1066, the Year of the Normans: Spotlight on Normans in Furness

This year, 2016, marks the 950th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings where Duke William II of Normandy defeated King Harold of England to become the new ruler of the country. A battle which saw the face of England change forever and the new Norman way of life take hold!

This blog post will shine a spotlight on the Normans in Furness and highlight posts from the blogs past about them, so, lets take a look:

A Motte Without a Bailey and a Manor Without a Town, Aldingham

The first Norman lord to come to Furness was Michael Le Fleming who was given the lands which later became Muchland, the main base for his rule though was at Aldingham. Here he built a large motte and bailey castle to impose his presence and his power on the area.

In this past blog post we explore the site of his castle and the lost town which it ruled over.

Furness Abbey, the Second Richest Cistercian Abbey in Britain

It was in 1127 that Furness Abbey was first founded by Savigniac Monks coming over from France. They no doubt set up here to bring more Norman rule to the land and introduce more of the Norman way of life. It was later taken over by the Cistercian order who built it to become one of the richest Cistercian monasteries in England!

This post took a look into the abbey and also showed some hidden features to discover around the site, now run by English Heritage.

Fading Faces in a Medieval Quarries - the Amphitheatre Next to Furness Abbey

The amphitheatre next to Furness Abbey holds many gems related to the great abbey. There is the precinct wall stretching the top of the natural formation, most likely constructed in the Norman period, and two large quarries where the stone for the abbey was carved out of the ground, again most likely first used in the Norman period.

Take a look at this post to find out more about these features as well as other, later features.

A Majestic Medieval Priory, Cartmel

Cartmel Pirory, just a short distance from Furness in the Cartmel Peninsula, was founded in 1189 by the Norman lord William Marshal. The Augustinian order worshipped in and ran the priory. Never growing to become an Abbey the site managed to survive until present day and is a beautiful and unique Norman building to behold!

In this post we took a deeper look into the priory and its history and showcased some wonderful pictures! Keep an eye out for the typical Norman features like the rounded Norman arches.

An Ancient Cross and Christian Monument, Urswick Church

Urswick Church is predominantly of Norman construction, the chancel being constructed in the Norman era, and is a lovely little church to look at and wander around. There are also many interesting features dotted around the church from an earlier Anglo Saxon runic slab to pieces of stained glass from Furness Abbey.

This post looks at all these features as well as the history of the church itself.

The Tale of a Man Called Wimund

Wimund was a monk, turned bishop, turned warlord who lived and was at his height in the Norman period. He started as a monk at the newly founded Furness Abbey before being sent to the Isle of Man to set up a new daughter house, Rushen Abbey. He soon was accented to Bishop but turned power hungry and went on a rampage through Scotland.

Explore the tale of this interesting and vicious character in this fascinating blog post.


As you can see there is a great deal of Norman heritage dotted across the Furness peninsula, all well worth a look. Of course there are many other sites with Norman origins which we have yet to cover in this blog and there are no doubt many long lost Norman sites still waiting to be discovered. Maybe one day we can return to shine another spotlight on the Normans in Furness! Until then we have lots of other unique heritage sites still to explore...


Return here on October 25th for another new blog post about a fortification which may well have a Norman origin!

The Tale of a Man Called Wimund

There is a man from history, once a monk at Furness Abbey, who became a bishop, a pretender and a warlord. This man was called Wimund.

There are not many accounts of Wimund except for one by a 12th Century historian, William of Newburgh. William was a Yorkshire Augustinian who wrote the History of English Affairs in which he relays the ‘most audacious acts’ of Wimund in Chapter 24 - "Of bishop Wimund, his life unbecoming a bishop, and how he was deprived of his sight".

William had met Wimund several times at Byland Abbey, where the discraced bishop lived in later life, and had heard the stories of ‘his merited misfortunes’.

Wimund was of humble birth, he was no nobal man or anyone of importance. He did, however, pocess the ability to read and write, something most common folk did not. This ability lead him to find employment at the Abbey of St. Mary in Furness, then ran by Savigniac monks, as a copyist. Wimund, with his ‘competent eloquence’ and ‘retentive memory’, made speedy progress at the monastic site and was soon shorn a monk.

Around 1134 Wimund was sent, with a group of other monks, to set up a new community on the Isle of Man. It was in 1134 that King Olaf of the Isle of Man granted land to Furness for the foundation of a daughter house. This daughter house was called Rushen Abbey. The site is now, as many are, in ruins but can still be visited. In the same charter granting the lands for a daughter house King Olaf also gave the abbey control over the election of the new Bishop of Sodor and Man.

Wimund was a tall man, standing head and shoulders above most men of the time and he held an athletic figure. This, along with his power to produce stirring speech, brought him the acclaim of the inhabitants of the Isle of Man, who soon appointed Wimund as their Bishop with the abbey’s consent. Although he was not a popular choice. It didn’t take long for Wimunds ambitions to grow and for him to become hungry for more power.

It was then that Wimund started to convince local supporters that he was the rightful heir to the earldom of Mowbray and that he had been deprived his inheritance by the King of Scotland. These supporters pledged their allegiance to Wimund and swore to help him reclaim his birthright, they soon were engaged on a crusade against the Scottish King. William of Newburgh comments that ‘this fisher of men turned hunter of men’. The band left the Isle of Man and headed for Scotland where they engaged in battle with the Scots and successfully ravaged them. Unfortunately for Wimund another Bishop stood up to him and refused to bow to his will. With the assistance of God the Bishop drove Wimund away hurling an axe at him! This axe wounded Wimund badly, he went into hiding for a time to recover but soon re-emerged to reign more terror onto the Scots.

Soon King David of Scotland granted Wimund the lands of Furness to make him less hostile, an act known as placation. The whole of Cumberland and Westmorland had been given to Scotland in 1536 by King Stephen of England, this included Furness. Wimund paraded his knew lands with his army and this stirred up the locals, who had known him as a monk, to set a trap. Wimund was captured and 'they took and bound him, and as both eyes were wicked, deprived him of both; and, providing against all future excess, they made him an eunuch for the sake of the kingdom of Scotland, not for that of Heaven'. In other terms they blinded and castrated him, taking away his sight and taking away his ability to breed.

Wimund survived this brutal attack and spent the rest of his days living at Byland Abbey in Yorkshire. He never repented for his wrong doings and was always willing to tell his tales to anyone who would listen, often remarking that ‘his enemies should have small cause to rejoice over their work’ and what they had done to him.

Wimund’s tale is an interesting one; it shows how power can easily corrupt even those who have sworn devotion to God and to the church. Alas Wimund’s tale is not the only one of its kind within the country but it is the only one recorded that relates to Furness and it is, certainly, a piece of hidden heritage.


Return here on October 11th for a special post which puts the spotlight on Normans in Furness!

A Motte Without a Bailey and a Manor Without a Town, Aldingham

Aldingham is a small hamlet perched on the east coast of Furness, made up of a Church, some houses and a large old peoples home. Back in the Norman period though Aldingham was a much larger and important town!

1066 and Norman forces crossed the channel from France to England. They met with Anglo Saxon forces on land near to Hastings. Here they fought tirelessly until eventually defeating the Saxon army and thus conquering England. This was the start of the Norman age in Britain and saw many changes to the way everyone lived. Jump forward some 40 odd years later and Furness saw its first Norman lord move to the area, Michael Le Fleming.

Standing precariously on the edge of a cliff face just under 1 mile down the beach from Aldigham is the remains of a once impressive motte and bailey castle. Michael Le Fleming built this castle sometime between 1107 and 1111, after King Henry I had granted him the lands lying eastward of Abbey Beck and southwards of the moors of Birkrigg and Swarthmoor. This land became the manor of Aldingham. Motte and bailey castles sprung up all over Britain after the Norman Conquest to aid in the Normanisation of the country and to keep control of the local inhabitants. Le Fleming being the first Norman lord to move to Furness must have been faced with quite a daunting task. To come to the very northwestern corner of the kingdom, an area constantly disputed by England and Scotland, a place with a mix of people from varying cultural backgrounds. There were Saxons, Norse men (Vikings) and even Celts all living in the area with out any real rule. How could one man manage to control and lord over such a place and mix of people? His new motte and bailey castle must have helped!

It is thought that the castle site started as a ringwork sometime before 1102, built by Roger the Poitevin, before becoming a motte and bailey castle. At the base of the current castle remains is a large ditch looping around the base of the motte. This is probably evidence of the original ringwork structure, the inner earthwork being added by the Le Flemings later. Looking at the motte site today there is something quite clearly missing, the bailey! Where is it? You might ask. Well, unfortunately, as is often the case with such sites built on the coastline, erosion has destroyed it. The bailey would have once sat next to the motte on its southeast side. With in this bailey would have been other buildings associated to the castle, like stables and storage houses. In some cases followers of the lord would live in the bailey, in the case of Aldingham it is hard to determine as it no longer exists and there aren't many records to tell us.

Coastal erosion was as much a problem in the Middle Ages as it is today and could have forced the lord to move out of the motte and bailey to another manor a little further inland to the north.

Sitting at the bottom of the hill on which the motte stands is a raised area of land surrounded by water. This is thought to be a moated manor where the inhabitants of the motte, most likely still the Le Fleming family, moved, away from the the threat of erosion. A timber structure would have sat upon the slightly raised earth mound; much like that which would have adorned the motte. A moat was dug around the mound, which was filled with water, something it is still filled with today. The moat would provide defense and there would most probably have been a timber palisade surrounding the manor inside the moat.

What is quite apparent when looking at both the motte and the moated manor is that they are pretty far away from the current village of Aldingham. Odd, yes? Well in the 12th century it would not have been quite so far away from the town. It would still be the same distance away from the church but there would have been a whole town spreading out between the two, creating the manor of Aldingham. A large and important town in the Furness area. But, much like the bailey, costal erosion has claimed the land and the town upon it. Archeological surveys have identified and excavated several middens along the current beach. A midden was basically a dumping ground during the Middle Ages. Large holes would be dug into the ground where domestic waste matter could be placed. After many hundreds of years bones, shells, grains and corns are left, which provide key dating material. These middens are some of the only evidence left of the town that once thrived here but provide an insight into the lives and diet of the people who lived there.

It is quite clear that Aldingham has had a rich and interesting history, from its motte and bailey castle to its moated manor and missing town. It is a site well worth exploring, there is a public footpath that runs up to the motte for a slightly closer look or you could walk along the beach to see it from bellow.  The moated manor is on private land but can be seen from the road and the motte. It is also well worth visiting Aldingham Church, a building that dates back, in part, to the 12th Century and has many interesting features.