I pass this place quite regularly when im at work and been waiting for a chance to get on the roof so when I saw scaffolding had appeared a few weeks ago my luck was in!
First visit was a total fail, I sat in a bush for around half an hour waiting for a quiet moment to jump the hoarding but ended up calling it a night when some guy was walking straight for me and i had do one, he followed me up some pitch black lanes pretty much right back to my van, which was nice!
Second visit went like clockwork, it's the weekend of Cartmel Racecourse big meet so the village was busy but the climb went without a hitch other than reaching a dead end halfway up that involved a bit of free climbing the outside of the scaff to navigate around..
My tripod mount decided to pack up after a while so some of these shots were taken by balancing my camera on the parapet wall with my hat
History
The priory was founded in 1190 by William Marshal, later 1st Earl of Pembroke for the Augustinian Canons and dedicated to Saint Mary the Virgin and Saint Michael.
The church is designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building.
Between 1327 and 1347 a chapel with four traceried windows was provided by Lord Harrington in the south choir aisle, his tomb is still in the building.
In the 15th century extensive work was undertaken in part, due to damage in the northern part of the church. In the east end of the church, the early lancet windows were replaced by one huge window of stained glass and the tower was extended. Unusually, the extension to the tower sits at a 45-degree angle on top of the base, a feature believed to be unique in England.
The priory was dissolved in 1536, and four of the monks were hanged, along with ten villagers who had supported them. In normal circumstances, the church would have been demolished along with the rest of the buildings associated with the priory, however, the founder William Marshal had given an altar within the church to the village, and provided a priest along with it. The villagers petitioned to be allowed to keep the church as it was their only place of worship, and this was granted.
It was used after the dissolution as a prison and later between 1624 and 1790 as a grammar school
In 1643 some Roundhead troops stayed in the village, stabling their horses in the church. Bullet holes from this time are still visible in the southwest door of the nave.
By 1830 the church was in need of repair again, and underwent a restoration, which i read somewhere described as "more enthusiastic than sympathetic".
A further restoration was carried out in 1867 by E. G. Paley. This included stripping the walls of plaster, removing the galleries, adding new seating, an organ,
a font, a pulpit, and a reading desk.
A quick scramble over the roof and I was presented with this doorway in the side of the tower..
I headed in up the steps toward the sound of the clock workings clunking to be met with big old oak door, Two orange wires ran down the wall and through the side of the frame, wary that there could be a pir on the other end of them I turned the latch and it started to move, frustratingly, only an inch, before it clunked against a bolt on the inside... gutted. Maybe next time
That Moon was fooking bright!
