Ruins Of The Monastic Church And East Range

Ruins of the monastic church and east range at Calder Abbey

This Grade I listed site comprises the ruins of a monastic church and east range, with the south range incorporated into an adjoining house listed separately. The Abbey was originally established as a Savignac foundation in 1135, as a daughter house of Furness. Following the start of permanent building work in 1137, a Scottish raid forced the monks to flee. They were refused admission back to Furness and eventually travelled eastwards to establish Byland Abbey in Coxwold, Yorkshire. Calder was re-established in 1137 by monks from Furness and became a Cistercian Abbey in 1147. The surviving ruins date mainly from this second foundation, though they incorporate later alterations. The Abbey was suppressed in 1536 and subsequently passed through the hands of various owners who lived on the site. A painting by Matthias Read (now in Abbot Hall Art Gallery, Kendal) dating to around 1730 and an engraving by the Bucks from 1739 demonstrate that the ruins have changed little since the early 18th century.

The monastic church is constructed of ashlar and has a cruciform plan with a 5-bay nave, a crossing tower, transepts, and an aisleless chancel. The central semicircular-headed west doorway survives intact and dates from around 1170, comprising three orders of roll-moulding, the outermost featuring cusped lobes, springing from waterleaf capitals. The lower courses of the south aisle doorway remain visible. Only the north nave arcade survives, dating to the early 13th century, with pointed chamfered arches carried on alternating octagonal and compound piers. The intact crossing tower with pointed arches is a rare Cistercian survival. The tower provides valuable evidence for the construction of the nave, as it incorporates the remains of a large triforium serving both nave arcades. No clerestorey openings are visible, and the steep pitch of the original roof—still surviving on the tower—suggests that the nave roof swept down virtually uninterrupted from ridge to aisle eaves. To provide adequate interior illumination, it appears likely that oculi set within gablets were used to light the nave via the triforium, representing an unusually sophisticated design solution.

The intact southern transept arm contains a western wall passage connecting the monks' dormitory to the tower stair. Its east wall features two pointed arches on a compound pier leading into the chapels, with a blind triforium arcade above. The external nook shafts of the chapels' paired lancet windows have waterleaf capitals dating to around 1190. An early 13th-century north doorway survives intact in the northern transept arm. The chancel incorporates a sedilia with cusped arch-head decoration and was lit by very tall windows in its side walls.

The east range features three arches with decoratively moulded, shallow-pointed heads. The left-hand arch served as a library cupboard and retains its central subdividing shaft. The middle arch led into the chapter house vestibule, which was lit by a window in the third arch. A plain doorway on the right provides access to the slype and parlour. Six lancets above these arches lit the monks' dormitory. The eastern bay of the chapter house was lit by an ornate, wide, traceried window and retains its vault, above which sits a room with a fireplace.

The Abbey is designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument.