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Calder Abbey in Cumbria
Cumbria

Cumbria is a non-metropolitan county in the North West England of England. Cumbria came into existence as a county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
 was a Savigniac monastery founded in 1135 by Ranulph de Gernon, 2nd Earl of Chester
Ranulph de Gernon, 2nd Earl of Chester

Ranulf II, also known as Ranulf le Meschin or Ranulf de Gernon inherited his County palatine earldom in 1128 aged 28, upon the death of his father who was descended from the Counts of Bayeux, Calvados Normandy....
 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).






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Calder Abbey in Cumbria
Cumbria

Cumbria is a non-metropolitan county in the North West England of England. Cumbria came into existence as a county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
 was a Savigniac monastery founded in 1135 by Ranulph de Gernon, 2nd Earl of Chester
Ranulph de Gernon, 2nd Earl of Chester

Ranulf II, also known as Ranulf le Meschin or Ranulf de Gernon inherited his County palatine earldom in 1128 aged 28, upon the death of his father who was descended from the Counts of Bayeux, Calvados Normandy....
 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
Girdle

The word girdle originally meant a belt. In modern English the term "girdle" is most commonly used for a form of women's Foundation garment that replaced the corset in popularity....
 (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
Packhorse bridge

A packhorse bridge is a bridge intended to carry packhorses across a river or stream. Typically a packhorse bridge consists of one or more narrow masonry arches, and has low parapets so as not to interfere with the horse's panniers....
 in Cumbria; it spans Friar Gill.

Post-dissolution


Much of the cloister
Cloister

A cloister is a covered walk with an open colonnade on one side, running along the walls of buildings that face a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church usually indicates that it is part of a monastic foundation....
 buildings remain either incorporated into Calder Abbey House, now a largely early-nineteenth century structure that is still a private residence, or in adjoining ruins, such as the chapter house
Chapter house

A chapter house or chapterhouse is a building or room attached to a cathedral or collegiate church in which meetings are held. They can also be found in medieval monastery....
. 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.

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