Cartmel - Priory

The place-name is first attested in 677, when the Cartmel Peninsula was granted to St Cuthbert by King Egfrith of Northumbria. Cartmel Priory was founded in 1188, William Marshal, for which he brought 12 monks and a prior from Bradenstoke Priory in Wiltshire. The existing parish church of St Michael was merged with the new monastery church of St Mary.
Between 1327 and 1347 a chapel with four traceried windows was provided by John Harington. In the 15th century extensive work was undertaken, in part due to damage in the southern part of the complex. The original cloister was demolished and a new one built to the north of the priory church. In the east end of the church, the early lancet windows were replaced by one huge window of stained glass. Work on the building continued intermittently into the 16th century.

The priory was surrendered by its community at the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1536. After the "Pilgrimage of Grace" the community was reinstated for a short while, but with the failure of the rising, came a brutal end. The subprior and several of the canons being hanged, along with ten villagers who had supported them.

The church is famous for its stalls with masterfully carved misericords dating from around 1440.

A mermaid holding a comb and a mirror, a symbol for vanity