Furness Abbey Hotel
Encyclopedia
The Furness Abbey Hotel, now a public house
named The Abbey Tavern, stands in Abbey Approach, Barrow-in-Furness
, Cumbria
, England, to the north of the remains of Furness Abbey
. The current structure has been designated by English Heritage
as a Grade II listed building.
for the Preston family, and probably incorporated the guest house of Furness Abbey. By the 19th century the Prestons had left the house, and it remained empty until it was purchased by the Furness Railway
in 1847. The Lancaster
architects Sharpe and Paley converted it into a hotel to accommodate visitors to the abbey. This contained 36 bedrooms and "only" three bathrooms. The public rooms included an entrance hall and a reading and sitting room, both with stained glass windows, a billiard room, and a ballroom. It was extended in 1866–69, probably by E. G. Paley
, to link it to the newly built Furness Abbey railway station
. The hotel was largely demolished in the 1950s.
with slate
roofs. It is in two and three storeys. It "represents a fragment of a substantial hotel that served the Furness Railway". The architectural historians Matthew Hyde and Nikolaus Pevsner
comment that "it is a pity no more is left of so tantalising a building".
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
named The Abbey Tavern, stands in Abbey Approach, Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness is an industrial town and seaport which forms about half the territory of the wider Borough of Barrow-in-Furness in the county of Cumbria, England. It lies north of Liverpool, northwest of Manchester and southwest from the county town of Carlisle...
, Cumbria
Cumbria
Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
, England, to the north of the remains of Furness Abbey
Furness Abbey
Furness Abbey, or St. Mary of Furness is a former monastery situated on the outskirts of the English town of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria. The abbey dates back to 1123 and was once the second wealthiest and most powerful Cistercian monastery in the country, behind only Fountains Abbey in North...
. The current structure has been designated by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
as a Grade II listed building.
History
In the 17th century this was the manor houseManor house
A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
for the Preston family, and probably incorporated the guest house of Furness Abbey. By the 19th century the Prestons had left the house, and it remained empty until it was purchased by the Furness Railway
Furness Railway
The Furness Railway was a railway company operating in the Furness area of Lancashire in North West England.-History:The company was established on May 23, 1844 when the Furness Railway Act was passed by Parliament...
in 1847. The Lancaster
Lancaster, Lancashire
Lancaster is the county town of Lancashire, England. It is situated on the River Lune and has a population of 45,952. Lancaster is a constituent settlement of the wider City of Lancaster, local government district which has a population of 133,914 and encompasses several outlying towns, including...
architects Sharpe and Paley converted it into a hotel to accommodate visitors to the abbey. This contained 36 bedrooms and "only" three bathrooms. The public rooms included an entrance hall and a reading and sitting room, both with stained glass windows, a billiard room, and a ballroom. It was extended in 1866–69, probably by E. G. Paley
Edward Graham Paley
Edward Graham Paley, usually known as E. G. Paley, , was an English architect who practised in Lancaster, Lancashire, in the second half of the 19th century.-Education and career:...
, to link it to the newly built Furness Abbey railway station
Furness Abbey railway station
Furness Abbey railway station was a railway station on the Furness Line between Barrow-in-Furness and Carnforth, built by the Furness Railway. It served the tourist attraction of Furness Abbey and the suburbs of Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria...
. The hotel was largely demolished in the 1950s.
Architecture and assessment
The building, as it currently exists, is constructed in red sandstoneSandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
with slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
roofs. It is in two and three storeys. It "represents a fragment of a substantial hotel that served the Furness Railway". The architectural historians Matthew Hyde and Nikolaus Pevsner
Nikolaus Pevsner
Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner, CBE, FBA was a German-born British scholar of history of art and, especially, of history of architecture...
comment that "it is a pity no more is left of so tantalising a building".