Finchale Priory Culture and Holidays Durham England
Our Travelling is The Learning and Our Learning is The Understaning. Please help my channel with a Donation to help me travel and take you to other areas around England Please click link to Donate !
Culture and Holidays Old Building Wat TempleA 13th century Benedictine priory built by the monks of Durham Cathedral on the site of a 12th century hermitage founded by St Godric of Finchale. The priory later served as a summer retreat for the monks, an escape from the busy life of Durham city.
St Godric of Finchale
Godric (or Goderic) was an interesting character; a sailor - some say a pirate - who retired from the seas and adopted a religious life. Born in Norfolk around 1065, he worked as a pedlar, then became a sailor. He may have been captain of the ship that carried King Baldwin I of Jerusalem to Jaffa in 1102. He visited Lindisfarne, possibly to visit St Cuthbert's shrine. There he underwent a religious conversion, and gave up his seafaring life. He went on several overseas pilgrimages, and worked for a time as a humble doorkeeper at St Giles Hospital church in Durham.
In 1115 he persuaded Ranulf Flambard, the powerful Bishop of Durham, to grant him land at Finchale to establish a hermitage, in a loop of the River Wear. There he lived out the final 60 years of his life as a hermit, establishing a growing reputation for piety and wisdom. He is known for his simple lifestyle; he slept outside in all weather, using only branches for protection from the elements. Leaders such as Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Pope Alexander III sought his advice. He was never formally canonised, so the term 'saint' is a bit of a misnomer.
After a long illness, perhaps brought on by the hardship of his self-imposed ascetic lifestyle, Godric died in 1170. He was initially buried at Durham Cathedral, then his remains were transfered to the chapel of St John the Baptist at Finchale. Two monks from the Cathedral came to Finchale, where there was already a fish-pond, mill, and chapel. It was only in 1296 when Bishop Hugh Pudsey and his son Henry endowed Finchale as a full-fledged priory, with 8 monks and a prior. The first Prior of Finchale was Thomas, a sacrist at Durham.
Construction of the priory was a long process, and buildings on the site have been identified from the late 12th century to the mid-16th century, but the earliest surviving stonework dates to 1196. These would have beeen temporary structures used by the prior and monks while the more permanent priory buildings were constructed. The main buildings date to 1237, and the church was completed in 1277. Partial wall paintings can be seen on the piers of the church nave, but the paint is faded and difficult to make out. The nave arches show well-preserved tracery, and the carved capitals are highly decorated. A double piscina is set in the south wall of the priory church, and two seats of a sedilia have survived.
The frater undercroft
The frater undercroft
Finchale was never wealthy, and during much of the medieval period there were four permanent monks in residence. Every three weeks another four monks would travel to Finchale from Durham Cathedral for a rest, so in a sense Finchale was a holiday retreat for Durham. Apparently the restrictions on the monks at Finchale were loosened, so that those on retreat probably cut loose a bit from their normal strict regime. One wonders what they got up to?
Like other monastic establishments, Finchale was dissolved by Henry VIII, and the complex of priory buildings fell into disuse. During the 18th century parts of the site were 'landscaped' to create a more romantic, or picturesque ruin that appealed to the sensibilities of the time. To the west of the main priory ruins is a 17th centuy barn incorporating timbers from earlier monastic buildings, probably 15th century. On the north side is Priory Farmhouse, whose roof is built entirely of timbers felled in 1369. The farmhouse was originally connected to the old priory mill, and the course of the mill stream can be seen. Fragments of monastic stonework can be glimpsed in the farm buildings, including trefoil windows and carved pier capitals.
Visiting
Finchale Priory is in the care of English Heritage, but the site is on private land, beside a camping and caranning site with a gated entrance system. You can pay for parking (£3 when we visited) or park higher up the lane and walk down to the priory site, which is what we did. In theory the priory grounds opened at 10am, but the gate was open when we arrived well before that time. I asked in the camping kiosk, and the owner of the site said the grounds are usually left open, despite the 'official' opening hours. You can also take a footbridge over the river to the far bank where there are lovely walking trails and excellent views to the monastic buildings on the near bank. Please like Share and Subscribe to my Channel to see more VIDEOS .
Durham Finchale Priory
Finchale Priory sometimes referred to as Finchale Abbey was a 13th-century Benedictine priory. The remains are sited by the River Wear, four miles from Durham.
Finchale Priory, Co Durham. By drone.
On the banks of the River Wear, in a beautiful wooded setting, stand the extensive remains of Finchale Priory. It was founded in 1196 on the site of the hermitage of St Godric, a retired sailor and merchant, who settled here after a life of adventure and travel. The priory was an outpost of Durham Cathedral and functioned as a holiday retreat for the monks of Durham until its suppression in 1538. -
Music:
Bathed in the Light - Calming by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (
Source:
Artist:
FINCHALE PRIORY.wmv
finchale priory finchale abbey durham england
St Godric's song, Finchale Abbey, Durham UK
St Godric's song - read more:
Dr Guy Hayward, co-founder of the British Pilgrimage Trust, sings an ancient St Godric song among the ruins of Finchale Abbey in County Durham, North East England, UK.
The performance - sung in Anglo Saxon - was made during the annual St Cuthbert Walk from Chester le Street to Durham Cathedral, which follows the route taken by the monks in 995AD when they left Chester le Street with St Cuthbert's body, looking for a safe haven away from Viking raids. The walkers were joined by Durham Friends of the Camino including guests from Spain.
Haunted County Durham - Finchale Priory PSB7 Spiritbox investigation
A Video tour with a PSB7 session in the undercroft taken in July 2017
EVPs from the video footage are included at the end
Finchale is the only plece where the Spiritbox has malfunctioned in any way - it has been absolutely fine since
The video is a bit jerky as I was trying out the video recording ability of the Nikon D7100 - it's OK - but too heavy in truth to keep steady - and too heavy for the stabiliser
Finchale Priory, County Durham - hd
Finchale Abbey, as it is known locally, was a 13th-century Benedictine priory. The remains are sited by the River Wear, four miles from Durham.
small tour round Finchale Priory Durham
*SHOCK* I'm vlogging....sorry for the lack of vlogs. Here a small video about Finchale Priory
Visiting Finchale Priory.
Hello everyone, I hope you enjoy the film i made from Finchale Priory near Durham City, England. Thank you very much for taking time to watch, I hope you enjoy :)
Music: Grundar, Solitude of an Era, String Interlude by Alexander Nakarada (serpentsoundstudios.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
Music CoolSteelBreeze by Audionautix licensed under Creative Commons Attribution license (
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License
A Guided Off Road Ride in Sunderland # 3.2 LEG 2 Finchale Priory to Durham & Shincliffe
Ride # 3.2 West Herrington to Durham & Back LEG 2 Prisons Cathedrals & Bridges
A Guided Mostly Off Road Bike Ride Through History... From Finchale Priory Toward Brasside & It's Prisons, Then following the Route The Monks Would Of Walked Through Frankland Into The Old Walled City of Durham & It's 1000 year old Cathedral, Then Down To The River Following it Upstream Passing Many Historic areas Before Settling at Shincliffe To Take in the Wildlife & Some Shade.
This One Is A True Magical History Tour For LEG 2 & A Pause Button Maybe Needed
The Shortest Leg At Around 7 Miles of This 30 Mile Loop
Please Join Me for LEG 3 Stations Scrambling & Waggons
You Can Return Back Via Same Route. Make Your Own Way... Or Join One Of My Other (Future) Routes Watch This Space
You Could Even Run or Walk These Routes If That is Your Thing
No Copyright Infringement is Intended.
All Maps & Photos Are Used In Fair Use Terms.
#OutdoorTherapy
#ThisIsWhy
I Just Want To Compel People To Go Out & See/Embrace Nature, Our History & The Sights
Finchale Priory Visit and a River Reminisce
A walk along the river Wear to Finchale Priory and a Reminisce
-~-~~-~~~-~~-~-
Please watch: Winter Wild Camp in 1,000 Acre Wood and an Apology
-~-~~-~~~-~~-~-
THE DEEPEST DARKEST GOTHS OF WHITBY VISIT FINCHALE ABBEY (PRIORY) DURHAM UK
our visit to finchale abbey (priory) in durham uk-a retreat for the monks of durham cathedlral
FINCHALE ABBEY DURHAM
FINCHALE ABBEY DURHAM
Finchale Priory
Nice little flight along the River Wear to visit the ruins of Finchale Priory
The Yuneec Breeze at Finchale priory in Durham
My first flight with the Yuneec Breeze at Finchale priory in Durham. Not flown a drone in almost 2 years so it was good to be airborne again.
Finchale 11042015 HR
Filips first swim in the river of 2015, Danieles first river swim ever!
Finc finc Finchale Abbey
I saw a couple of chaffinches today, a wonderful sight on any day and today I was sketching at a place named in homage to them. This place was named onomatopoeically after the 'finc' an Old English name for the finch, finc being the nearest description to the sound it makes... think 'Cuckoo' another name derived from a sound.
The second part of the name is from Old English again 'halh' meaning hollow describing the sheltered bend in the river and the nook formed by the steep cliffs.
The bishops of Durham had hunting parks nearby and would often spend time doing whatever was demanded of them. When the Monks from Durham Cathedral needed a break from their confinement they would be sent here to 'Finkle' not as beaters for the bishops but to enjoy the freedoms of walking along the river banks recuperating in the countryside surrounding the Wear. This is precisely what I did today on my busman's holiday, I can understand how such a place would revitalise anyone capable of enjoying the simple pleasures. I wallowed in the warmth of the sun and the company of many wonderful people.
Durham To Finchale Priory Jan 2018
Our journey from Durham to Finchale Priory along the river Wear.
Finchale Priory
This video is about Finchale Priory
Stille Nacht in finchale priory
gunsalesandswaps.com
finchale priory.finchale abbey, silent night,german,billy,santa,billy hitler