Hulne Priory
| Hulne Priory | |
|
Northumberland | |
|---|---|
 Hulne Priory | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | NU163157 |
| Location: | 55°26’6"N, 1°44’38"W |
| Village: | Alnwick |
| Order: | Carmelite |
| History | |
| Founded: | 1240 |
| Founder: | William II de Vesci |
| Information | |
| Owned by: | The Duke of Northumberland |
Hulne Priory, Hulne Friary or Hulne Abbey was a friary founded in 1240 by the Carmelites or 'Whitefriars',[1] near Alnwick in Northumberland. It is said that the site was chosen for some slight resemblance to Mount Carmel in the Holy Land where the order originated.[2] Substantial ruins survive, watched over by the stone figures of friars carved in the 18th century. It is a sign of the unrest felt in this area so near to the border with Scotland that the priory had a surrounding wall and in the 15th century a pele tower was erected. Changes were made at the Dissolution of the Monasteries when the Percy family took control.
William II de Vesci was instrumental in bringing the Carmelites from the Crusader states to England by establishing Hulne Priory, located two miles north-west of Alnwick.[3] The priory is situated in Hulne Park, a walled park covering several thousand acres which belongs to the Duke of Northumberland and is close to his seat at Alnwick Castle. Originally a hunting park, and still used by the Duke for shooting, it now contains woods, moors, stretches of open grassland and Alnwick's home farm. Apart from the priory, the buildings in the park include the gatehouse of the former Alnwick Abbey, and Brizlee Tower, which is a viewing tower in Gothic Revival style that dates from the 1780s.
The priory site today
The public is admitted to Hulne Park, but it is not marketed as a visitor attraction and has no visitor facilities. Entry is by way of the approach from Alnwick, and is restricted to pedestrians only. The ruins of the priory may be viewed whilst Brizlee Tower is rarely open to the public.[4]
Hulne Priory was a filming location in HTV's Robin of Sherwood with Michael Praed where it doubled for Kirklees Abbey. Later it was Maid Marian's home in the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.
The priory is licensed for wedding ceremonies[5] and is occasionally used as a location for live performances.[6]
See also
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Hulne Priory) |
- Walks and Trails page at the site of the owners, Northumberland Estates
- National Heritage List 1002904: Hulne Priory (Grade @ listing)
References
- ↑ "Hulne Friary (Denwick)". Durham County Council and Northumberland County Council. http://www.keystothepast.info/article/10339/Site-Details?PRN=N4426. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
- ↑ Mackenzie, Eneas (1825) (in en). An Historical, Topographical, and Descriptive View of the County of Northumberland: And of Those Parts of the County of Durham Situated North of the River Tyne, with Berwick Upon Tweed, and Brief Notices of Celebrated Places on the Scottish Border. Mackenzie and Dent. https://books.google.com/books?id=4RpNAAAAMAAJ&q=hulne+abbey+history+Mount+Carmel&pg=PA477.
- ↑ Stringer 1999, p. 206.
- ↑ "Take a tour of Brizlee Tower". https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/take-tour-brizlee-tower-opens-11775007. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
- ↑ "Hulne Abbey". https://www.alnwickcastle.com/weddings/hulne-abbey. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
- ↑ "Much Ado About Nothing at Hulne Abbey". https://www.alnwickcastle.com/_assets/media/editor/Concerts/Three_Inch_Fools/event-information.pdf. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
- Smith, Brendan, ed (1999). Britain and Ireland, 900–1300: Insular Responses to Mediæval European Change. Cambridge University Press.
- Stringer, Keith J.: 'Nobility and identity in mediæval Britain and Ireland: the de Vescy family, c.1120–1314' (1999)