Spooky tales from South Cumbria - Halloween Special!

In 2013 we took a look at several spooky tales from the Furness Peninsula, then in 2016 we showcased even more sinister tales from the area.

Now, a couple of years later, we are relaying five more spooky stories from South Cumbria, including Furness. So, dim the lights and let's get started...

Spine chilling chanting near Furness Abbey

Some 30 years ago a mother and son were walking past Furness Abbey. They head away from the ruins towards Rating Lane. As they reached the West Gatehouse the young boy started to hear singing emanating from the surroundings.



He turned to his mum and asked 'Where's that singing coming from mum?'. His mother, quite uncharacteristically, snapped 'There is a tape playing somewhere', before rushing the two away from the area. She was clearly afraid but never spoke of the incident again.

Could the mysterious singing have been the sound ghostly monks performing their Gregorian chants? Who can say but the incident certainly makes for a spooky tale.

A mysterious gentleman in Cartmel

In the picturesque village of Cartmel many local folk have spotted a man who appears out of time. Wearing a top hat the man has been witnessed wandering around the priory gatehouse in the centre of the village. He moves mysteriously and when approach or spoken to, he simply disappears.

Who could this mysterious gentleman be? No-one knows.

The locked room of Sizergh

Many many years ago a lord of Sizergh Castle had a wife that he loved passionately. Sadly though his jealousy was just as passionate.

At one time he was called away to serve the king. He was so worried though that another man might steel his wife's affections while he was away that he locked her in a room inside the castle.

He forbid his servants to release his wife under any circumstances and as they were so scared of their master they did not disobey. The lord's wife would scream and plea for release but the servants ignore her cries. Soon the poor woman died of starvation, locked in the room.

Today it is said that the screams of wife's ghost can still be heard echoing from the room, pleading to be released.

The Bowness Bay Tizzie-Whizie

A myth from the Lake District, the Tizzie-Whizie was a much sought after creature of the 1900s.

First spotted in 1900 by a boatman from Bowness on Windermere the Tizzie-Whizie soon became popular with locals and tourists alike. The creature was said to have the body of a hedgehog, the tail of a squirrel and wings like a bee. It was also said to be a water loving creature and quite shy.

The photo featured here was taken by a local photographer after the grandson of the original spotter found and captured a Tizzie-Whizie for the first time. He struggled to capture the beast but managed to drag it from the water and whisk it off to the photographers.

The creature stuck around long enough to have a photo taken before jumping off and flying out the window, back into the wild.

The photo taken became a post card and many thousands were sold, leading to hunts for the mysterious creature. Strangely another was never found...

The White Lady of Furness Abbey

Many have wandered the ruins of Furness Abbey near Barrow-in-Furness but one soul that still wanders the ruins died many years ago.

The White Lady has often been spotted in and around the ruins of the monastic site. She is believed to be the ghost of a squires daughter from the Tudor period. The woman would meet her lover in secret at the recently dissolved monastic site on many occasions until he had to leave on a journey. Her partner never returned from his journey.

The lady, broken hearted, returned to the abbey every day until her death. Could it be that she still returns today?

We hope you have enjoyed this spooky Halloween special. Do check out our previous two posts - Furness Ghost Stories pt1 and Furness Ghost Stories pt2 for more sinister tales.

Do you have a ghost story from Furness or South Cumbria? We'd love to hear your tales. Comment below or on our social media channels..

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!

A Majestic Medieval Priory, Cartmel

Cartmel is a quaint little village in South Cumbria made up of a variety of homes and shops but little would you expect to find a great Medieval Priory standing proud above its surroundings!

Cartmel Priory is a beautiful and majestic building that has been standing here since the late 1100s but the village has had a religious life dating back centuries. The Saxon King Egfrith of Northumbria granted the lands of Cartmel "and all the Britons in it" to St. Cuthbert in around 680 AD. St. Cuthbert, many may know, was a Monk of the earlier Celtic or Irish Church who went on to become Bishop at Lindisfarne. It is almost certain that some form of religious house was erected in the area from this time, most likely a small chapel situated where the priory stands today.

Just over 500 years later, in 1189, Cartmel priory was founded by William Marshal for the regular canons of St. Augustine. William was in charge of the Cartmel Peninsula having been granted it by Henry II two years earlier.

William, when founding the priory, stated that the holy site must remain always as a priory and never become an abbey to avoid the crown taking advantage of certain privileges that came with it. This was a clever move on his part as it inevitably saved the priory from the dissolution some 400 years later. At the time of the dissolution the priory was being used by the parish so King Henry VII ordered "that it stand still', this was a direct result of Williams wishes. If it had been elevated to the level of abbey then it would have suffered the same fate as many around the country and be left a ruin today.

The monks that ran the priory came from Bradenstoke Priory in Wiltshire where William's father was buried.

During the 12th Century the priory would not have been as expansive as it is today. As with all abbeys and priories it developed over time with new sections being built to suit new needs. To begin with the domestic buildings to the South would have been in situ but the current three bay nave of the church was yet to be constructed. The church at the time would have had a chancel with two side chapels and two transepts with a short nave. All this would have been topped off with a small tower.

The whole Priory site was also almost fully surrounded by water. To the northeast and southwest there were small lakes with a river running between them. There was also another larger water course running from the southeastern lake past the priory. Both lakes have long dried up but the river that ran between them is still roughly in situ and is known as the River Eea. With the priory being surrounded by water like this must have made it a perfect location, easily enclosed by walls and water.

Many of the monastic buildings associated with such religious houses were set to the south side of the church, as was typical. Buildings like the chapter house, refectory and the dormitory were built here with some, in the case of the dormitory, linking directly to the church. In the south transept you can see evidence of where the dormitory once was. Part way up the west wall of the transept is a blocked up doorway with some stone steps heading down in the direction of the floor. These were the night stairs from which the monks would walk down from the dormitory above to attend their nightly services. Although the stone stairs end some way from the floor a wooden stair case most likely would have joined to them. Some years later in the 1400s it seems that there was a subsidence problem to the south which meant that all the buildings had to be moved to the north side of the church. If you take a look in the west wall of the north transept you can see a window which, as in the south, has some stone steps at its foot. This is where the night stairs would lead from the new dormitory.

Over the course of the Middle Ages the church was expanded and modified creating what is seen today. Though these changes some interesting features have formed. For instance in the south wall of the chancel there is a large tomb for Lord Harrington and his wife who died in the 1300s. Sedilia originally covered this wall but these sedilia have been cut through for the tomb to be set in place. This has left one sedilia missing one of its sides with a clear cut through it for the tomb. There is also a quite beautiful wooden rood screen and choir stall. It is an intricately carved piece with many fine examples of misericords, where choir members could perch to relieve the pressure on their legs while standing to sing during services.

Although the church of the priory managed to survive the dissolution of the monasteries the domestic and ancillary buildings attached were destroyed. This left the priory as nothing much more than a village church, if an immensely grand one! The Priory is still used today as a religious house and is open to all for visiting and enjoying. 

Elsewhere in Cartmel can be found a large gatehouse that would have allowed entrance to the priory precinct. The gatehouse was built in 1330, later than the priory itself. By the time of the dissolution of the monasteries many of the priory ancillary buildings were being demolished but the gatehouse was being used as a courthouse so it, like the church, managed to survive. Later, in 1624, the building was used as a grammar school. It remained as this until 1790. After that it is unsure what happened to the gatehouse but it was turned into a museum for a while and in 1946 it was given to the National Trust. Today the gatehouse can easily be viewed from the outside sitting across from the village square; it is also open occasionally during the year to see inside the Great Room. 

Although not exactly 'hidden' both the Priory and the Gatehouse are fantastic reminders of Cartmel's Medieval past that many may overlook. Both sites are well worth a visit and with Cartmel itself being a wonderful little village it is the perfect place for a little day trip. 

Come back on April 1st for the next in the Victorian Emergency Services series looking at Ulverston.