Scheduled Monuments›England›Calder Abbey

Calder Abbey

England
List entry 1007166
Nation
England
The designation
Reference
List entry 1007166
Authority
Historic England (NHLE)
Status
Scheduled Monument
Scheduled area
3.25 hectares
Grid reference
NY0511506379
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic England (NHLE)

Overview

History & significance

Calder Abbey is a Cistercian monastery founded in the 12th century in the Calder Valley in Cumberland. The abbey was established around 1134 as a daughter house of Furness Abbey and became one of the significant monastic foundations in the north-west of England. The surviving remains include substantial stone walls and arches that demonstrate the characteristic architectural style of Cistercian religious houses, with evidence of the claustral ranges and church buildings. The site was dissolved during the Reformation in the 16th century, and its ruins remain an important record of medieval monastic life and Cistercian influence in the region.

Calder Abbey is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1007166. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Calder Abbey?

Calder Abbey is a Cistercian monastery founded in the 12th century in the Calder Valley in Cumberland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1007166.

Who is responsible for protecting Calder Abbey?

Calder Abbey is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic England (NHLE) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in England. The official designation reference is 1007166.

What other scheduled monuments are near Calder Abbey?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Infell Wood medieval enclosure, 550m north west of Scargreen (0.9 km), High cross in St Mary's churchyard (3.5 km), Two high cross shafts in St Bridget's churchyard (3.7 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Calder Abbey

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Calder Abbey's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Domesday
The settlement's entry in the 1086 Domesday Book: who held it, what it was worth, and the people who worked the land.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
LiDAR
Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks hidden under fields and woodland, with likely features flagged.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
First month just £4.99, then £9.99 a month. Unlimited locations, cancel anytime.

Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

Start your Calder Abbey report
Or see a real report first
Nearby

Other scheduled monuments within 10 km

Infell Wood medieval enclosure, 550m north west of Scargreen
0.9 km
High cross in St Mary's churchyard
3.5 km
Two high cross shafts in St Bridget's churchyard
3.7 km
Tongue How prehistoric stone hut circle settlements, field systems, funerary cairns, cemetery and cairnfield, Romano-British farmstead, shieling and lynchets
3.8 km
Stone circle NW of Seascale How Farm
4.3 km
Town Bank prehistoric stone hut circle settlements, field systems, funerary cairns, ring cairn and cairnfield
5 km
Stockdale Moor prehistoric cairnfields, field systems, unenclosed cairn cemetery, ring cairns and funerary cairns
5.1 km
Monks Graves prehistoric cairn cemetery, cairnfields, field system, funerary cairns and a ring cairn on Stockdale Moor
5.8 km
The ground beneath

The bedrock under Calder Abbey

Calder Abbey stands on Triassic Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Triassic. The rock here is sandstone and conglomerate, interbedded.

All Scheduled Monuments