Description

SD 73 NW
2/51
13-2-1967

WHALLEY
Whalley Abbey

GV
I

Cistercian monastery. West range of cloister now used as Roman Catholic
church hall. Assheton mansion now a conference centre. Building work begun
c.1320. Abbey church begun in 1330 and finished in 1380. East range of
cloister late Cl4. Infirmary and Abbot's lodgings complete by 1440s. In
1480 the north-east gateway was built, and the Abbey was dissolved in
1537. The site was bought by the Assheton family, who subsequently
converted parts of the Abbot's house and Infirmary into a residence, which
was complete by c.1680. This house was restored and extended in the mid
C19. In the 1930s the site was excavated and the foundations discovered
were exposed and consolidated. Only the foundations of the church remain.
The west range of the closter is of a full 2 storeys and is roofed. The
south wall of the cloister is incomplete but includes a lavatory with
moulded arch. The east range is more complete and includes a doorway with
a fleuron order leading into the chapter house vestibule. At the south end
of this range is the rere-dorter, with the drain passing through pointed
arches. Between the east claustral buildings and the Assheton mansion the
foundations of the chapter house and part of the Abbot's Lodgings are
exposed. The southern part of the west wing of the mansion is now
roofless. It contained Assheton's long gallery on the 1st floor and
incorporates part of the Abbot's kitchen. The north-west wing of the
mansion is C19. The entrance to the house is through a 1st floor porch
reached by a flight of stone steps. Inside, the mansion has a
deeply-moulded pointed arch on the ground floor, a window of 2 trefoiled
lights now in an internal wall, and large deeply-chamfered joists
supporting the floor of the hall on the 1st floor above. This hall has a
stone fireplace with segmental arch, with a C19 fireplace within. The roof
is of c.1500 with king posts rising from high collars with moulded arch
braces. Between the purlins and principals are carved triangular braces.
On the north-east side of the mansion is a courtyard enclosed by stone
walls, with single-storey C17 buildings on the east and north sides. The
north-east gateway is of 2 storeys and has an embattled parapet and
diagonal buttresses. The arches are pointed and moulded. The north part of
the interior has a tunnel vault which appears to be of post-Reformation
date. Ashmore, O., A Guide to Whalley Abbey, 4th ed. 1981. Scheduled
Ancient Monument.

Listing NGR: SD7310436136

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Whalley Abbey at Wikipedia
• Whalley Abbey official website
• Wikidata Q1631088

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides): Written by Charles O'Brien, 2014 Edition, Publisher: Yale University Press [Hardcover]
• 
  Devon (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Wiltshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  Yorkshire West Riding: Sheffield and the South (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  Warwickshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Churches: An Architectural Guide (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)