Finchale Priory visit

2 months ago
25

hellooooooo ! :) firstly, don't forget to watch in the highest quality your device can comfortably handle for the best visual experience.
Thank you as always for taking time to watch my videos.

Entry to the site is free, however, if you park your vehicle within the grounds there is a GBP4.00 fee to get out which is only payable by contactless credit/debit card, so don't forget your cards or you could be living in the ruins the rest of your life hahaha. This isn't managed by English Heritage.
The buildings and immediate grounds are managed by English Heritage. The precinct, through which the site is entered, is now a caravan park.

Open daily 10am-5pm from end of March until October and 10am-4pm in the Winter.

Finchale Priory (pronounced Finkle) is an English Heritage site that’s free to enter and you’re even free to explore the very extensive ruins. The priory was founded back in 1196 on the site of the spiritual retreat of St Godric. It was later used as a holiday retreat for the monks of Durham Cathedral. It is a most peaceful and relaxing place with the river passing by and surrounded by woodland but perhaps best to visit when the schools are not on holiday :)
If you don’t fancy paying £4, it can be possible to park on Cocken Road to the north (it's just lay-bys) and you can then wander down through the woods.
I chose the site car park as i arrived not long after it opened and i knew i could get parked ok. I actually visited on two different days so my £8 will hopefully go towards paying someone to pick up all the rubbish and empty drink cans which some people obviously had a problem disposing of correctly!

Here is a link to a zoomable labelled plan of the Priory for anyone interested.
https://historicengland.org.uk/images...

There are some remains of the early 12th-century stone chapel of St John the Baptist, the site of Godric of Finchale's burial, built some time around the end of Godric's life. Some of the temporary buildings, erected for the first prior and his monks sent to establish the Priory some twenty years after Godric's death, still exist. The monastic complex was built in the latter half of the 13th century, with alterations and additions continuing for the following three hundred years.

i hope you enjoy this visit.

Music courtesy of Alexander Nakarada (creatorchords.com)

Loading 1 comment...