'Calderbridge - Calder Abbey Ruins'

Grid Ref 89: NY 051064

There is an attractive footpath linking Calder Bridge to the ruins of Calder Abbey, some half a mile away. The Abbey was founded in 1134 by Ranulph de Meschines, Lord of Copeland, for a colony of monks from Furness Abbey, originally as a Benedictine monastery. The Abbey has been described as one of the most enchanting in the British Isles.

After the Dissolution in 1536, when Henry VIII's commissioners began their work of closing the monasteries, the monastery buildings slowly became the ruin it is today.

Part of the tower, some 64 ft high now, and the west doorway remain, with some of the chancel and transept, but they are unsafe and have to be viewed from the road or footpath. The path goes from beside the petrol station and is signposted 'Stakes Bridge'.

The ruins stand in the grounds of a private residence, but may be seen from a nearby road. There is another pleasant walk along a path beside the churchyard and along the River Calder, which stops by the Georgian house which is built beside the abbey.

Aerial photo by Simon Ledingham.

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