Abbey Ruins

Cockersands’ monastic marvel on the marsh

On the often windswept shoreline south of the Lune Estuary is a most unexpected find: the ruins of a 12th-century abbey. This appears to be a most unlikely location for a monastery, until you discover that it grew like Topsy from a simple, one-man hermitage, to an isolation hospital, and finally into the fully-fledged Cockersands Abbey.

Today, almost 900 years after its construction, all that remains of the abbey itself are a few crumbling, low-level walls adjacent to a remote farmhouse. However, beside these ruins is a well-preserved, semi-octagonal Chapter House, which is an intriguing marvel of survival. The abbey was a victim of the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539, although a bit of creative accountancy led to an initial three-year stay of execution. Cockersands’ books showed it raised just over £157, which was below the initial safety threshold of £200 set by Henry VIII. Revised figures of just above £282 meant it survived, until the 1539 Act swept away all the remaining monasteries – and down went Cockersands. The adjacent Chapter House was saved, as it was used as a burial place for the Dalton family, who lived in nearby Thurnham Hall. This is still open to the public on heritage days, with the listed red sandstone building still an attraction to the public who walk the coastal pathways and past its heavy wooden door.

It’s all a far cry from those early days in 1180 when Hugh Garth –said to be ‘a hermit of great perfection’ – inhabited the lonely spot, inspiring the founding of a hospital for the sick, including lepers. This was enlarged to become a priory, then endowed to become an abbey. Even so, it was still known as St Mary’s on the Marshes, before becoming Cockersands Abbey. Whatever the rights and wrongs of the Dissolution, it must have been merciful relief from the cold, harsh environment for the monks who lived there even though it was Lancashire’s third richest abbey when dissolved.

Address Near Cockersands Abbey Farm, Lancaster, LA2 0AZ | Getting there Tricky by car; parking is a problem on the nearby narrow country lanes; the three-mile walk may be preferable; from Glasson Dock, drive back to the roundabout just outside, turn into School Lane, which becomes Jeremy Lane, then turn into Moss Lane until you see the farm and chapel near the coast | Hours Accessible during daylight hours | Tip An evening stroll along the coast can be sensational for the sun setting over Morecambe Bay, but take care.