Whalley Abbey

Whalley Abbey is a Cistercian monastery complex, largely dating from around 1320, with significant additions and alterations throughout its history. The buildings are now used as a Roman Catholic church hall and a conference centre. Work began on the abbey church in 1330 and was completed by 1380. Further construction of the east range of the cloister occurred in the late 14th century, with the infirmary and abbot’s lodgings finished by the 1440s. A north-east gateway was built in 1480, and the abbey was dissolved in 1537. Following this, the site was purchased by the Assheton family, who converted parts of the abbot’s house and infirmary into a residence, completed around 1680. This house was restored and extended in the mid-19th century. Archaeological excavations in the 1930s revealed and consolidated foundations. Only the foundations of the church remain.

The west range of the cloister stands two stories high and retains its roof. The south wall of the cloister is incomplete but features a lavatory with a moulded arch. The east range is more complete, featuring a doorway with a fleuron order leading to the chapter house vestibule. The rere-dorter is located at the south end of this range; its drain passes through pointed arches. Foundations of the chapter house and parts of the abbot's lodgings are exposed between the east cloister buildings and the Assheton mansion. The southern portion of the west wing of the mansion is now roofless. This section once contained Assheton’s long gallery on the first floor and incorporates part of the abbot's kitchen. The north-west wing of the mansion dates to the 19th century.

The main entrance to the house is via a first-floor porch, accessed by a flight of stone steps. Inside, noteworthy features include a deeply moulded pointed arch on the ground floor, and a window with two trefoiled lights now incorporated into an internal wall. The first-floor hall is supported by large, deeply chamfered joists. This hall contains a stone fireplace with a segmental arch, housing a 19th-century fireplace insert. The roof, dating from around 1500, has king posts rising from high collars with moulded arch braces and carved triangular braces between the purlins and principals. To the north-east of the mansion is a walled courtyard, with single-story 17th-century buildings on the east and north sides. The north-east gateway is two stories high, with an embattled parapet and diagonal buttresses; the arches are pointed and moulded. A tunnel vault, seemingly of post-Reformation date, is found within the north part of the interior. The site is a Scheduled Ancient Monument.