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Wetheral Priory Gatehouse

📍 Cumbria, England

3.7 ★★★½ 200 reviews

About

Wetheral Priory Gatehouse is a 15th-century stone fortification in Wetheral, Cumbria. The priory was founded at the start of the 12th century and the gatehouse controlled the entrance to its outer courtyard. When the priory was dissolved in 1538 the gatehouse and a nearby stretch of wall were the only parts to survive. The gatehouse passed into the control of Carlisle Cathedral and became the local vicarage during the 16th and 17th centuries, before being used to store hay. Now part of a modern farm that occupies the former priory site, it is controlled by English Heritage and open to visitors. The crenellated gatehouse has three storeys, with the main entrance and porters' lodge on the ground floor and two domestic chambers on the upper floors. English Heritage considers the building to be "the finest medieval gatehouse in Cumbria".

The priory was founded c.1106 as a cell of St Mary's Abbey, York. The surviving gatehouse dates from the 15th century and stands dramatically above the River Eden gorge. The rest of the priory was demolished after the Dissolution. The gatehouse is managed by English Heritage. The nearby Wetheral caves in the cliff face may have been hermits' cells.