Calder Abbey

Calder Abbey in Cumbria was a Savigniac monastery founded in 1135 by Ranulph de Gernon, 2nd Earl of Chester and moved to this site following a refoundation in 1142. It became Cistercian in 1148. The village nearby is Calder Bridge.

History

Raids by the Scots seem to have been responsible for the difficult beginnings of the abbey and for the fact that it never attained any great size or wealth. In 1535, the an unfavourable report was made against the abbey and it's community by the King's commissioners (though their views are often suspected to be biased and dubiously motivated). The abbey was surrendered in 1536 by the last abbot, Richard Ponsonby. At this time, the only recorded relic in the monastery's possession was that of a girdle (as in the pre-20th century meaning of a kind of belt) claimed to have belonged to the Virgin Mary.

Monk's Bridge, as it is still called, on Cold Fell, built by the monks of Calder, is the oldest packhorse bridge in Cumbria; it spans Friar Gill. [ [http://www.visitcumbria.com/wc/monksbridge.htm Friars Bridge] ]

Post-dissolution

Much of the cloister buildings remain either incorporated into Calder Abbey House, now a largely early-nineteenth century structure that is still a private residence, [Grade 1 listed. [http://www.visitcumbria.com/wc/chc8.htm Overhead views] .] or in adjoining ruins, such as the chapter house. The church was allowed to fall into decay and much of it still remains as a picturesque ruin, no doubt retained by early residents of the newly formed mansion as an ornamental feature.

Notes

References

* Houses of Cistercian monks: The abbey of Calder, A History of the County of Cumberland: Volume 2 (1905), pp. 174-78.
* Anthony New. 'A Guide to the Abbeys of England And Wales', p99-102. Constable.

External links

[http://cistercians.shef.ac.uk/abbeys/calder.php Calder Abbey at cistercians.shef.ac.uk]