Shap Abbey
Premonstratensian | |
| Established | 1190 near Kendal, 1199 on this site |
|---|---|
| Disestablished | 1540 |
| Diocese | Carlisle |
| Site | |
| Location | Shap Rural, Cumbria, England |
| Coordinates | 54°31′49″N 02°42′01″W / 54.53028°N 2.70028°W |
| Visible remains | large tower and outline of conventual buildings |
| Public access | Yes, English Heritage |
Shap Abbey was a religious house of the
History
Although the present Shap Abbey was built in 1199, the monastic community was founded on another site 20 miles south near Kendal in 1190, but it moved to the present site, then called 'Hepp', in 1199. The old name meant 'a heap' but it gradually assumed the present-day name "Shap" over the next 100 years.
One of the abbots was the impressive Richard Redman (died 1505), later successively Bishop of St Asaph (c. 1471), Bishop of Exeter (1495), and Bishop of Ely (1501). He is remembered by a magnificent funeral monument in Ely Cathedral
Shap Abbey escaped the initial phase of the
Masonry was robbed away at the end of the 17th century to build Shap Market Hall, and much of the ornate carved stonework was also removed and used in the building of Lowther Castle. Many of the abbey buildings were incorporated into a farmhouse and used as barns, and little has happened to these over the last four centuries as they have formed part of a working farm.
Burials
- Robert de Clifford, 1st Baron de Clifford
- Robert Clifford, 3rd Baron Clifford
- Roger Clifford, 5th Baron Clifford
- Henry Clifford, 10th Baron Clifford
Access
The site is open to the public at all reasonable times and entry is free. Facilities are limited to a car park and a short path leading over the fields to the small 16th-century Keld Chapel, now in the care of the
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Shap Abbey August 2004, from the air. -
Remains of Shap Abbey tower
Aug2004.jpg)
External links
Media related to Shap Abbey at Wikimedia Commons
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