Things To See and Do at Lanercost Priory
Highlights of a visit to Lanercost Priory include the chance to explore the ruins of this beautiful building, including the full-height 13th-cetury church, and the vaulted refectory undercroft. More points of interest at Lanercost are explained below.
Explore the Ruins
Visitors to Lanercost Priory will love the peace and tranquility of this beautiful Priory, not to mention the stunning Cumbrian setting.
There is still a great deal for you to see in this best-preserved of Cumbrian monasteries. The east end of the noble 13th-century Church survives to its full height. You can admire some fine monuments within its dramatic triple tier of arches.
Lanercost's cloisters include a beautiful, vaulted 13th-century refectory undercroft. Converted into the Tudor mansion of the Dacre family, they also include the Dacre Tower, adapted from the monastic kitchen, and the Dacre Hall (not always open to the public). This displays fragments of 16th-century wall-paintings and a Jacobean fireplace overmantel. You can read more about the history of Lanercost here.
Enter the Tombs
Lanercost's patrons were buried in the priory's east end from the death of Randolf, the first Dacre in 1339, up to the 20th century. The ornate tomb of Sir Humphrey Dacre in the north transept was set up after his widow Lady Mabel's death in 1510.
The elaborate tombs of Lord Thomas and Lady Elizabeth Dacre are located in the south transept. Lord Thomas had an important role in the English victory at Flodden in 1513 and later died on campaign in Scotland on 24 October 1525.
Visitors can also see an exquisite terracota effigy by the renowned sculptor Sir Edgar Boehm, which commemorates Elizabeth Dacre Howard, daughter of George and Rosalind Howard. She died in 1883, aged only four months old. Read more about the Tombs here.
Examine Roman Stonework and Altars
Lanercost Priory is located in Hadrian's Wall Country. No surprise then that the walls of the Priory include several pieces of Roman inscription. The medieval masons chose them simply because they were useful for building.
You can see one example in the cloister, in the massive chimney of the Dacre Hall in the west range.
The undercroft contains replicas of Roman altars and tombstones found near Lanercost over the last 200 years.