Shap Abbey

Shap Abbey was a monastic religious house of the Premonstratensian order on the western bank of the River Lowther in the civil parish of Shap Rural, around 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from the village of Shap, in the Eden District of Cumbria, England. The site is in the care of English Heritage and managed on its behalf by the Lake District National Park.

Shap Abbey
Shap Abbey
Monastery information
Full nameAbbey church of St. Mary Magdalene
Other namesShap Abbey
OrderPremonstratensian
Established1190 near Kendal, 1199 on this site
Disestablished1540
DioceseCarlisle
Site
LocationShap Rural,
Cumbria,
England
Coordinates54°31′49″N 02°42′01″W
Visible remainslarge tower and outline of conventual buildings
Public accessYes, English Heritage

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.

Shap Abbey escaped the initial phase of the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1536, but it was closed in 1540 and subsequently sold to the Governor of Carlisle. Most of the abbey buildings have been demolished, however the tower remains are still impressive, and the outline of the building plan is clearly visible.

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 monastic 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

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 National Trust.

  • Shap Abbey August 2004, from the air.
  • Remains of Shap Abbey tower
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Media related to Shap Abbey at Wikimedia Commons


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