We visited Holy Island of the North East coast of England back in August, and one of the highlights was our trip to Lindisfarne Priory.
The abbey is very much a ruin thanks to King Henry VIII and his reformation. The site has history dating back to 635 AD, but Henry closed it in 1537, although it didnt fall into ruin then - unlike many other places that came under the hammer of the reformation.
Its an absolutely stunning place, built with red sandstone - that gives it a lovely hue !
Its quite incredible as to how the main arch still stands considering how ruined the priory is.
The site was founded by Saint Aidan (above). He was an Irish monk who brought Christianity to the area in the 7th century, not long after the romans left. Because of his work in the area he is also known as the Apostle of Northumbria !
The front elevation is probably the best preserved. Although this site is old, the current ruins date from around the 12th century.
One thing I love about sand stone is how it is soft and gets eaten away by the elements, leaving beautiful patterns in the stone.
Here is another view above - you can sort of sea a face in one of the stones towards the bottom !!
The statue above was also in the grounds of the priory, but I cant quite remember who it was of ! It may be of Saint Cuthbert, who was also very important during the early years during its founding.
The site also saw a lot of action over the years including a Viking invasion in 793, and border skirmishes between England and Scotland !
Surprisingly it would have only had around 10 or so monks - its quite a big site, so I would have thought there would have been a lot more. The remoteness of the island, afforded the monks great privacy, and led to it being named Holy Island.
I love seeing old drainage systems - back in the days when architects and builders knew how to use gravity fed drains to great effect. Here you can see some of those at the priory still in the ground, and I bet they still do a decent job when it rains !
It really is a stunning place to visit. We have been around 3 times over the years, and the island is quite special, so I'm sure we will be back again.
I highly recommend the priory, and the island - its a really great place to explore if you are ever in the area !
