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 !
The feeling of being on this Holy Island is extremely exciting! The sculpture and structure of the stones are beautiful! I enjoyed walking with you @hoosie among these 12th century ruins!
Many thanks - it really is a special place !
!CTP
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Wonderful story of your visit
Centuries architecture is amazing
Many thanks !
!CTP
That is certainly a great ruins. I wonder how majestic it will look when it is still in its glory time.
It probably looked quite impressive, plus there would not have been anything else like it on the island at the time, so it would have dominated the place.
!CTP
Wow
Ancient history displayed well, nice photography.
Many thanks !
!CTP
You are welcome dear.
Wow
That's sure a building.
Even as it is old, it's still standing strong.
Aye - built well - quite impressive after all these years !
!CTP
It is.
Very atmospheric place! I can't even believe that the temple can stand for so long...
Thanks for sharing!
!PIZZA
Many thanks - I know, its such a long time, but well built !
!CTP
Excellent post with some spectacular photos, looks very interesting that site.
!ALIVE
!CTP
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Many thanks, it is a great place !!!
!CTP
!PIZZA
!ALIVE
Am amazed at how those structures still remain even after many decades. Ancients architects and builders are really special people.
Yes, it is impressive - they were great builders !
!CTP
Really amazing old ruins!
They are quite incredible !
!CTP
It's a nice place to visit really with those astonishing buildings. Thanks for sharing this with us.
Thanks - you are welcome !
!CTP
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I didn't know about this place, but even though it's ruined it looks magical, and the stones look indeed beautiful and unique because of the patterns.Looks like you had a nice trip😊!
Aye, it was a great place - really worth visiting !!!
!ALIVE
!CTP
You had a cracking day for it. One place which is still on my UK to-do list!
The fact there would only be 10 monks I find extraordinary :)
!ALIVE
It is so worth going to see Ed, and not that far away from us actually. When you go, just check the tide times, and make sure you arrive when you can just first get across to the island. Great place though - lots to do !
!ALIVE
!PIZZA
Yea it is pretty close, just never got round to going.
Good tip about the tides, too easy to get caught out.
Great tour around these ruins @hoosie 😊
I know what you mean about the sandstone.
I lived twice in a sandstone house. And the walls would crumble… all dusty on the insides. So different.
Have a great Sunday!
Many thanks !!!
!CTP
You are welcome @hoosie
!PIZZA
Wow looks like an amazing place thanks for sharing have the best day
@hoosie
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Many thanks !!
!CTP
You are welcome @hoosie
have the best one
!ALIVE
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Wow! That arch!!! Still there after all these years, it's amazing! I hope they are doing a lot of work to preserve it.
Aye, its quite impressive. I'm sure this site is run by English Heritage, so that means it will get the best of preservation !
!CTP
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OMG, the arch looks so fragile compared to the rest of the ruins.
I like stone patterns too 👍 It gives those ancient structures a playful make-up.
Aye, the patterns look great !
!CTP
Wow! Amazing post! The place seems to have a powerful energy and also a dark one, a little bit, at least looking at the pictures that’s what they made me think. I guess is a place to visit, it looks very beautiful and full of history.
Yes, its quite an interesting island - quite small, but a lot going on there, and you have to drive to it over a road that gets covered by the tide twice a day - its pretty cool !
!CTP
I wish we had some pictures of what it looked like when it was in use, it's such a beautiful place :) ... Are there any similar ones that are still fully intact?
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A lot of similar buildings in the UK got demolished in the reformation when Henry the 8th switched from being roman catholic to church of england, so the majority are ruined. However, I think there some that have survived, or some similar buildings that have survived. Iona Abbey springs to mind, it is similar, but I cant remember if its as old as this one.
!CTP
It's sad that the buildings were demolished, you would think he'd want to just put different people in...
!LUV
He was a bit of a nutter !
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