Accringtons Elusive Abbey

M

Mitchells

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The Elusive Abbey

Hiya, i am new to the site and am from Manchester, my family are originally from Accrington.

I have recently read a book called "Accrington" in which it talks about an abbey founded by the Kirkstall monks. Does anybody have any more information about the abbey or it founders or no where i can obtain it without having to travel to Accrington Library.
 
Re: The Elusive Abbey

Thanks for the links, its really odd to think that a monastery once stood in Accrington.
 
apparently shortly after the abbey was opened in 1200 3 monks were murdered:eek: and we say accys bad now!;)
 
Re: The Elusive Abbey

Hi Mitchells.

There NEVER was an Abbey in Accrington. It was a Manorial Grange.
All the details can be found in the Coucher Book of Kirkstall Abbey, which is held at the Public Record Office at Kew.
The monks were granted some lands in Accrington by Robert de Laci cica 1190, and by the usual threats of eternal damnation managed to aquire more and more, however it never really paid them much, for they went broke circa 1280 and sold the lands back to the de Laci's, who then appointed a steward called de Riley, to over see the lands and farms, then called vacaries, of which there were 7., de Riley was based at what is called High Riley Farm. The Grange was situated from Hargreaves St, across Abbey St and part way down Black Abbey St. Why it was called Black Abbey St is unknown, for the monks of Kirkstall wore white habits.
It may have something to do with the fact that the displaced residents of Accrington burnt the first grange down and killed 3 of the monks.

Retlaw

Mitchells said:
Hiya, i am new to the site and am from Manchester, my family are originally from Accrington.

I have recently read a book called "Accrington" in which it talks about an abbey founded by the Kirkstall monks. Does anybody have any more information about the abbey or it founders or no where i can obtain it without having to travel to Accrington Library.
Click to expand...
 
That tunnel is one of the early myths surrounding the so called Black Abbey, it was supposed to be an escape route for the monks, so the could get to Whalley Abbey, in case the residents of Accrington got uppety again. That was impossible as Whalley Abbey is 5 miles away, and wasn't built until after the monks of Kirkstall had left Accrington, and how would they get through all that solid rock without explosives, just think back some years when they were installing new sewers under Accrington, every evening about 6-30, you could hear the charges going off from the days drilling, there were surveyors all over the place, checking bench marks, photographing the slightest cracks in buildings an searching for signs of subsidence.

Retlaw
***Mr D*** said:
This could be the area that it refers to in one of those links.

Unknown Tunnel - Accrington - REPORT - 10-08-07 - UK Urban Exploration Forums
Click to expand...
 
Retlaw said:
That tunnel is one of the early myths surrounding the so called Black Abbey, it was supposed to be an escape route for the monks, so the could get to Whalley Abbey, in case the residents of Accrington got uppety again. That was impossible as Whalley Abbey is 5 miles away, and wasn't built until after the monks of Kirkstall had left Accrington, and how would they get through all that solid rock without explosives, just think back some years when they were installing new sewers under Accrington, every evening about 6-30, you could hear the charges going off from the days drilling, there were surveyors all over the place, checking bench marks, photographing the slightest cracks in buildings an searching for signs of subsidence.

Retlaw
Click to expand...

I had been told the story of the monks tunnel, but I cannot see it being true either.

Would be great if it was though.
 
There was supposedly a tunnel between the cellar of the Stag Inn and the Dunkenhalgh.
Since the Stag was originally a hunting lodge in the Dunkenhalgh estate, it might well be true...anybody know?
 
The so called Unknown Tunnel, is nothing more than what was known back in the mid 1800's as Cow Houses. It is off Jacob St and is not a tunnel, it is a Cow House existing from the 1700's. In 1984 a member of the local Historical Society and Myself drew up detailed plans of the whole site from Abbey St to Jacob St, we also went inside and took several photographs. The presnt day entrance is not the original, it was extended some seven feet to provide footings for another building which was for stables for the old Red Lion Inn.
Retlaw

***Mr D*** said:
This could be the area that it refers to in one of those links.

Unknown Tunnel - Accrington - REPORT - 10-08-07 - UK Urban Exploration Forums
Click to expand...
 

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Retlaw said:
The so called Unknown Tunnel, is nothing more than what was known back in the mid 1800's as Cow Houses. It is off Jacob St and is not a tunnel, it is a Cow House existing from the 1700's. In 1984 a member of the local Historical Society and Myself drew up detailed plans of the whole site from Abbey St to Jacob St, we also went inside and took several photographs. The presnt day entrance is not the original, it was extended some seven feet to provide footings for another building which was for stables for the old Red Lion Inn.
Retlaw
Click to expand...

Thanks for that insite/photos.

I to from research was told that, but having been inside, myself I find it hard to believe it was for cows or does cow house have a different meaning?, seems a bit to small. but agree it's no tunnel.
 
Hi Mr D.

It has been called Cow Houses for well over 150 years, the area around there was known as Cow House Post in the early census returns. In the 1828 Survey the lands and buildings in that area were owned by Jacob Lang and William Myers. Lang paid £56-8s & Myers paid £11-11s-10d, in Rates. What is know as Cow Houses later became part of Black Abbey Farm. A woman from up in pudding land (Yorkshire) once did an article on underground shippons, she made a right mess of description of the one in Accrington. When we did our survey, I took particular note of the stone sills between the stalls, there were what appeared to be saw marks an them, I also took several samples of the mortar between the joints, I was going to have them carbon dated, till I found out it couldn't be done on mortar. I'm still of the opinion that they were once the cellars of the old grange, and have been used by numerous people for different purposes over the years.
Retlaw.
***Mr D*** said:
Thanks for that insite/photos.

I to from research was told that, but having been inside, myself I find it hard to believe it was for cows or does cow house have a different meaning?, seems a bit to small. but agree it's no tunnel.
Click to expand...
 
Retlaw said:
Hi Mr D.

It has been called Cow Houses for well over 150 years, the area around there was known as Cow House Post in the early census returns. In the 1828 Survey the lands and buildings in that area were owned by Jacob Lang and William Myers. Lang paid £56-8s & Myers paid £11-11s-10d, in Rates. What is know as Cow Houses later became part of Black Abbey Farm. A woman from up in pudding land (Yorkshire) once did an article on underground shippons, she made a right mess of description of the one in Accrington. When we did our survey, I took particular note of the stone sills between the stalls, there were what appeared to be saw marks an them, I also took several samples of the mortar between the joints, I was going to have them carbon dated, till I found out it couldn't be done on mortar. I'm still of the opinion that they were once the cellars of the old grange, and have been used by numerous people for different purposes over the years.
Retlaw.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that.

I have been in to the property above which use to connect and (now sealed) there is a passage way so cellar would be plausable.

The little side windows?? or what ever they where puzzled me.

2007_0806Abbeysttunnel0021.jpg
 
So Did the Priest Hole on Black Abbey St ever exist? I was told that this was under a shop called Scholes or similar.

anyone know?
 
There was no such thing as a Priest hole back in the 12th century, they only came into existence when the catholic religion was banned. Why would monks require a Priest hole?.

Retlaw

polly said:
So Did the Priest Hole on Black Abbey St ever exist? I was told that this was under a shop called Scholes or similar.

anyone know?
Click to expand...
 
Retlaw said:
There was no such thing as a Priest hole back in the 12th century, they only came into existence when the catholic religion was banned. Why would monks require a Priest hole?.

Retlaw
Click to expand...

Not necessarily in the 12 thC but as a child growing up in Accrington I was always told that there was such under an old shop. It was suppose to have been use during Henry VIII reign and his fickle views on religion
 
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