Fratry of Former Priory of St Mary

Fratry of the former Priory of St Mary, now serving as the cathedral library, bookshop and cafe.

Built between 1465 and 1490 for Prior Gondibour, with alterations around 1690. Restored 1809–11 by Sir Robert Smirke and again 1880–81 by George Edmund Street. Late 1980s repairs with new stone were in progress at the time of survey in December 1989.

The building is constructed of squared red sandstone blocks on a chamfered plinth (now largely below ground but partly exposed at the rear) with stepped buttresses, an eaves cornice, solid parapet and angle pinnacles on the south wall. The roof, installed in 1880, is graduated green slate within the parapets with coped gables and a cross finial. Originally the roof was either flat or of very low pitch. An ashlar end chimney stack dates from the 1880 restoration.

The building comprises seven bays arranged as a six-bay hall with a service and stair bay, set above an undercroft. It forms the south range of the priory cloister on an east-west alignment and is joined to the Cathedral by the now ruined dormitory range. The north wall originally had its lower part hidden by the roofed cloister walk; the corbelling and roof crease marking this survive.

The north elevation has paired pointed-arched doorways on the left providing access to the undercroft and upper levels, and a pointed-arched doorway on the right accessing the hall within an 1880 porch designed in replica of two bays of the covered cloister walk. The porch windows copy the clerestory windows of the Fratry. Between these doorways the fresh stonework represents the 1880 blocking of a central doorway and flanking windows inserted around 1690. Above are two-light Perpendicular clerestory windows.

The west wall has a shouldered-arched doorway leading down steps to the undercroft (probably a late 17th-century addition) and a large six-light Perpendicular window.

The east wall was formerly internal to the dormitory. It has an off-centre pointed-arched door between undercrofts and a higher brick-blocked segmental-arched doorway into the dormitory. Remains of corbels and springers for rib vaulting of the dormitory undercroft survive. Above are corbels, a roof crease and joist holes marking the dormitory roof. Part of the dormitory wall projects beyond the angle of the Fratry and is repaired with brick.

The south wall is lit by low square-headed double-chamfered windows serving the undercroft. In the five bays above are large three-light Perpendicular windows divided by buttresses, with a smaller window lighting the pulpitum. Low doorways in recessed arches on the right are sheltered under slated penticed porches. The right bay projects as an octagonal turret lit by lancets, carried up above the parapet. The sloping roof crease for the dormitory is carried around at the right.

The interior undercroft features rib vaulting carried on central octagonal columns. At the junction of some ribs are the initials "TG" (Thomas Gondibour) in Gothic script. The hall was extensively restored in 1880, but retains its 15th-century shell including the pulpitum dais. Street designed the bookcases. Internal stairs have been altered, but spiral stairs in the turret still ascend to an upper floor chamber now used as a muniment room. The hall bookcases were designed by Street.

For illustrations of the building before restoration, see RW Billings, Carlisle Cathedral (1840), plates XXXVIII–XLIV. Further information on the 1880 restoration appears in JW Brown, Round Carlisle Cross (1951), pages 219–227, and DR Perriam, "The demolition of the Priory of St Mary", Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society, New Series, volume LXXXVII, pages 136–138.