Cistercian Abbey of Holm Cultram

‘There stood the Abbey, in the midst of a rich agricultural district – monarch of all it surveyed’

In 1150 Holm Cultram Abbey was founded by Prince Henry of Scotland who gave the land to monks from Melrose Abbey to settle.

These Cistercian monks organized the clearing of forests and draining of large tracts of the Solway marshes, making the land of the Holm district habitable and profitable. By 1200 the Abbey was well under construction. When finished the Abbey and associated buildings covered ten acres of land.

Throughout the thirteenth century benefactors on both sides of the Solway lavished gifts on the Abbey, the main motivation being a hope that they could buy their way into heaven.

The monks were very successful sheep farmers and became the largest supplies of wool in the Northwest of England with an estimated flock of over 6,000 sheep. The Abbey became immensely wealthy and was raided and plundered by the Scots on many occasions. Robert the Bruce caused the worst devastation in 1319, despite the fact that his father, the Earl of Carrick was buried there.

In 1538 the Act dissolving the Greater Monasteries was passed. Holm Cultram Abbey along with 1,600 acres of land and all its possessions was surrendered to Henry VIII.

The Abbey Church was not destroyed, as many were, because it served as a parish church and as a refuge against the Scots. Over time the Abbey church fell into disrepair due to lack of local authority and money. This engraving, from Hutchinson's History of Cumberland shows the ruins still standing in 1794.

In 1703, when Bishop Nicholson visited Holm Cultram he was shocked at the state the Abbey was in. He appointed Trustees to organise its restoration. The nave was reduced in size and the side aisles were removed. Between 1833 and 1973 further remodelling has taken place.

The East Window was donated by Sir Walter Scott, the Victorian Railway Engineer, in memory of his first wife.

Over the last eight hundred years the Abbey has had a troubled existence, yet it has survived all attempts to destroy it. Today it is a parish church somewhat reduced in size and circumstances but still a place of great beauty, peace and serenity. This ancient place of worship is well worth a visit.

The Abbey of St Mary, Holm Cultram