Furness Abbey

No visitor to the Lake District should omit the excursion to Furness Abbey in the wooded "Vale of Deadly Nightshade", 6mi/10km from Ulverston, in the southern part of the Lake District.

Furness Abbey was founded in 1173 by King Stephen for the Benedictine monks, who later adopted Cistercian rule. It was a rich and powerful house, since the abbots held feudal superiority over Furness. At one time it was the second richest Cistercian house in England surpassed only by Fountains Abbey in the Yorkshire Dales. There are extensive ruins of the red sandstone buildings. The transepts, choir and west tower of the church still stand to their full height, but the nave is in ruins. The round-headed arches of the cloister, the Early English chapterhouse, the dormitories and the infirmary are also preserved. The chapel contains two effigies of knights, believed to be the oldest of their kind (12th century). Large parts of the church also date from the 12th century, only the east end and the west tower were added about 1500.