Hermitage Hill, Conishead Priory (The Gatehouse Record)

In the civil parish of Ulverston .
In the historic county of Lancashire.
Modern Authority of Cumbria.
1974 county of Cumbria.
Medieval County of Lancashire North of the Sands.

OS Map Grid Reference: SD30127609
Latitude 54.17587° Longitude -3.07204°

Hermitage Hill, Conishead Priory has been described as a Masonry Castle but is rejected as such, and also as a Uncertain although is doubtful that it was such.

There are uncertain remains.

This is a Grade 2 listed building protected by law*.

Description

"On top of the wooded hill to the north (of Conishead Priory) ... are the ruins of a castle, &c., partly modern: a small circular tower is, however, covered with ivy which must have been the growth of centuries" (Jopling).
The south-west tower is in perfect condition. The other one is only just visible above ground level (S.S. Reviser 2.3.51).
The tower stands upon a 150 foot high hill top in a very prominent position overlooking Conishead Priory. It appears to have been constructed purely as a decorative feature within the ornamental grounds belonging to the Priory, and to have been used at a later time as a vantage point, a circular stone stairway having been constructed within, to give access to the wooden roof top. There are no traces of antiquity. The walls are constructed of stone, slate and brick. The tower has eight sides and is in 'Gothick' style. Loopholes are without any splaying. On the NE side are remains of a wall which probably connected with a second tower, remains of which consist of a circular mound of grass covered stones, 4.0m. in diameter, 0.3m high, hollowed at the centre. Another scatter of stones lies further to the north. The two towers are 12.0m. apart, and they possibly contained an ornamental gateway originally.
They probably belong to the late C18 or early C19. "The towers are 'shams', built by the BRADYLLS in the C18" (Field Investigators Comments-F1 ASP 04-JUN-58). (PastScape)

Summerhouse. Early C19, restored 1980s. Rubble, covered with cement slurry. Roof not visible. Octagonal plan. 2 storeys, with storey band and with corbel table below parapet. A corbelled turret projects at parapet level on the south side. The joinery is late C20 stained hardwood. On the ground floor there are 3 openings with plain reveals and pointed arches, now with glazed doors. A 4th opening is blocked. On the 1st floor there are 4 windows with plain reveals and segmental heads. Below the turret there is a narrow blind recess. (Listed Building Report)

Sources of information, references and further reading

National Heritage List for England Listed Building number(s) 1270177
Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 39652.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) 2390.

Websites (Gatehouse is not responsible for the content of external websites.)
- Jim Jarrett Ivory Towers and Dressed Stones
  Old Cumbria Gazetteer
Books
- Perriam, Denis and Robinson, John, 1998, The Medieval Fortified Buildings of Cumbria (Kendal: CWAAS Extra Series 29)
  Ayre, L.R., 1887, History and Antiquities of Furness: Being a Record of Journey Made in Furness, in the Year 1777, with Descriptions of the Places Visited (Ulverston) p. 8
  Jopling, C.M., 1843, Sketch of Furness and Cartmel p. 161 online copy
Periodical Articles
- 1906, Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society Vol. 6 p. 318 online copy
  Harper Gaythorpe note in Curwen, J.F., 1903, 'Some Notes on the Hermitage at Conishead Priory, Lancashire' Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society Vol. 3 p. 76n (a quote from Jopling) online copy
  Anon, 1895, 'Conishead Priory' The North Lonsdale Magazine and Furness Miscellany Vol. 1.7 p. 119-29
Other sources: Theses; 'grey' literature; in-house reports; unpublished works; etc.
- 2009, Conishead Priory, Ulverston, Cumbria, Archaeological Desk-Based Assessment (Greenlane Archaeology) p. 75 online copy

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The bibliography owes much to various bibliographies produced by John Kenyon for the Council for British Archaeology, the Castle Studies Group and others.

Suggestions for finding online and/or hard copies of bibliographical sources can be seen at this link.
Minor archaeological investigations, such as watching brief reports, and some other 'grey' literature is most likely to be held by H.E.R.s but is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded here, or elsewhere, but some suggestions can be found here.

The possible site or monument is represented on maps as a point location. This is a guide only. It should be noted that OS grid references defines an area, not a point location. In practice this means the actual center of the site or monument may often, but not always, be to the North East of the point shown. Locations derived from OS grid references and from latitude longitiude may differ by a small distance.
Further information on mapping and location can be seen at this link.

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*The listed building may not be the actual medieval building, but a building on the site of, or incorporating fragments of, the described site.

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