Brinkburn Priory lies in a secluded and enchanting setting, tucked away in woodland within loop of the River Coquet. It was founded in the 1130s as a community of Augustinian canons, although the earliest surviving buildings date from the end of the twelfth century. Never a wealthy house, and frequently troubled by Scottish raids, it was one of the first monasteries to be closed at the Dissolution in 1536.
After the Dissolution the priory church was used for a while as the parish church, while parts of the monastic buildings were adapted to form a manor house. The condition of the church rapidly deteriorated, but after years of neglect it was carefully reroofed and restored in the mid-nineteenth century, and stands today as one of the finest examples of early Gothic architecture in Northumberland.*
*From English Heritage Brinkburn Priory handbook
Fabulous. And I mean that.
The church building is quite imposing
This is new for me, Cherie – thank-you
It was a first time visit for me too
Wonderful – and so good to read it has been restored. There are so many treasures to be found in this country.
We are lucky to have such a rich history with preserved treasures for us to explore
Magnificent interior, particularly photo two.
I messed up with my photo settings and was relieved to find one or two photos that worked after my second pass around the church. My second attempt had me trying to avoid a photographers group outing complete with tripods (in the way of photos) and people setting up the church in preparation for the wedding that day…
The Priory also has near perfect acoustics. I have one or two CDs by Paul McCreesh and the Gabrieli Consort which were recorded there.
http://www.gramophone.co.uk/editorial/paul-mccreesh-on-recording-a-venetian-coronation-1595-by-tess-knighton-gramophone-may-1990
Really interesting, thank you
There was a wedding there on the day we visited. Just before we left we heard the organist practicing and as we were leaving we hear the choir practicing. As we made our way back up the hill, the beautiful tones of both choir and organ accompanied us
All those details. The tiles on the floor are a treasure. In such a place I always have a cracked neck bu looking up and down. Wonderful pictures.
There are some wonderful features in this church building
The wooden steeple is such a rare sight!
It is interesting and unusual