Lanercost Priory Video 3

The 3rd clip in our mini series of videos on Lanercost Priory.

Interesting connection:
Lanercost Priory has had strong ties to Naworth Castle for many centuries. Naworth Castle itself was occupied for over 200 years by the powerful Dacre family with Thomas Dacre playing an important role at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. The current owners of Naworth Castle have recently refurbished some of the buildings they own adjacent to the Lanercost Priory site, turning them into luxury holiday cottages - ideal for anyone interested in spending time in the Lanercost area, studying its medieval history and of course Hadrian's Wall which is close by. One of the 6 Lanercost cottages is very aptly called ... Dacre Cottage.

You can read more about the Dacre legacy in Cumbria by visiting our Dacre Castle page which is one of many haunted castles in England.

Lanercost Priory Video 2 & Lanercost Cottages

Video clip 2 of the Lanercost Priory ruins in Cumbria. It was within the priory grounds that the notorious medieval English King Edward I stayed for 5 months during the winter of 1306-1307. Read more about medieval kings and queens on our website.

Next door to Lanercost Priory is a super tearoom with excellent homemade fare - we know, we've tasted it! So once you've made your tour around the medieval ruins it's a great place to stop off and contemplate all that you've just seen. If you wish to stay in the area longer you can always book one of the Lanercost cottages on the site. All luxury cottages, they carry names relating to Lanercost's history. The De Vaux cottage is one example - it was Robert De Vaux who founded Lanercost Priory around 1170.

Lanercost Priory Video 1

If you have never visited Lanercost Priory then here is your chance to share in a few video clips we made especially for our castle blog readers.

Video 1 - filmed from within the grounds of the ruins

Planning to visit Lanercost? There are some fabulous self catering, luxury cottages to let ... just next door! Here is one of them - it's called Greystoke holiday cottage and is one of 6 Lanercost holiday cottages that opened in 2009.

Winter Home For A Medieval King - Lanercost Priory

Many medieval priories bear witness to a turbulent history and none more so than Lanercost Priory.

Dating from the mid 12th century, Lanercost was an Augustinian Priory built close to Hadrian's Wall. It was therefore en route from England to Scotland when King Edward I of England journeyed once again to do battle with the Scots, this time in 1306. Suffering from poor health and with a cold, bleak winter on the horizon, the King decided to make Lanercost Priory his home, and that of his 200 strong retinue, for several months. When he left in the Spring of 1307 he left behind him a rural community drained of resources which took a long time to recover. Ironically, after all they had done for their King, he died only 5 months later.

Just 5 years later it was another king, this time Robert The Bruce, King of Scotland who came to Lanercost Priory, leading an army up to its very doors.

Today Lanercost Priory is a beautiful church open to the public where services are still held. Its colourful history echoes in every piece of stone and even in the air as you walk around its grounds. However, if you cannot get there to see it for yourself, we have something that might help as the next best thing - a video of Lanercost Priory set to beautiful music (courtesy of Stephen Caudel).