and over a viaduct, passing Broughton Tower, 
 an ancient fabric, before arriving at 
 
 BROUGHTON 
 
 (Nine miles from Coniston, and ten miles from Fm-ness Abbey). 
 
 This is a small market-town situated about three- 
 quarters of a mile from the river Duddon, on a gentle 
 eminence. In the centre of the town is the mai'ket 
 square, consisting of neat and well-built houses, and in 
 which stands a stone obelisk. There are an old churchy 
 
BROUGHTON. 25 
 
 two grammar schools, and two or three good inns, 
 where horses and conveyances may be hired. From 
 this point strangers usually visit Black Combe, a hill 
 on the extremity of the Cumberland shore, the sum- 
 mit of which is about six miles distant. At iSwineside, 
 three miles from Broughton, under the side of Black 
 Combe, is a Druidical temple, or circle of huge upright 
 stones, one of the most perfect in the north of England. 
 
 Another favourite excursion may be made from here 
 up the sequestered and beautiful vale of the Duddon 
 to Seathwaite. 
 
 The praises of the Duddon have been sung by 
 Wordsworth, and its scenery will amply recompense 
 those who wander along its course. At the entrance 
 may be seen Duddon Hall, delightfully situated, with its 
 Grecian temple, amid fine lawns and extensive grounds, 
 surrounded by woods, and sheltered by thickly foliaged 
 branches of trees, which rise up gradually until they 
 crown luxuriantly the opposite heights. 
 
 Leaving Broughton, we pass by cultivated fields and 
 quickly reach 
 
 FOXFIELD 
 (Ten miles from Coniston, and nine miles from Furness Abbey) . 
 
 At this place there is a junction with the Whitehaven 
 and Furness Eailways, and passengers change for places 
 on the West Cumberland line. We now proceed, after 
 a short delay, along a tract of peat-bog and mossy land, 
 and the next station we come to is that of 
 
 KIRKBY 
 
 (Twelve miles and a quarter from Coniston, and six miles and 
 three quarters from Furness Abbey). 
 
 Here we observe, high on the hill-side, the slate 
 quarries, the property of his Grace the Duke of Devon- 
 shire, which are connected by an incline railway with 
 the main line. These quarries extend for above a mile — 
 the rubbish hills, or " batteries," as they are techni- 
 cally termed, rising tier above tie.r to a great height — 
 and afford employment to about three hundred men. 
 
 Close by is an ancient residence, called the Old Hall, 
 where many generations of the Kirkbys of Kirkby 
 
26 FURNESS ABBEF. 
 
 dwelt. In front of the house formerly stood an old 
 stone cross, which was destroyed by order of Arch- 
 bishop Sandys. This family was greatly reduced 
 through adhesion to the royalist cause in the Parlia- 
 mentary war. For several miles we now run along the 
 edge of the Duddon estuary, and some of "Nature's 
 largest print behold," in the shape of the Cumberland 
 mountains, from Black Combe to Coniston, including 
 the rugged top of Scawfell. 
 
 " God's vast creatures, there they stand. 
 Looking over sea and land." 
 
 At the extreme point of the opposite shore may be 
 descried the Hodbarrow iron mines, where a rich bed 
 of haematite has been discovered, causing a large influx 
 of vessels to the Duddon to carry away the valuable 
 mineral. On the left we pass the village of Ireleth, 
 with its pretty little church, recently erected in the 
 Early- English style. Ireleth was evidently an ancient 
 British settlement, for during the excavations for the 
 waterworks reservoirs, a few years ago, the workmen 
 discovered eight vessels of half-baked clay, containing 
 human bones, and arranged in a straight line N.E. and 
 S.W., and one yard apart, unquestionably belonging to 
 a very early age, and doubtless cinerary urns of an 
 aboriginal people. 
 
 After remaining so long a quiet and almost insig- 
 nificant place, Ireleth promises to occupy a situation of 
 some consideration, from being called upon to take an 
 active part in the staple trade of the country. Blast 
 furnaces have been erected near its coast, at Askham, 
 by the Furness Iron and Steel Co. ; we may therefore 
 soon expect to see this village share in those improve- 
 ments which the remarkable unfolding of the mineral 
 treasures in the limestone formation has bestowed upon 
 the district generally. 
 
 We now glide by, on the right, first " Greenscar " 
 mines and afterwards " Park " mines, the rocks and 
 earth around being tinged with the rich ferruginous 
 deposit, and we soon find ourselves entering the far- 
 famed Valeof the Deadly Night-shade, and in sight of the 
 time-honoured and crumbling waUs of Furness Abbey. 
 
FURNESS ABBEY. 27 
 
 FURNESS ABBEY. 
 
 " Down ! down they come — a fearful fall — 
 Arch, and pillar, and roof-tree, and all, 
 Stained pane, and sculptured stone. 
 There they lie on the greensward strown — 
 Mouldering walls remain alone ! " 
 
 Among the ruins of monastic establishments spread 
 throughout the land, there are few more imposing in 
 their proportions, charming in their solitude, or affect- 
 ing in their decay, than what remains to us of that 
 once noble ecclesiastical edifice, the Abbey of St. Mary 
 of Furness. 
 
 We cannot look iipon the stateliness of the building, 
 with its chaste and beautiful columns, symmetrical 
 arches, quaint carvings, and elegant tracery, without 
 feeling intense admiration for the spirit which prompted 
 the hearts of our ancestors to devise, and their hands 
 to execute, such great and gorgeous temples devoted 
 to the worship of the Creator ; and it is sad to 
 reflect that here, upon the now damp and moss-grown 
 floor, worshippers have knelt, generation after genera- 
 tion, — the earnest, the careless, and the indifferent, — 
 dreaming not that in a few centuries the spacious and 
 lofty edifice they were so proud of supporting would 
 stand as a mere shell, to mark the spot where it once 
 flourished in all its circumstance and splendour. It is 
 only in this country that we see these monuments of 
 the piety of mediaeval times in so ruinous a condition. 
 How much it is to be regretted that the reaction in 
 religious sentiment at the period of the dissolution 
 of monasteries, and subsequently, was so violent that 
 these noble structures should have suffered demolition 
 at the hands of cold, irreligious neglect, rapacity, or 
 ignorant fury, — that in the general crash " Eeformers " 
 were not content with uprooting and weeding out 
 forms and ceremonies and other alleged abuses, but 
 
28 FURNESS ABBEY. 
 
 refused to preserve to succeeding ages the magnificent 
 and apparently indestructible piles for future worship ; 
 thus plunging the nation into an abyss of barbaric 
 architecture, which produced the " hideous painted and 
 whitewashed parallelograms '' that have been raised up 
 and called churches in later times. Let us hope for 
 better things, now that in these days, there has been 
 such a revival of the Gothic architecture of the middle 
 ages in the erection and restoration of sacred edifices. 
 Had it not been for the lamentable destruction of 
 monastic and ecclesiastical buildings which then took 
 place, England could this day have boasted as fine 
 old churches as those of Continental countries, coeval 
 with our own now in ruins, but carefully kept, and 
 restored where threatened by the decay of centuries. 
 It may be argued by those who deprecate the use 
 of all the accessories of beautiful architecture, in- 
 ternal decoration, and impressive music in public 
 worship, that the Reformation would never have 
 succeeded in weaning the people from superstitious 
 reverence for old associations and impressive cere- 
 monies without this sweeping destruction ; and yet 
 we know that " the idol may be shattered in the dust, 
 but tlie infatuation of the worshipper shall outlive 
 his faith." 
 
 We shall proceed at once to inspect the remains 
 of this celebrated abbey, the very stones of which 
 recall the glories of its palmy days. 
 
 Upon the site of the Manor House there now 
 stands a substantial and well-appointed hotel, and 
 on the walls of several rooms are some striking 
 bas-reliefs sculptured in marble, illustrating varioiis 
 occurrences in scripture history, with appropriate 
 Latin inscriptions. In the coffee-room there is a 
 very curious representation of Adam and Eve in 
 Paradise. 
 
 On leaving the platform of the railway station, a 
 few paces bring us to 
 
 The Abbot's Private Chapel, 
 
 48 feet long by 20 feet wide, near which ai-e two 
 Gothic arches, one large and the other small, which 
 
GROUND PLAN OP 
 
 — w 
 
FUENESS ABBEY 
 
THE ABBOT'S PRIVATE CHAPEL. 29 
 
 mark the entrance of the road from Dalton. These 
 arches are modern, and were built by the late Lord 
 George Cavendish. Near to this place is the site of 
 the porter's lodge and ancient gateway, and not long 
 ago might be noticed the door-step, worn almost 
 away by the feet of pilgrims and mendicants visiting 
 the abbey in days of yore. 
 
 Over the doorway of this chapel will be seen a 
 pretty niche, with a trefoil head, for a statue, and 
 inside, in the south wall, a side entrance and three 
 sedilia, or seats, for the officiating priests, with 
 piscina and ambry. If the visitor now pursue the 
 road past the hotel, he will come to a turnstile in 
 full view of the church, and will follow the footpath 
 leading directly towards it, through the grounds in 
 front of the hotel, which are said to have been 
 designed by the late Sir J. Paxton, M.P. The semi- 
 circular doorway, which here forms the principal 
 entrance, opens into the north transept, and is placed, 
 with strange want of taste, on one side of the window 
 above it. During recent excavations, the basement 
 mouldings have been cleared of the turf and earth 
 which had accumulated about them, and they look 
 quite fresh, as if only recently cut. 
 
 The Church 
 
 Is built in the form of a cross, as was the prevail- 
 ing custom, possessing various subdivisions, and from 
 the portions of the walls and the foundations still 
 visible, a very accurate idea of the proportions and 
 limits of the building can be easily ascertained by the 
 observer. 
 
 If the eye be cast along the whole area of the 
 church, which measures 300 feet in length, and 65 
 feet in breadth, some notion of the enormous dimen- 
 sions of this splendid fabric will enter the mind, 
 and excite the deepest wonder and admiration at 
 the grandeur of the design, once so beautifully perfect 
 
 — now 
 
 " Sublime in niin, grand in woe." 
 
30 FURNES8 ABBEY. 
 
 The "Western To"wer or Belfry 
 
 Is of a later date than the rest of the work, belong- 
 ing apparently to the latter part of tlie fourteenth 
 or the early portion of the fifteenth century, when 
 the Perpendicular style was usurping the place of 
 the beautiful and chaste Decorated. The walls are 
 of great strength, being 11 feet in tliickness and 
 further strengthened with six-staged buttresses, 8 
 feet broad, projecting 9-^ feet from the wall, the 
 lower stages ornamented with canopied niche and 
 pedestal. It is conjectured that this tower was of 
 considerable height, one writer suggesting that it 
 was never finished. The stonework composing a 
 mass which fell from the top was so strongly cemented 
 together, that the workmen employed to remove it 
 were compelled to blast it with powder. 
 
 The inside' of the tower measures 24 feet by 19 
 feet, and the splendid west window, of the Perpen- 
 dicular style, with its splays or jambs decorated with 
 the leaf-like ornament of that period, was 35 feet 
 high and 11^ feet wide. The staircase formed in 
 the wall is in a good state of preservation, and the 
 view from the top well repays the ascent. At the 
 north-west corner there was once an entrance to 
 the church, and on the south-west is a cavity in the 
 wall, supposed by Mr. Beck to have been a doorway 
 leading from the western wing of the cloisters, after- 
 wards walled up, but which appears to have been 
 an arched canopy for a recumbent monumental efiigy. 
 
 We have now before us the nave and aisles, with 
 their grass-covered floor ; the former was separated 
 from the latter by two rows of pier-arches, eight in 
 each, alternately circular and clustered. The aisles 
 were groined and vaulted in stone, while the roof 
 of the nave was composed of wood. The oblique 
 moulding on the transept walls marks the slope of 
 the roof of the aisles, which was 26 feet in height 
 to the top of the vaulting. In the north aisle 
 there is a platform, where no doubt stood a private 
 altar. 
 
 The north wall was 4 feet thick, and ])erforated 
 
THE TRANSEPT. 31 
 
 by nine semicircular windows, separated externally by 
 buttresses. 
 
 The Transept, 
 
 Dividing the chancel from the body of the church, 
 measures 129 feet by 28 feet, the walls composing it 
 being from 4 to 6 feet thick, and of their original 
 height. This part of the church was intersected by 
 the choir, and the bases of its screens may be seen. 
 Near the pulpit, at the junction of the north aisle and 
 middle of transept, are some beautifully sculptured 
 panels, which, when first discovered, were adorned 
 with gold. The walls of the north transept and side 
 chapels present numerous indications where alterations 
 have taken place. The chapels were those of the Lan- 
 casters, barons of Kendal, who were great benefactors 
 to the Abbey, and contained the remains of several of 
 the family. In 
 
 The North Transept 
 
 "Was a splendid window, 30 feet high, and 17|- feet 
 wide, and in the south wall of the transept another of 
 less magnitude, 17-| feet by 12 feet, both showing the 
 substitution of the Perpendicular style for that imme- 
 diately preceding it. 
 
 Over the centre was erected the lantern tower, having 
 windows towards the four cardinal points, and this 
 was supported by four noble arches resting upon lofty 
 pillars, only one of them remaining (the eastern), the 
 height of which from the floor to the under side of the 
 apex is 52|^ feet. 
 
 The Chancel 
 Extends 60 feet eastward, and 28 feet in breadth, its 
 walls being 5 feet thick and 60 feet in height. It was 
 once lighted by four elegant windows— two in the 
 northern wall are each 8 feet 4 inches wide, and five 
 times that in height, the others being smaller — besides 
 them agnificent east window, which, when perfect, was 
 47 feet in height and 23^ feet in breadth. The floor 
 appears to have been laid with encaustic tiles. 
 
 The walls are supported outside by two square but- 
 tresses which project 6 feet from the wall, and diminish 
 
32 FURNESS ABBEY. 
 
 by stages. High above the ground are overhanging 
 corbels and grotesquely carved heads, whose quaint- 
 ness, however, is not without symbolic meaning. 
 
 The external mouldings of the great chancel window 
 remain, and are supported on each side by a crowned 
 head, supposed to represent Stephen the founder, and 
 Maud his wife. As we gaze upon the great blank in 
 the wall, it is diflScult for the imagination to conceive 
 the effect produced by this large and magnificent win- 
 dow when in the splendour of its full proportions, for 
 there is now scarcely any division remaining of those 
 numerous compartments, ramifying into rich tracery, 
 through which, from the highest to the lowest pane, 
 came a flood of tinted and mellowed light, a very 
 " shower of beauty " falling over all. 
 
 " A mighty window, hollow in the centre, 
 Shorn of its glass of thousand colourings, 
 
 Through which the deepened glories once could enter, 
 Streaming from off the sun like seraph's wings, 
 
 Now yawns all desolate : now loud, now fainter, 
 The gale sweeps through its fretwork, and oft sings 
 
 The owl his anthem, where the silenced choir 
 
 Lie with their hallelujahs quenched like fire." 
 
 Six feet from the wall, l'-l\ feet long by 4 feet broad, 
 is the basement of the platform upon which stood the 
 high altar. In the south wall of the chancel are placed 
 the 
 
 Sedilia, 
 
 Occupied during high mass by the priest celebrant and 
 his attendant deacons. The seats are raised one step 
 above the floor, are profusely ornamented with crockets, 
 finials, and rich canopies delicately groined, and con- 
 sist of five lai'ger and two smaller niches, separated by 
 screens — four being seats for those who conducted the 
 services of the church ; the large one, the basin or pis- 
 cina where the priest rinsed the chalice after the puri- 
 fications, with a recess a little above for a lamp ; and 
 the two side niches, it is thought, were for the napkins 
 used after ablution. 
 
 This marvel of art in masonry is executed in the 
 most exquisite Decorated style, and when painted and 
 gilded, as was the custom in those days when the 
 
Gothic had reached a high pitch of perfection, must 
 have looked strikingly beautiful. 
 
 The ambries or lockers — square openings in the wall 
 on each, side of the sedilia — were I'eceptacles for the 
 vessels of the altar, the oil stock for extreme unction, 
 and perhaps also for the reservation of the sacred 
 elements. 
 
 Before proceeding to view the other parts of this 
 vast fabric, a glance at the walls from this situation 
 will show us that since the period of the foundation of 
 the abbey material alterations of the original building- 
 have undoubtedly taken place, but not in such a degree 
 as to conceal or injure the antique expression of the 
 earlier epochs. About the latter part of the fourteenth 
 and beginning of the fifteenth centuries, the monks of 
 Furness appear to have been infected with the general 
 spirit of change in architecture which was then diffused 
 through monastic societies, and accordingly took down 
 and rebuilt, or embellished and improved, various 
 parts of their edifice, substituting, in many cases, the 
 Perpendicular for the beautiful light and graceful style 
 of the Early-English and Decorated, which before pre- 
 vailed. 
 
 It is interesting and instructive to trace these various 
 and gradual transitions from the Early-English down 
 to the Perpendicular productions — a very characteristic 
 jDrogression of improvement, where with consummate art 
 we see all the essentials of the former preserved, while 
 a striking air of novelty is superadded, and the whole 
 becomes markedly richer, airier, statelier, and yet more 
 delicate, without any diminution of grandeur and 
 strength. 
 
 So great was the rage for alterations at this time 
 that it was found necessary to prohibit them by a 
 decree of Council held in London. 
 
 Monuments, Tombs, etc. 
 
 On the north-west side of the vale, above the chui^ch, 
 was a cemetery with a chapel, all traces of which have 
 now disappeared. Another burial ground immediately 
 within the strait enclosure, and opposite the eastern 
 
 D 
 
34 FURNESS ABBEY. 
 
 end of the church, was set apart for privileged indi- 
 viduals, benefactors, and others ; but most of the tomb- 
 stones have been collected, and, with the sculptured 
 figures, are now placed on the floor of the chancel, after 
 lying about in vaiious directions for many years. 
 
 The monumental effigies are those of members of the 
 family of Le Fleming, lords of Aldingham ; or Lancaster, 
 barons of Kendal, the crusader in the centre being most 
 probably the third William de Lancaster, and eighth 
 baron of Kendal, who was a large donor to the abbey. 
 He died in the year 1246. 
 
 " The knights are dust, 
 Their swords are rust, 
 Their souls are with the saints, I trust." 
 
 The two others in limestone, their helmets being in 
 profile, and closed, according to the laws of heraldry, 
 clearly represent esquires of the early part of the 
 thirteenth century (Henry III.) They are clothed in 
 quilted or padded armour, with triangular shields, and 
 heavy barrel-shaped helmets, each with an aperture for 
 sight cut in the transverse bar of a cross, covering the 
 whole head and resting upon the shoulders. In another 
 part of the ruins, in wooden boxes, are the figures of a 
 knight in the armour of the thirteenth century, sup- 
 posed to be Reginald, King of Man, slain in battle in 
 the year 1228, and a female in the costume of the four- 
 teenth century. From the full exposed face, the male 
 figure indicates a knight, the armour consisting of 
 chain-mail, covered with a surcoat unfortunately with- 
 out armorial bearings, knee-pieces of iron plate, and a 
 triangular shield. The hand is shown in the act of 
 drawing the sword, as was the custom when a man 
 died in battle. There is also a mutilated statue of 
 a deacon in his surplice, the stole being represented 
 as worn over the left shoulder and across the breast, 
 according to the ancient custom of the diaconate. The 
 earliest Norman monuments consist merely of a stone 
 coffin with the lid shaped in a ridge or en dos d'ane. 
 The coffins were sunk on a level with the ground, in 
 the interments of distinguished people, so that the lid 
 rose above the pavement. They were frequently plain, 
 
MONUMENTS, TOMBS, ETC. 
 
 or sculptured only with a cross, but afterwards they 
 were raised higher above ground, and architectural 
 decorations introduced. 
 
 One or two only of the ridged sepulchral stones exist, 
 and they are cleax-ly the oldest. The proper stone 
 coffin is formed of a single stone ; it is rather higher at 
 the top than at the base, and in width tapers also from 
 head to foot. The interior excavation is adapted to 
 receive the body, with a separate round hollow to fit 
 the head. An example of this kind is seen at the lodge 
 of the strait enclosure. Most of the coffin lids are of 
 the thirteenth century, and consist of slabs, either 
 bearing an incised floriated cross, or a cross in low 
 relief, with the steps or mound at the base intended to 
 represent Mount Calvary, and technically called " The 
 Calvary." Some of the monuments bear inscriptions, 
 which are, however, almost illegible, though several 
 have been deciphered : among these the following may 
 be mentioned: — Domina: Xtina : Secunda; Adam de 
 GriJiolm; Roge?^us de Hoylandia; — Jacet Godith — ; Hie 
 jacet Ana — ti Flandren ; Hie jacet Wile^us Graindeorge 
 
 (a knight) : — nus : Rohertus : de: s Furnessi : quint: 
 
 — this last, Robert de Denton, fifth abbot of Furness, 
 ruled the monastery from 1206 to 1236. 
 
 Several of the abbots were buried beneath the floor 
 of the chapter house. 
 
 The chancel has now been railed off, and the vestry 
 door fitted with a gate, a protection which might have 
 been advantageously adopted earlier. 
 
 Vestry and Chantries. 
 
 Passing through a door in the south wall, west of the 
 stalls, we step into the vestry, where the gorgeous 
 apparel of the priests was kept, and, advancing, find 
 ourselves in the south transept, noting the trefoiled 
 niches in the pillars of the side chapels, for the recep- 
 tion of lamps to light the monks to early devotions, the 
 flight of steps by which they entered from the dormi- 
 tory still remaining. 
 
 A door in the east end of the wall of the south aisle 
 of the church leads to a large open space, called the 
 
 D 2 
 
FURNESS ABBEY. 
 
 cloister-court, long used as an orchard, but recently 
 cleared of fruit trees, the foundations of various build- 
 ings being exposed by well-conducted excavations. We 
 now proceed to inspect the 
 
 Conventual Buildings. 
 
 The attention of the visitor is at once arrested by three 
 richly moulded and semicircular arches, the receding 
 sides or splays of the doors retaining still the Norman 
 depth, and erroneously supposed by some to be of 
 that style, but clearly of the Early-English. This is 
 sufficiently indicated by a peculiar moulding called 
 the dog-toothed ornament, which the visitor will 
 observe runs round these arches. This dog-toothed 
 moulding is never found in any style of Gothic archi- 
 ture but the Early-English. Beneath one of them is a 
 fine specimen of the plant called Deadly Nightshade 
 {Atropa Belladonna), absurdly suppo??ed by some to 
 have been cultivated . by the monks for sinister pur- 
 poses, on account of its highly poisonous properties. 
 This, as well as the Henbane [Hyoscyamus niger), is 
 indigenous to the district, and both may be found in 
 various places, as the coasts of Methop, Cark, and 
 Waluey. 
 
 The middle archway forms an open porch with a 
 groined and vaulted roof, the sides having been 
 originally ornamented with neat marble columns sup- 
 porting an arcade of six trefoil-headed niches. This is 
 the entrance to the 
 
 Chapter House, 
 
 A four-sided room, 60^ feet by 45i feet, the vaulted 
 roof long fallen in, having been 24 feet in height, and 
 supported by two rows of slender fluted columns, three 
 in each. More decoration appears to have been lavished 
 on this apartment and the chancel than on any other 
 portion of the edifice. Here the Lord Abbot, paramount 
 ruler in Furness, sat in state on high official occasions, 
 and here the business transactions of the community 
 were conducted. It was in this place where, in solemn 
 conclave assembled, the last of the abbatical rulers, in 
 the presence of the commissioners of King Henry VIII., 
 
V ' v. Lit ■ --x- <* -A w,- / ' ■ 
 
 '4'v--^l ■■■■' v-s^^si m^' 
 
 CHAPTER HOUSE, FUENESS ABBEY. 
 
CHAPTER HOUSE. 37 
 
 signed the fatal deed of surrender, by which at one fell 
 swoop he and his brethren were deprived of their 
 proud position, and the accumulated wealth of four 
 centuries. The walls have been wrought into compart- 
 ments, some of which are pierced by lancet windows. 
 The roof of this room fell in suddenly more than a 
 century ago. Over the chapter house was the 
 
 Scriptorium, 
 
 Or library, approached from the south transept, where 
 the brethren laboured with exemplary patience at those 
 wonderful illuminated manuscripts which we have to 
 thank for much of our ^Dresent knowledge of the history 
 of past ages. Eeturning to the cloister-court, we enter, 
 by two smaller and less elaborate semicircular arches, 
 the 
 
 Refectory. 
 
 This great diniug hall measures 200 feet in length by 
 31 feet in breadth, and once possessed a vaulted roof, 
 groined from the corbels still visible to the heavy 
 eight-sided columns whose bases remain on the floor. 
 
 A small portion was separated at the northern 
 end by a low narrow wall, but for what purpose has 
 not yet been determined, unless it was for the raised 
 dais when the abbot dined in state with the monks on 
 great occasions ; or for the sideboard, an important 
 piece of furniture with the Norman barons and men of 
 rank, on which wei"e displayed the silver, pewter, and 
 other vessels of the establishment in conspicuous array. 
 The left or east side has doors of communication with 
 the kitchens and various other convenient offices. The 
 extremity of this large room had an open porch with 
 six entrances, one of which has been walled up and 
 converted into a fire-place. 
 
 Over the refectory was the bed-chamber or 
 
 Dormitory, 
 
 The principal entrance to it being from the cloister- 
 court, but all traces of the staircase have completely 
 disappeared. Sometimes the sleeping apartment was a 
 room common to all, but more frequently divided into 
 
38 FUIiymS ABBEY. 
 
 small chambers, each containing a siucrle bed, consist- 
 ing of a sti'aw mat. The bedrooms also extended over 
 the places surrounding the cloister-court. The visitor 
 will perceive that the w^iudows of the dormitory were 
 precisely similar to those over the chapter house 
 porches, being lancet windows of the Early-English 
 style, indicating that this portion of the abbey was 
 built at an early period of its history. 
 
 Cloisters. 
 
 Surrounding this open space was a covered alley, with 
 a vaulted roof projecting from the walls of the building 
 on one side, and supported by pillars of open arches 
 on the other, within the avenues of which were the 
 cloisters, where the monks retired for exercise and 
 meditation. 
 
 In the open court was a lavatory ; it also formed a 
 sepulchre, the gravestones of which were directed to be 
 level with the ground, lest they should occasion impedi- 
 ments to those who walked therein. 
 
 On the south o^ the cloister-court was' the fratry, or 
 monks' refectory, or common eating-hall, the first men- 
 tioned one being used only on particular days, owing 
 to an alteration which took place throughout the entire 
 order, changing their meagre diet to one of a more 
 liberal scale. 
 
 West of this was the noviciate, and near to the latter 
 a porter's lodge ; the foundations of all these buildings 
 having been lately uncovered, are now plainly seen. 
 
 Guest Hall. 
 
 Beyond the refectory, and somewhat to the south- 
 east, there is a curious building of a mixed style 
 of architecture, a puzzle to antiquaries, and denomi- 
 nated by various writers as guest hall, school-house, 
 infirmary. 
 
 According to the general arrangement of monastic 
 institutions, it appears to answer most to the descrip- 
 tion of a guest hall and chapel, with domestic offices 
 and sleeping apartments overhead. The vestibule has- 
 several entrances, with staircases in the thickness o-f 
 
GUE8T HALL. 39 
 
 the wall, leading to the rooms above, and, with the 
 adjoining chapel, is the only jjortion of the conventual 
 buildings with roof entire, which is a good example of 
 the groined vaulting of the period. The chapel is now 
 protected by iron grating, and serves as a repository 
 for relics found amongst the ruins during the late in- 
 vestigations, many curious gargoyles, corbels, mould- 
 ings, pieces of piping, and other interesting remains 
 being there collected. 
 
 Infirmary. 
 
 As will be seen on reference to the plan, there are 
 certain detached buildings, over the streamlet, and in 
 close proximity to the rock, which have been supposed 
 to consist of the infirmary, buttery, larder, bakehouse, 
 brewhouse, and other domestic offices. Immense quan- 
 tities of oyster and cockle shells, as well as burnt bones, 
 were discovered on clearing away the rubbish adjoining 
 these erections. The dwelling of the sacristan is thought 
 to have been near this spot, and here were also the 
 apartments of the secular servants. Within the pre- 
 cincts of the abbey were one horse and two water corn 
 mills. 
 
 Miscellaneous Particulars. 
 
 From the remains of the secular buildings, a footpath 
 leads to the summit of an eminence through which the 
 railway is tunnelled, where an excellent bird's-eye view 
 is obtained of the abbey and its domain. 
 
 Here we will suppose the visitor to rest, and medi- 
 tate upon the scene which lies before him, the centre 
 of attraction being " a noble wreck in ruinous perfec- 
 tion," the remnant of that system of ecclesiastical 
 polity which, when it had almost come to its per- 
 fection, was checked and despoiled, and its ritual and 
 revenues swept away, by the great religious convulsion 
 that took place throughout the whole of this kingdom 
 and the greater part of Europe. 
 
 That portion of the edifice which survives is in a 
 remarkably good state of preservation, although it 
 '' now lies naked to the injuries of stormy weather," 
 The stranger will have had pointed out to him the 
 
40 FURNESS ABBEY. 
 
 more interesting features of the architecture — the 
 richly-ornamented doorways, the short but beautifully- 
 moulded pillars, the groined arches, the carved heads, 
 the antique figures and inscriptions, the site of the 
 high altar, and the burial-place of the barons of 
 Kendal. 
 
 The masonry of the fabric is of suj^erior workman- 
 ship ; many of the carvings look remarkably fresh ; and 
 although unfortunately none of the windows retain their 
 mullions, those fragments which are scattered about in 
 heaps bear traces of fine sculpture, and show the 
 mason's marks as plainly as if cut yesterday. The 
 huge block of buildings stretches completely across the 
 vale. The internal and external facings of the walls are 
 composed of well-dressed stones, while the middle has 
 been filled in with grout-work, cemented with mortar 
 of rare consistency, as if the lime had been run in hot. 
 All this provision against the attacks of time availed 
 but little, for, as it now stands, the abbey is a memorial 
 of lawless subversion, which has contributed more to its 
 devastation than the " wild waste of devouring years." 
 Numerous houses in the neighbourhood have been 
 wholly or partially constructed of stones quarried from 
 the monastery, and the plunder is easily detected by 
 portions of moulding or tracery peeping out here and 
 there. 
 
 A complete system of drainage Avas in use by 
 the monks, and they availed themselves of the water 
 supply from the never-failing rivulet ; but all these 
 minor details we must leave to the observation of the 
 visitor, as they are too numerous for our space. 
 
 Lichens of various hues cover the stones ; ivy, grass, 
 and ferns crop out where it is possible to find foot- 
 hold, and between the crevices, everywhere, protrudes 
 the pellitory of the wall {Parietaria officinalis). All 
 these plants add considerably to the picturesqueuess 
 and romantic appearance of the ruins, yet, while they 
 adorn, they slowly, but surely, help on the work of 
 destruction. 
 
 Much alarm has recently been felt with regard to 
 the vibration of the heavy mineral trains passing on 
 the I'ailway which has invaded the peaceful retirement 
 
MISCELLANEOUS PARTICULARS 41 
 
 of the Yale of Nightshade, and a large portion of the 
 eastern side of tlie lantern tower lately fell with a great 
 crash, foi^tunately without damaging, to any great ex- 
 tent, the adjoining walls. 
 
 From this position will be observed the boundary 
 wall of the immediate precincts of the abbey, enclosing 
 a space of sixty-five acres, and in the eastei^n side of it 
 a door which communicated with the beacon hill — 
 a necessary precaution against sudden alarms from 
 restless and marauding northern neighbours. The 
 southern portion of the park terminates in an amphi- 
 theatre, the floor of which, once the fish-ponds, has been 
 long since filled up with debris from the ruins. The 
 architect, the sculptor, and the antiquary look around 
 them with astonishment at the loftiness of the design, 
 as well as the consummate beauty of execution, and 
 feel that in all this there is something truly grand, 
 which explains how deep and pervading the influence 
 of art must have been upon the minds of all who were 
 connected with such structures. They perceive the 
 stupendous nature of the work, covering so large a sur- 
 face, still sublime in expression, elaborate in ornament, 
 and in the highest degree interesting, from the manner 
 in which it tells them, as they look uj)on it, how it was 
 commenced in tlie twelfth century (a.d. 1127), and gra- 
 dually completed in different eras ; still, notwithstand- 
 ing the many changes of architectural taste visible, 
 scarcely anywhere is the eff'ect discordant. 
 
 But " Time hath left the deep traces of his destroy- 
 ing hand upon its crumbling walls; and the passing- 
 footsteps of by -gone years, as they hurried on in their 
 march to eternity, have worn away the quaint carvings 
 from column and shrine. Where the setting sunbeams 
 once gilded the deep-dyed windows (rich with the 
 figures of saints and warriors, and all the emblazoned 
 pomp of heraldry), now waves the monumental ivy, 
 with a solemn motion, as if it kej^t time to the sob- 
 bing wind, that breathes mournfully over the ruins. 
 The deep and mellow voices of the monks, who here 
 chaunted the holy vespers, have died away ; even the 
 high and arched roof, which gave back the rolling 
 echoes, is gone ; the vaulted and pillared aisles, where 
 
42 FURNESS ABBEY. 
 
 the sounds were prolonged or lost, are fallen ; and the 
 long green grass waves in the silent choir." 
 
 HISTORICAL SKETCH. 
 
 " Ages on ages slowly pass away, 
 
 And nature marks their progress by decay, 
 The i^lant that decks the mountain with its bloom 
 Finds in the earth, ere long, a damp dark tomb ; 
 And man — earth's monarch — howe'er great and brave. 
 Toils on, to find at last a silent grave." 
 
 The Abbey of St. Mary of Furness was founded on the 
 16th of July, in the year of our Lord 1127, in the 
 twenty-sixth year of the reign of Henry the First, and 
 the second of the pontificate of Pope Honoring II.,- by 
 Stephen, Earl of Moreton and Bologne, afterwards 
 King of England. 
 
 The monks placed in this monastery were a filiation 
 from that of Savigny, in Normandy, which had been 
 founded about fifteen years before that of Furness, and 
 fourteen years after the establishment of the Cistercian 
 order. They came into England under the direction of 
 Evanus, or Ewanus, and seating themselves at Tulket, 
 near Preston, in Amounderness, July 13th, 1124, chose 
 him to be their first abbot. The situation of Tulket 
 not being altogether to their liking, they removed, after 
 a residence of three years L,nd three days, to the Yale 
 of Nightshade, or Bekangs-gill, in Furness, whither 
 they had been led by the sagacity and foresight of their 
 superior, who was attracted by the solitude and retire- 
 ment of this remote corner, so well adaj)ted for a re- 
 ligious retreat. 
 
 The promontory of Furness — being defended on the 
 east and south by dangerous quicksands, on the west 
 by the Irish Sea, and on the north by hills which in 
 those days were covered with woods, the roads leading 
 to it being bad, and at that time but little frequented — 
 was secure in some degree from interruption, or the incur- 
 
HISTORICAL SKETCH. 43 
 
 sions of* tlie restless Boi'der people and other freebooters, 
 who, in national quarrels, or to gratify their passion 
 for plunder and destruction, often demolished these 
 repositories of wealth, ease, and plenty. Such a fate 
 often befel those abbeys and religious houses founded 
 within reach of the Scottish frontier ; but from 
 these calamities Furness was, by the advantages of its 
 situation, in a great measure preserved. Besides, its 
 mineral wealth and fertile plains were eminently calcu- 
 lated to encourage industrial activity ; its seclusion and 
 quietude were most suitable for a life of contemplation ; 
 and, being surrounded by diversified scenery of the most 
 lovely description, it presented powerful incentives to 
 religious thought and feeling. 
 
 Furness Abbey was dedicated to the Virgin Mary, as 
 were all houses of the Cistercian order. 
 
 Translation of the Foundation Charter 
 of Stephen, Earl of Bologne. 
 
 " In the name of the Blessed Trinity, and in honour of 
 St. Mary of Furness, I, Stephen, Earl of Bologne and 
 Moreton, consulting God, and providing for the safety 
 of my own soul, the soul of my wife, the Countess 
 Matilda, the soul of my lord and uncle, Henry, King 
 of England and Duke of Normandy, and for the souls 
 of all the faithful, living as well as dead, in the year of 
 our Lord 1127, of the Eoman indiction the 5th and 
 18th of the epact : 
 
 " Considering every day the uncertainty of life, that 
 roses and flowers of kings, emperors, and dukes, and 
 the crowns and palms of all the great, wither and 
 decay ; and that all things, with an iminterrupted 
 course, tend to dissolution and death : 
 
 " I therefore return, give, and grant to God and 
 St. Mary of Furness, all Furness and Walney (Wagnea), 
 with the privilege of hunting ; with Dalton, and all 
 ray lordship in Furness (intra Frudernesiam), with the 
 men and everything thereto belonging, that is, in 
 woods and in open grounds, in land and in water ; 
 and Ulverston (Olvestonam), and Eoger Braithwaite 
 with all that belongs to him ; my fisheries at Lancaster, 
 
44 FURNESS ABBEY. 
 
 and Little Guoriug (Guoreuum Parvum), with uU the 
 land thereof; with sac* and soc,t tolj and team,§ in- 
 fangenetheof,|| and everything within Furness, except 
 the lands of Michael le Fleming ; with this view and 
 upon this condition, That in Fnrness an order of regular 
 monks be by Divine permission established : which 
 gift and offering I by supreme authority appoint to be 
 for ever observed ; and, that it may remain firm and 
 inviolate for ever, I subscribe this charter with my 
 hand, and confirm it with the sign of the Holy Cross. 
 " Signed by 
 
 " Henry, King of England, and Duke 
 of' Normandy. 
 
 " Thurstan, ArcJihishop of Yoi^lt. 
 
 " AUDIN, ] -D- ^ 
 
 "BocEs, IB^'^'^'P'- 
 
 " Egbert, Keeper of the Seal. 
 " Egbert, Earl of Gloster.''' 
 
 The Monks. 
 
 While the monks resided at Tulket, and under the 
 election of Eichard de Eayeux, fifth abbot in Furness, 
 they belonged to the order of Savigny, under the rule of 
 St. Benedict, when, through the influence of Pope 
 Eugenius HI., in the year 1148, the whole of the order 
 of Savigny, consisting of thirty monasteries, joined the 
 Cistercians out of regard to St. Bernard, under whose 
 rule the brethren of Citeaux had become very numerous 
 and influential. So great was the reputation of St. 
 Bernard, that before his death, and during the thirty- 
 eight years he was abbot, he founded 160 monasteries, 
 and in the course of fifty years from the establishment 
 of the order it had acquired 500 abbeys. The monks 
 
 '" Saccum. — The power of imposing fines tipon tenants and 
 vassals within the lordship. 
 
 t Soccum. — The power and authority of administering jnstice. 
 
 + Tollum. — A duty paid for buying or selling, kc. 
 
 g Team, Theam. — A royalty granted for trying bondmen and 
 villains, with a sovereign power over theii' villain tenants, 
 their wives, children, and goods, to dispose of them at pleasure. 
 
 II Infangtliefe. — The power of judging of theft committed 
 within the liberty of Furness. 
 
HISTORICAL SKETCH. 45 
 
 of Furness, being well satisfied with the Benedictine 
 rule, objected to the transfer, and, after a resolution 
 taken in full chapter, sent their abbot Peter de Eboraco 
 (York) to Rome, to plead with the Pope that they 
 might be allowed to adhere to the mode of life they 
 had at first adopted. 
 
 On his return, Peter met with rough treatment at 
 the hands of the brethren of Savigny, because he had 
 not followed the example of the mother monastery ; 
 for they intercepted hiui, and taking from him his 
 abbacy, compelled him to learn the Cistercian rule, after 
 which he received the abbacy of Quamore. Richard 
 de Bayeux, once a monk of Savigny, but at that time 
 an inmate of the abbey of St. Mary of Farness, where 
 he was held in great repute for his piety and learning, 
 had so won upon his brethren that he was chosen with- 
 out opposition as the successor of Peter of York, and 
 received the crozier accordingly. The affiliation was 
 now no longer delayed, for Richard, being a Norman, 
 favoured the views of the Savigny monks, and, the 
 change being accepted by the brethren of Furness, they 
 became Cistercians, to the laws of which order they 
 scrupulously adhered until the general dissolution of 
 monasteries. The Cistercians usually chose solitary 
 and uncultivated places on which to rear their esta- 
 blishments, and for this reason they obtained exemption 
 from payment of tithes for all their lands, whether 
 tilled by themselves or by others belonging to them ; 
 thus we find the monks exerted themselves diligently 
 in the improvement and working of the soil, particularly 
 during the first ardour of their institution. 
 
 This order was devoted to the practice of penance, 
 assiduous contemplation, and singing the Divine j^raises, 
 and enjoyed many privileges and immunities, conferred 
 upon them by successive popes and ])rinces, and, in the 
 case of certain houses of St. Bernard, peculiar benefits 
 were bestowed. They were freed from attending any 
 court that was distant more tlian two days' journey 
 from the abbey, upon the trial of any cause whatever ; 
 and were clear from tithes for cattle, orchards, woods, 
 underwoods, coppices, meadows, pastures, salt-works, 
 mills, fisheries, &c. The ordinary had no power to 
 
46 FURNESS ABBEY. 
 
 punish them for any crime, neither could their houses 
 be visited by any one except their own abbot. Their 
 benefactors, and those who frequented their mills, to- 
 gether with their friends and servants, were exempted 
 from all excommunications. "While belonging to the 
 Benedictine order of Savigny, the dress of the monks 
 consisted of a habit of grey cloth, but after they merged 
 into the Cistercian order the dress was changed from 
 grey to white. According to Cardinal Vitri, who wrote 
 in the 13th century, " They used neither furs nor 
 linen, and never ate any flesh, except in time of dan- 
 gerous sickness ; they abstained even from eggs, butter, 
 milk, and cheese, unless upon extraordinary occasions, 
 and when given to them in alms. They had belonging 
 to them certain religious lay brethren, whose office was 
 to cultivate their lands, and to attend to their secular 
 affairs ; these lived at their granges and farms, aiid 
 were treated in like manner with the monks, but were 
 never indulged with the use of wine. The monks who 
 attended the choir slept in their habits upon straw ; 
 they rose at midnight, and spent the rest of the night 
 in singing the divine office. After prime and the first 
 mass, having accused themselves of their faults in 
 public chapter, the rest of the day was spent in a 
 variety of spiritual exercises with uninterrupted silence. 
 From the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross 
 (14th September) until Easter they observed a strict 
 fast. Their hospitality to strangers and their charity 
 to the poor were extensive. Flesh was banished from 
 their infirmaries from Septuagesima until Easter." 
 
 The restrictions with regard to rigorous silence were 
 occasionally removed, opportunities being afiorded them 
 of conversing after dinner in the locutoriura or parlour, 
 and on certain special days, when they were permitted 
 to walk abroad in company for exercise and relaxation; 
 but they were seldom allowed to receive or return visits. 
 The lay brethren were also employed in performing the 
 servile work of the monastery, and ministering to the 
 temporal wants of the community. Many of these 
 severe observances were relieved by Pope Sixtus IV., 
 and in 1485 the whole order agreed to preserve uni- 
 formity in table and dress. From this time they were 
 
HISTORICAL SKETCH. 47 
 
 allowed to eat flesh three times in every week viz. 
 on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thui^sday ; for which purpose 
 a particular dining-room, separate and distinct from 
 the usual refectory, was fitted up in every monastery. 
 Some of the monks were men of learning, and the best 
 qualified of them were employed in copying books in 
 every branch of literature, many of which, beautifully 
 written on vellum, and elegantly illuminated, may still 
 be seen in our museums. 
 
 " Whatever reproach may, at a later period, have 
 been justly thrown on the indolence aud luxury of 
 religious orders, it was surely good that, in an age of 
 ignorance aud violence, there should be quiet cloisters 
 and gardens, in which the arts of peace could be safely 
 cultivated, in which gentle and contemplative natures 
 could find an asylum, in which one brother could em- 
 ploy himself in transcribing the -^neid of Vii'gil, and 
 another in meditating the Analytics of Aristotle, in 
 which he who had a genius for art might illuminate a 
 martyrology or carve a crucifix, and in which he who 
 had a turn for natural jDhilosophy might make experi- 
 ments on the properties of plants and minerals. Had 
 not such retreats been scattered here and there among 
 the huts of a miserable peasantry, and the castles of a 
 ferocious aristocracy, European society would have con- 
 sisted merely of beasts of burden and beasts of prey. 
 The Church has many times been compared by divines 
 to the ark of which we read in the book of Genesis: 
 but never was the resemblance more perfect than during 
 that evil time when she alone rode, amidst darkness 
 and tempest, on the deluge beneath which all the great 
 works of ancient power and wisdom lay entombed, 
 bearing within her that feeble germ from which a 
 second and a more glorious civilization was to spring."'^ 
 
 The Abbots. 
 
 The Abbey of Furness had a very singular custom, in 
 which it difiered from every other abbey of the same 
 order, that of registering in the Mortuary, or Dead 
 Book, the names of such of their abbots only as, having 
 
 * Macaulay's Hist. Eng., chap. i. 
 
48 FURNES8 ABBEY. 
 
 presided full ten years, continued and died abbots there. 
 Those who, having ruled ten years, were either trans- 
 lated or deposed, and those who died before the expira- 
 tion of the tenth year, were not entered ; so that in the 
 space of 277 years there were only ten abbots recorded 
 in the Mortuary. 
 
 The abbot exercised vice-regal power, had the assize 
 of bread and ale throughout Furness, Aldingham and 
 Ulverston excepted, the appointment of chief constable 
 for the liberty, also free chase through all the district, 
 and wrecks of sea on the coast, except in Aldingham. 
 He had a free market and fair at Dalton, with a cotii't 
 of criminal jurisdiction, and a gaol in Dalton Castle, 
 issued summonses by his own bailiff and the king's 
 coroner, had the return of all writs and j^rocesses with 
 the fees for their execution, and the sheriff with his 
 officers were prohibited from entering his territories 
 under any pretext whatever. The right to elect a 
 coroner by writ of Chancery, directed to the lord of 
 the liberty, was also granted to the abbot by King 
 Edward I. 
 
 His lands and tenants were free of all regal exactions, 
 and no man was to presume to disturb or molest the 
 abbot or any of his tenants, on pain of forfeiting ten 
 pounds to the king. 
 
 Moreover, he possessed the right to have two large 
 boats for the carriage of goods, one upon Windermere 
 and one upon Coniston Lake ; and also to have two 
 lesser boats for fishing, with twenty nets each, upon 
 these lakes. 
 
 The power and dignity of the office, and the constant 
 hospitality kept up at his table, secured the attach- 
 ment of many retainers, and the civil and ecclesiastical 
 places of profit in his gift furnished him with fre- 
 quent opportunities of serving his friends. It is not 
 surprising, therefore, that the gi-eatest families were 
 induced to place some of their children in these seats 
 of honour, wealth, and power, in order that they might, 
 in due course, by cogent interest, attain the abbatical 
 chair, and exercise all the rights and privileges which 
 belonged to that high position. 
 
 In consequence of the monastery having sent out 
 
HISTORICAL SKETCH. 49 
 
 several branches, the chief was styled Cardinal-abbot, 
 and wore, in addition to a splendid costume, a mitre, 
 and carried in his right hand a crozier resembling that 
 of a bishop, but of simpler form, the pastoral staff of the 
 latter dignitary being borne in the left hand. 
 
 For the maintenance of his power and prerogatives, 
 as well as for the defence of the coast and the castle of 
 Piel, the abbot kept up a numerous retinue of servants 
 and armed followers, a quota of his vassals being at the 
 service of the crown, according to the feudal system. 
 
 The abbots of Furuess were lords in parliament, but 
 owing to the isolated situation of the abbey, the dan- 
 gerous nature of the roads, and the great distance from 
 the metropolis, they do not appear to have sat in the 
 great council of the kingdom, although several times 
 summoned there. 
 
 Proceedings, Benefactions, and 
 
 Revenues. 
 
 The Abbey of Furness was a mother monastery and 
 
 had under her several other houses, some of which 
 
 were direct filiations from Furness. 
 
 The lirst was Calder, in Cumberland, founded 10th 
 of January, 1134; then Eussin, now Rushen, in the 
 Isle of Man, in the same year ; and Swinshead in Lin- 
 colnshire, in 1148. Several branches in Ireland were 
 afterwards obtained at different times, iu the following 
 manner : — Macniel, King of Ulster, translated the 
 Abbey of Carry k to Inniscourcy, a peninsula opposite 
 Downpatrick, on May 13th, 1180, endowing it with 
 the lands of Carryk, and established there a body of 
 monks from Fui-ness Abbey. A colony of Furness 
 monks, after residing for some time at Wyresdale, on 
 the east coast of Morecambe Bay, removed into Irehuid, 
 and fixed themselves at Wotheney, iu the county of 
 Limerick, in 1188. 
 
 In the year 1249, the abbot of Clairvaulx placed four 
 monasteries under the control of the Abbey of Furness, 
 namely, Fermo}', Wethirlaghn or Holy Cross, and 
 Innislaunagh, in Tipperai-y ; and Corcumroe, in the 
 county of Clare. Also, about the end of the twelfth 
 century, Theobald Walter, fourth Lord Butler of 
 Ireland, founded an establishment at Arklow, in county 
 
 E 
 
50 FURNFSS ABBEY. 
 
 Wicklow ; but although on the charter of the convent 
 appears with other names that of Robert de Denton, 
 Lord Abbot of Furness, there is no mention of this 
 filiation in the Furness record. 
 
 At the request of Olave, King of the Isles, Kicholas 
 de Meaux, abbot in the reign of King John, was trans- 
 lated to the bishopric of Sod or, in Man, in 1217, in 
 which year also he died. 
 
 In addition to the munificent gift of Stephen, Earl 
 of Bologne, many of the wealthy bestowed lands and 
 other privileges upon the monks, either for general or 
 special services, or in consideration of the favour of 
 obtaining a last resting-place within the precincts of 
 the abbey. They 
 
 " Loved the cliurch so well, and gave so largely to't. 
 They thought it should have canopied their bones 
 Till doomsday — but all things have theii' end." 
 
 The monks were careful to have the foundation 
 charters of their houses confirmed by succeeding kings, 
 for which they had often to pay considerable sums ; in 
 some instances they found it necessary to make sub- 
 stantial presents to the minister of state to aid them 
 in this matter. 
 
 They also took the precaution of securing all large 
 donations by additional agreement in every descent 
 from the first donor ; hence it is that there are found, 
 in the chartularies of religious houses, the regular 
 pedigrees of many families of consequence. 
 
 Sir Micliael le Fleming, and William de Lancaster, 
 eighth baron of Kendal, were large benefactors to the 
 abbey, as were also the Kirkbys ,of Kirkby, the 
 Broughtons of Broughton, and the Huddlestons of 
 Millom. Subsequently the Penningtons, de Couplands, 
 de Berdseys, and other families, enriched the monas- 
 tery with endowments, until nearly the whole of the 
 peninsula was in the hands of the Abbot of Furness, 
 who ruled with undisputed sway. So large were the 
 possessions of this establishment, in this and other 
 countries, and to such an extent did its opulence aug- 
 ment, that it was surpassed by no religious house in the 
 kingdom, except Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire ; and 
 
HISTORICAL SKETCH. 
 
 its affairs of business were managed in accordance with 
 the advice, suggestions, or decrees of the chapter, by a 
 steward, often a person of high rank, who deemed it an 
 honour to occupy the office. All the deeds and other 
 documents required in the various transactions of the 
 abbey were confirmed by the abbot, with the consent 
 of his brethren, affixing to the parchments the com.mon 
 seal of the convent, a representation of which is here 
 given. 
 
 An impression of the seal remains appendant to the 
 deed of surrender, in the British Museum, and the 
 following is an explanation of the device : — It consists 
 of a circle, within the circumference of which is a 
 figure of the Virgin Mary, beneath a canopy of three 
 compartments, the centre one filled in with stars, and 
 the other two with sprigs of the deadly nightshade, 
 holding in suspension two shields, each charged with 
 three lions passant gardant* The Virgin holds in her 
 left arm the infant Saviour whose head is surrounded 
 by a halo of glory, and in her right hand a globe, as 
 
 * Three lions were not introduced into the arms of England 
 until after the marriage of Henry II. with Eleanor of Acquitaine, 
 and yet the abbey was founded in the reign of Henry I. The 
 arms of Stephen are differently described : by seme he is said to 
 have borne three lions pass, gard.— by others, a Sagittarius arg. 
 
52 FURNESS ABBEY 
 
 queen of the world. Below, and supporting the shields, 
 are two monks in full dress with cowls ; before each, as 
 well as overhead, are sprigs of nightshade. In the 
 lower part is the figure of a wyvern — in heraldry a 
 kind of dragon with wings, its lower parts resem- 
 bling those of a snake. West supposes that this device 
 was assumed by the monks in honour of Thomas Plan- 
 tagenet, second Earl of Lancaster. The legend round 
 the seal is, 
 
 SIGILLUM • COMMUNE * DOMUS " BEATE * MARIE 
 DE ' FURNESIO. 
 
 i. e., the common seal of the house of the blessed Mary 
 of Furness. 
 
 From a survey having been taken in pursuance of an 
 act of parliament (26 Henry VIII.), two years before 
 the final surrender of the abbey, we are enabled to form 
 an estimate of the princely revenues which flowed into 
 its coffers. The ecclesiastical rents, consisting of tithes. 
 Lent oblations, and fines, amounted to =£182 165., and 
 the temporal rents, which were paid partly in money 
 and partly in kind, reached the value of ,£763 65. \0d., 
 making an entire total of £946 25. \0d.. equal to £5000 
 a year, according to the worth of money at the present 
 day. 
 
 There were other branches of the abbot's revenues 
 not taken cognizance of in this account of the rental 
 and sui'vey, which were the necessary fruits and con- 
 sequences of the feudal system ; such were aids, reliefs, 
 forfeitures, and escheats, fines upon the change of 
 tenants by death or alienation. Whether the abbots of 
 Furness took every advantage of their tenants for 
 wardships and marriage does not appear, but it seems 
 to have been otherwise at the time of making the agree- 
 ment between the abbot Alexander and the tenants. 
 
 Another considerable branch of the abbot's income 
 was derived from certain royalties and profits arising 
 from the mines, wreck of sea, treasure trove, waifs, 
 estrays, and deodands. There were also three iron 
 forges, in the manor of Hawkshead, which paid a rent 
 of £20 per annum. 
 
Dissolution. 
 After the visitation of religious houses by the commis- 
 sioners of King Henry VIII., all monasteries, priories, 
 and nunneries, with an income of £200 a year and 
 under, were given to the crown, 376 being thus sup- 
 pressed in the year 1537. By sweeping away the 
 smaller houses, the mendicant class of monastic orders, 
 in which lay the strength of the Pope, was put down, 
 and so the friars, who were the earliest to oppose the 
 king's supi'emacy, were disposed of. The larger houses 
 then took alarm, and endeavoured to protect themselves 
 by realizing their property. Some of the superiors who 
 were refractory were put out of the way by force; and 
 the majority, by means of threats, persuasions, pro- 
 mises, and accusations of having secretly fomented 
 rebellion in various parts of the country, were induced 
 to resign their monasteries, those who gsive up most 
 freely obtaining the best conditions from the king. The 
 monks of Furness were at length assailed ; the storm 
 of which they had heard with alai'm as it spread over 
 the country reached them in their quiet abode, and 
 after being charged with treason, conspiracy, falsehood, 
 and disrespect to the king, two of the brethren were 
 committed to Lancaster Castle by the Earl of Sussex, 
 and the abbot, Eoger Pile, was taken to Whalley Abbey 
 for further examination . Here he was prevailed upon 
 by the crafty commissioners to make a formal proposal 
 in writing for the surrender of his monastery to the 
 king, on the 5th of April, in the twenty-eighth year of 
 the reign of Henry VIII., the original document being 
 now in the British Museum. The following extract 
 will probably interest the reader: — 
 
 "That I, Koger, abbot of the monasterie of Fur- 
 ness, knowyng the mysorder and evyll liffs, both unto 
 God and our prynce, of the bredern of the said monas- 
 terie, in discharging of my conscience, doo frelie and 
 hollie surrender, giff, and grant unto the kyng's high- 
 nes, and to his heyres and assignes for evermore, all 
 such interest and titill as I have had, have, or may 
 have, of and in the said monasterie of Furnes, and of 
 and in lands, rents, possessions, revenous, both spiri- 
 
54 FURNESS ABBEY. 
 
 tuall and temporal], aud of and in all goods and cattails, 
 and all other thyngs whatsoever it be, belongyng, or in 
 any wise appertynyng to the said monasterie, and every 
 part and parcel! thereof." 
 
 In another part of the same deed he says, it " comyth 
 frely of rayseltf, and without ony inforcement," though 
 there is every reason to believe considei^able pres- 
 sure was brought to bear upon the poor perplexed 
 Roger. No time was lost after this, for, four days 
 later, the abbot, in full convocation, in the chapter 
 house of the Abbey of Furness, whither he had been 
 accompanied by the king's commissioners, who were 
 then present, finally surrendered to them the Abbey 
 and its belongings, four hundred and ten years after 
 its establishment. 
 
 Translation of the Surrender of Furness 
 Abbey. 
 
 " To all Christian people to whom these presents shall 
 come, I, Roger, by Divine Providence, Abbot of the 
 Monastei'y of St. Mary of Furness, in the county of 
 Lancaster, and the convent of the said monastery, 
 send greeting : 
 
 "Know ye, that we the said abbot and convent, by our 
 unanimous and full assent and consent, divers special 
 considerations moving us interiorly thereto, as also for 
 the use and defence of this kingdom, and for the good 
 and safe government of these extreme parts of the said 
 kingdom, have freely given, granted, and surrendered 
 Tip, unto the hands of the lord the king that now is, 
 Henry VIII., by the graceof God, King of England, &c., 
 &c., our monastery of Furness aforesaid ; as also the 
 site aud foundation of the same ; and all goods and 
 chattels, jewels and church ornaments, belonging to 
 the said monastery ; and all dues, actions, and other 
 things whatsoever appertaining, belonging, or due to 
 us, or any of us, or to the said monastery ; and also all 
 manner of demesnes, castles, manors, lands, tenements, 
 advowsons of churches and chantries, knights' fees, 
 rents, reversions, liberties, and services ; with all and 
 all manner of our inheritances in Yorkshire, Lanca- 
 shire, or elsewhere within the kingdom of England, in 
 
HISTORICAL SKETCH. 55 
 
 Ireland, or the Isle of Man ; to liave and to hold all 
 and singular the said monastery's demesnes, castles, 
 manors, lands, tenements, advowsons of churches and 
 chantries, with knights' fees, rents, reversions, liberties, 
 and services, and all other our hereditaments and pre- 
 mises whatsoever, to oiir said lord the king, and his 
 heirs, kings of England, for ever, in augmentation and 
 increase of the honour of his royal majesty, and of his 
 heirs, kings of England, and for the use and defence of 
 this kingdom against its enemies and rebels. And, 
 moreover, we will and desire, and unanimously give 
 full consent and grant by these presents, that this our 
 present act may be enrolled as well in the Court of 
 Chancery of the duchy of Lancaster, of our said lord 
 the king, and in his own court held before his justices 
 in the county of Lancaster, as in the court of Chan- 
 cery of the said lord the king held at Westminster, 
 in the county of Middlesex, before the said lord the 
 king, and before his justices there. 
 
 " In witness whereof we have, of our unanimous and 
 full assent and consent to these presents, affixed our 
 common seal. Given in our chapter house of the said 
 monastery, the 9th day of April, in the twenty-eighth 
 year of our said lord the king, and in the year of our 
 Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, one thousand five 
 hundred and thirty-seven, 
 
 " By me, Egger, Abbot of Furness. 
 " By me, Briand Garner, Prior. 
 
 (Here follow the signatures of twenty -eight monks.) 
 
 " Sealed and delivered in the presence of us, the day 
 and year above specified : — Robert Sussex, Antony 
 Fitzherbert, Thomas Boteler, Thomas Langton, Eye. 
 Hoghton, John Byron, John Claydon, priest, Marmaduc 
 Tunstall." 
 
 In the end of the succeeding year. Abbot Eoger was 
 presented by the king to the living of Dalton, the profits 
 of the rectory being then valued at ,£33 6s. 8d., the once 
 proud ruler, to save himself from destitution, accepting 
 one of his own dependent churches. 
 
 Not long after the dissolution of monasteries, Thomas 
 Pi-estoU; of Preston Patrick and Levens, Esquire, piir- 
 
chased the site and immediate grounds of the abbey 
 from the trustees of the crown, with other considerable 
 estates, to the value of £3000 a year, after which he 
 removed from Preston Patrick, and resided at the 
 abbey, in a manor house built on the spot where the 
 abbot's apai-tments stood. The families of his two 
 sons, John and Christopher, were known as the Pres- 
 tons of the Abbey, and the Prestons of Holker, The 
 elder branch possessed the abbey, four descendants re- 
 siding there. Sir John Preston, the great grandson of 
 the purchaser, being made a baronet, April 1st, 1644 ; 
 and, dying without issue, was succeeded in the title and 
 estates by his brother. Sir Thomas Preston, Bart. 
 
 This last died without male heirs, and his property 
 in Furness was afterwards granted by George I, to Sir 
 Thomas Lowther, Bart., son of William Lowther, Esq., 
 of Marsh, Yorkshire (afterwards a baronet), and 
 Catherine, his wife, who was the fifth in the direct line 
 from Christopher Preston, of Holker, whose father 
 bought the abbey. 
 
 The above-mentioned Sir Thomas Lowther, Bart., 
 married Lady Elizabeth, daughter of William Duke of 
 Devonshire, and was followed by his son and heir, Sir 
 William Lowther, Bai't., the last of the Prestons of 
 Preston Patrick, who died in 1756, unmarried, be- 
 queathing all his estates in Furness and Cartmel to his 
 cousin, Lord George Augustus Cavendish. This noble- 
 man never married, and at his death his property 
 passed to his brother, Lord Frederick Cavendish, who, 
 having no issue, was succeeded by his nephew, Lord 
 George Augustus Henry Cavendish, third son of the 
 fourth Duke of Devonshire, created Earl of Burlington 
 at the coronation of William IV., Sept. 8th, 1831. He 
 died May 9th, 1834, when the title and estates devolved 
 upon his grandson, William, second Earl of Burlington 
 and now seventh Diike of Devonshire. 
 
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