Abbot Hall

Has been described as a Questionable Fortified Manor House

There are no visible remains

NameAbbot Hall
Alternative Names
Historic CountryLancashire
Modern AuthorityCumbria
1974 AuthorityCumbria
Civil ParishLower Allithwaite

"Abbot Hall in the hamlet of Kents or Kentish bank is supposed to have been the residence of the priors of Cartmel, whose foundation charter so explicity prohibited them from aspiring to the title of abbot. Upon the estate were some fields called Chapel Fields in which, at three feet below the surface, human skeletons have been exhumed. This spot is, with much appearance of probability, supposed to have been the site of an oratory, where a monk of the priory officiated in offering up prayers for the safety of such as crossed the sands." (Baines 1835).

"Thomas son of Gospatrick de Cartmel about 1160 granted to the abbey 5 acres in the fields of Allithwaite .... Since the suppression of the abbey it has passed through many hands. A modern residence built on the site {of the Abbot Hall} is used as a school." (VCH 1914).

ABBOT HALL, a completely modern building, is now a Guest House run by the Methodist Union. Local enquiries revealed no knowledge of an earlier structure. The name is confirmed by an inscription on the gate post at the beginning of the drive (F1 EG 25-JUN-58). (PastScape)

Gatehouse Comments

The reason for Perriam and Robinson including this possible site of a medieval hall in a gazetteer of 'fortified buildings' is obscure. The form of the medieval building is not known but doesn't seem to be described as either a tower or moated.

- Philip Davis

Not scheduled

This is a Grade 2 listed building protected by law

Historic England Scheduled Monument Number
Historic England Listed Building number(s)
Images Of England
Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s)
County Historic Environment Record
OS Map Grid ReferenceSD395755
Latitude54.1720809936523
Longitude-2.92788004875183
Eastings339526
Northings475539
HyperLink HyperLink HyperLink

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Books

  • Perriam, Denis and Robinson, John, 1998, The Medieval Fortified Buildings of Cumbria (Kendal: CWAAS Extra Series 29) p. 370
  • Farrer, William and Brownbill, J. (eds), 1914, VCH Lancashire Vol. 8 p. 267 online transcription
  • Stockdale, J., 1872, Annales Caermoelenses or Annals of Cartmel (Ulverston: William Kitchen) p. 504 online copy
  • Baines, E., 1835, History of the County Palatine and Duchy of Lancaster (London: George Routledge and sons) Vol. 4 p. 733

Journals

  • Collingwood, W.G., 1926, 'An Inventory of the Ancient Monuments of Westmorland and Lancashire North-of-the-Sands' Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society Vol. 26 p. 38 online copy