14 0677 Heritage Statement

NEIL ARCHAEOLOGICAL SERVICES Established 1994 NIGEL R. J. NEIL, MA, MSc, MIfA, LRPS 5 HILLSIDE, CASTLE PARK, LANCASTER, LA1 1YH Tel/Voicemail 01524 844 728 Mobile/Voicemail 07968 621 530 e-mail: [email protected]

Desk-based & field evaluation of sites Archaeological watching briefs Standing building photography, survey, & analysis Environmental Impact Assessment Garden History projects Outreach and lectures

Proposed alteration to entrance porch handrail WHALLEY ABBEY Lancashire

Desk-Based Assessment and Heritage Statement

Listed Building Consent ref. 3 / 2014 / 0677

The entrance staircase to Whalley Abbey in 1889, by a member of the Grant family (photo courtesy of Clitheroe Library)

DRAFT 2 18th August 2014

Prepared on behalf of: Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance, IWA Architects Ltd., English Heritage, Ribble Valley Borough Council, and Lancashire County Archaeological Service Whalley Abbey Conference House porch, Lancs.: desk-based assessment and Heritage Statement 1

CONTENTS

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 3

1. INTRODUCTION 4 1.1 Site location and project circumstances 4 1.2 Heritage status 8 1.3 Planning situation, 2014 9 1.4 Previous assessment of heritage significance 11 1.5 Ongoing desk-based and scientific research 13 1.6 Archaeological watching briefs 15 1.7 Outline history up to the Dissolution of the Monasteries 19 1.8 The Dissolution of Whalley Abbey, and its later owners 20

2. DESK-BASED ASSESSMENT OF NORTH PORCH & SURROUNDING AREA 23 2.1 Illustrative sources 23 2.2 Chronology of twentieth-century alterations 26

3. ASSESSMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE 29 3.1 Assessment criteria 29 3.2 Construction phases 30 3.3 Assessment of the proposed development in context 30 3.4 Recommendations 31

4. BIBLIOGRAPHY 33 4.1 Primary sources 33 4.2 Published primary, and secondary sources 34 4.3 Sources located but not seen 35

For the use of Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance, IWA Architects Ltd., English Heritage,  Neil Archaeological Services Ribble Valley Borough Council, and Lancashire County Archaeological Service Aug 2014 Whalley Abbey Conference House porch, Lancs.: desk-based assessment and Heritage Statement 2

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Fig 1 Ground Floor plan of the Conference House based on Lloyd Evans Prichard’s (LEP 2002) phasing. 4

Fig 2 Partial First Floor plan of the Conference House. 5

Fig 3 View of the north elevation of the conference house, showing simplified phasing. 6

Fig 4 Extract from first floor plan, 1923 when purchased by Manchester Diocesan Board of Finance. 6

Fig 5 Views showing location of staircase handrails. 6

Fig 6 Views of the existing guardrails and handrails to the external staircase. 7

Fig 7 Extent of the Scheduled Ancient Monument of Whalley Abbey. 9

Fig 8 IWA Architects’ proposal drawings for extension to handrail. 10

Fig 9 Interpretation of the 2005 dendrochronology results from the Conference House. 14

Fig 10 (a) View of the Great Hall roof; (b) sampling one of the Great Hall trusses. 14

Fig 11 (a) Sanding a core sample; (b) collection of cores; (c) infilling a core site with dowel and filler. 14

Fig 12 Earlier alterations to the external staircase: (a) 1954; (b) kitchen access during alterations 1967-68. 15

Fig 13 Detail from 1999-2005 watching brief report, showing possible original extent of porch to North West Wing. 16

Fig 14 (a) North West Wing porch and disabled access ramp; (b) Buckler’s view of south elevation of 16 Long Gallery, 1818, showing lost first floor window; (c) engaged column fragment recovered from 1999 disabled access watching brief.

Fig 15 The wooden structure under the flagstone landing of the first-floor entrance porch, 2005. 17

Fig 16 2005 architect’s drawings for guardrail and strengthening of first floor porch landing. 18

Fig 17 (a) Datestone of 1588 on the east elevation of the Conference House; (b) lead gutter of 1698, 21 repaired 1991, on the front elevation of the Conference House.

Fig 18 (a, b) Buck brothers’ 1727 view of the abbey; (c) detail from Porter’s map of 1762. 23

Fig 19 (a) Extract from Whitaker’s ground floor plan, 1801, showing external staircase and Long Gallery; 24 (b) detail from Earl Howe’s sale conveyance, 1834.

Fig 20 Buckler view of the north elevation of the Conference House, 1808. 24

Fig 21 (a) Detail from Buckler illustration; (b) detail from drawing by Rev’d S. J. Allen, c. 1834. 24

Fig 22 Earliest known photograph of the house, by the Grant family, c. 1870. 25

Fig 23 Very clear photograph of the front elevation of the house, by Pye of Clitheroe, 13 Sept 1889. 25

Fig 24 Photographs from (a) c. 1910, and (b) 22 June 1936. 26

Fig 25 Undated photograph, c. 1990. 26

Fig 26 Miss Peggy Gradwell, warden, inspecting the doorway found in 1966. 27

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The writer wishes to thank Ivan Wilson and Tom McTernan of IWA Architects Ltd., who provided assistance with logistics, and copies of proposal drawings.

Christine Nelson and her colleagues at Whalley Abbey Conference House, and Elaine Hargreaves at Blackburn Diocese, provided assistance throughout the assessment.

It would not have been possible, during earlier desk-based assessment forays as well as the present project, to study as many relevant documents as were seen without the assistance of the staff of Lancashire Archives, especially Anna Watson, MBE, whose unrivalled knowledge of Blackburn Diocese’s deposits proved invaluable. Glenda Cook of Napthens, solicitors, provided access to records held for Blackburn Registry at Church House, Blackburn, and Sandra Bonsall and Debbie Waddington to those held by Oxford Archaeology North in Lancaster.

CONTACT DETAILS The Client Mrs Elaine Hargreaves, Head of Support Services Tel: 01254 503072 Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance Fax: 01254 693052 Church House, Cathedral Close E-mail: [email protected] Blackburn, BB1 5AA

The architects Ivan Wilson, IHBC, AABC, RIBA, Conservation Architect / Director IWA Architects Ltd. Tel: 01200 423487 Waterloo Mill Fax: 01200 458278 Waterloo Road E-mail: [email protected] Clitheroe, BB7 1LR Website: www.iwarchitects.co.uk

1. INTRODUCTION

1. Introduction- 1.1 Site location and project circumstances 1.1.1 This document has been produced to assist Ribble Valley Borough Council in determining a Listed Building Consent (LBC) application (ref 3 / 2014 / 0677) concerning proposed alterations to a handrail on the external staircase to the first floor entrance of the Conference House at Whalley Abbey, Lancashire, BB7 9SS (NGR SD 73125 36055). The report includes the results of a programme of archaeological desk-based work, commissioned from Neil Archaeological Services of Lancaster (Nigel R.J. Neil, MA, MSc, MIfA, LRPS) by IWA Architects Ltd., Clitheroe (the agents), on behalf of Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance (the applicants).

Fig 1 Ground Floor plan of the Conference House enhanced by the present writer (Neil 2006) based on Lloyd Evans Prichard’s (LEP 2002) phasing, from the interim report on 2005 refurbishment watching brief. Medieval elements are represented in yellow and green, post-Dissolution elements in shades of purple, and modern elements in orange. Excavated trenches for drainage and other works are shown in grey.

1.1.2 The Whalley Abbey Conference House (Figs 1 and 2) is a complex building, including both in situ and re-sited parts of structures from the mid-thirteenth century onwards. At its core lies the first floor Great Hall, and adjacent parts of the former abbot’s lodgings of the abbey, timbers

from which have been dated by dendrochronology to 1478-1508 (Bridge 2007; further samples are currently being processed). Documentary research has indicated that the Assheton family acquired the property in 1554, some 15 years after the Dissolution of the Monasteries, and progressively altered and enlarged it until the sale of the property in 1834 by their descendant Earl Howe. Alteration continued throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries under successive private owners, and during tenure by Manchester Anglican Diocese (1923-26), and Blackburn Anglican Diocese (since 1926).

1.1.3 Major refurbishment was undertaken in 2005 (LBC ref. 3/2004/0708; SMC ref. HSD/9/2/6545), during which an archaeological watching brief was maintained by the present writer (Neil 2006; 2007). The external staircase – probably close to the location of a pre-Dissolution structure – appears to be contemporary with the northern bay of the house, which was added in the late seventeenth century, but it is more difficult to confirm that the first floor entrance porch is also of this date. The fenestration of the northern bay was altered during the nineteenth century, and the staircase has been repaired and partly rebuilt on at least one occasion in the mid twentieth century. The handrail at issue is one of a suite of handrails and guard-rails installed on the external staircase to aid passage up and especially down this entrance route, which some visitors find quite challenging. These have been installed at various dates up to 2005; but the date when the upper eastern handrail was put in place cannot be determined exactly. On photographic evidence it is likely to have been installed after 1958, but before 1990 – probably c. 1980.

Fig 2 Partial First Floor plan of the Conference House enhanced by the present writer (Neil 2006) based on Lloyd Evans Prichard’s (LEP 2002) phasing, from the interim report on 2005 refurbishment watching brief. Medieval elements are represented in yellow, post-Dissolution elements in shades of purple and blue, and modern elements in orange and brown. The location of the exterior staircase handrail is arrowed.

Fig 3 View of the north elevation of the conference house, 2008, from the NE gateway roof, showing simplified phasing.

Fig 4 Extract from first floor plan ‘as existing in 1923 when purchased by Manchester Diocesan Board of Finance’, by Robert Martin, LRIBA, January 1924. No handrails are shown on the staircase. (N.B. rotated so that North is to the top)

Fig 5a (left) Enlarged detail from Fig 3 showing location of staircase handrails, arrowed; Figs 5b and c (centre and right) the handrails in 2005, during the major refurbishment of the Conference House.

Fig 6 Views of the existing guardrails and handrails to the external staircase. Top row: a (left) from car park level to first landing, West side, and porch balustrade (both installed 2005); b (right) from first to second landing, East side, and part of upper handrail to porch; Bottom row: c (left) from second to upper landing (the handrail to be extended); d (centre) the handrail to be lengthened on the left, and the column beside which the rail is to be supported; balustrade guardrail is on right of picture; e (top) outside view of balustrade guardrail on East side (installed 2005); f (bottom) rail between second and top landings on West side.

1.2 Heritage status 1.2.1 Listed Building: the whole of the Abbey complex, including later structures, is Grade I listed, though all under one heading, and with little specific description of the post-Dissolution buildings. The Listing description, evidently not revised or enhanced since 1967, states (the 1680 date should be questioned): ‘The site was bought by the Assheton family, who subsequently converted parts of the Abbot's house and Infirmary into a residence, which was complete by c.1680. This house was restored and extended in the mid C19. In the 1930s the site was excavated and the foundations discovered were exposed and consolidated. Only the foundations of the church remain. … The north-west wing of the mansion is C19. The entrance to the house is through a 1st floor porch reached by a flight of stone steps. … http://list.english- heritage.org.uk/resultsingle.aspx?uid=1164643

1.2.2 More reliable (though the dates she assigns are still questionable) is Clare Hartwell’s description in the revised Pevsner Buildings of England: Lancashire North volume (Hartwell and Pevsner 2009, 696): ‘… the principal entrance is at first floor level. A handsome flight of steps with piers with pine-cone or pineapple finials leads up to a porch with round arches. This is obviously C17, probably the work of Ralph Assheton who inherited in 1644. … Immediately west of the entrance, a projecting wing with a shaped gable with ball finials and a horizontal set oval. This is the work of Sir Edmund Assheton, who inherited in 1692, with a Victorian bay window added. A second porch, probably re-set, leads into the ground-floor rooms. The adjacent wings with shaped gables appear to be the work of the Hargreaves family in the later C19. …’ Hartwell goes on to describe the Victorian first floor vestibule behind the entrance porch, and then the medieval Great Hall, much altered in Victorian times.

1.2.3 Scheduled Monument: the abbey site is also a Scheduled Ancient Monument (SAM, National Ref. 23691; Fig 7). http://list.english-heritage.org.uk/resultsingle.aspx?uid=1164643 The ground below the Conference House (though NOT the buildings above ground) is also Scheduled. The Scheduling entry notes: ‘A number of features are excluded from the scheduling: these comprise all the buildings in present day use including the conference house; the porter’s lodge which now functions as a ticket office, the range of 17th century buildings adjacent to the porter’s lodge, … as [are] … all modern walls and fences, the surface of all access drives and paths, … although the ground beneath these features is included.’

1.2.4 The West Range of the cloisters (in Salford Roman Catholic Diocese ownership) is on the Heritage at Risk Register. The North West Gateway to the abbey, straddling the minor road The Sands – top left in Fig 7 - is also both Grade 1 Listed and an SAM, and is an English Heritage Guardianship monument (i.e. maintained by EH), to which entry is free of charge. The upper floor is not accessible; this was reputedly used as the first site of Whalley Grammar School, founded in 1548 (though a chantry school had existed since c. 1350, probably run by the abbey) (Farrer and Brownbill 1911, 360).

1.2.5 Local Listing: whilst the historic designed landscape of Whalley Abbey is NOT on the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England, it was recently put forward to Ribble Valley Borough Council as a candidate (Category 2 of 3) for Local

Listing (Barker et al 2013, 47) in a Lancashire County Council and Lancashire Gardens Trust study, based on the late seventeenth/early eighteenth-century boundary walls of the North Courtyard, the embankment north of the abbey church, and documented lost garden pavilions (Fig 18). National research and protection policies for historic designed landscapes have recently been reviewed by English Heritage (Layton-Jones 2014 http://services.english- heritage.org.uk/ResearchReportsPdfs/004_2014WEB.pdf )

Fig 7 Extent of the Scheduled Ancient Monument of Whalley Abbey (green cross-hatch), with the external staircase arrowed (© Lancashire County Archaeological Service, LCAS).

1.3 Planning situation, 2014 1.3.1 In recent months two accidents have occurred at the entrance to the Conference House at Whalley Abbey, where members of the public have misjudged the position of the steps and were injured. Following these accidents, the need for a safer / clearer and more guided route down the steps has become evident, particularly at the top of the steps (where the incidents occurred).

1.3.2 IWA Architects Ltd. have been contracted by Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance (BDBF, the applicant) to propose alterations to the handrail to ensure that the rail begins at the top of the steps, hence providing a more guided descent. Having considered the option of providing handrails at both sides, IWA decided it would be more appropriate to concentrate on having a handrail at one side (east side - on the right while walking down the steps), which would provide more continuous guidance the whole way down the steps, as opposed to the other (west) side where there is a large gap in the handrail at the mid-level landing. IWA initially considered connecting to the stone wall via a fixing, but – since the stone on the column (see Figs 6c and d) appears quite friable - have instead opted for a post connection to the recent (installed 2005) stone landing on the top step, connecting to it via a steel fixing under the flag, with a mortar joint supporting the post.

1.3.3 IWA are proposing a subtle extension to the original handrail, replicating the original material (bronze or brass) and connecting to it either via a concealed plate placed under the rail, or by welding the rail together with the extended rail in a manner that would match the existing. We propose that Trappe Forge are employed to carry out the metal work.

1.3.4 English Heritage consultation: in correspondence with English Heritage regarding the proposals, Alice Ullathorne advised that: ‘We accept the justification for extending the existing handrail and agree that replicating the existing design would be a sensitive alteration. We would be happy to support the scheme as explained on site subject to the detailed design being approved by the local authority conservation officer and fixings being made into mortar joints’.

Fig 8 IWA Architects’ proposal drawings for extension to handrail, arrowed. Compare with Figs 6c and 6d.

1.3.5 IWA Architects Ltd. have been advised by RVBC that, since the proposed works to the handrails will impact on the above-ground Listed structure, they should obtain an archaeological desk-based assessment and Statement of Significance, to enhance the Listed Building Consent (LBC), and/or Scheduled Monument Consent (SMC) applications.

1.3.6 Standards: whilst a formal Written Scheme of Investigation was not prepared in this instance, the scope of the work was agreed by e-mail to comprise selective archaeological and documentary desk-based assessment and a field visit, and the present written report. The report has been prepared to meet the requirements of a typical LCAS project specification, the Institute for Archaeologists’ (IfA) Standards and Guidance relating to archaeological desk-based assessments, and investigation and recording of standing buildings (IfA 2001), and English Heritage’s Understanding Historic Buildings: A guide to good recording practice (King et al 2006) http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/publications/understanding-historic-buildings/

1.3.7 The nature of the handrails is such that, even if extensive re-study of drawn and photographic archives were to be undertaken, it is unlikely that close dating of the fitting of the existing rail

would be found, still less a design specification for it. Therefore, the desk-based assessment has been confined to placing the staircase and first-floor porch into their chronological context, and providing copies of selected archive plans and photographs from pre-existing research, in order to demonstrate that the existing handrails are of mid to late twentieth-century date, and that the proposed alteration – required for sound Health and Safety reasons – can be achieved sensitively and without significantly affecting the historic integrity of the structure.

1.4 Previous assessment of heritage significance 1.4.1 Although a corpus of historic illustrations, maps and plans (c. 1700-1920s), and architects’ and archaeological archives from c. 1985 to 2012 exist, with which to describe and analyse the buildings of the abbey, the published and unpublished ‘grey’ literature for the site - and especially regarding the Conference House - is rather meagre. Manchester-based chartered architects and heritage consultants Lloyd Evans Prichard (LEP 2002, 49-53), in their Whalley Abbey Conservation Plan - commissioned jointly by EH and BDBF - assessed the heritage significance of all the buildings on site. LEP (2002, 49) set out the criteria that they used in assessing the significance of the individual components of the Abbey site as follows: ‘Any assessment of significance is essentially judgemental, and we have, therefore, set out in some detail the reasoning behind our various evaluations. We initially discuss the overall significance of the site, concluding it to be of national significance. We then evaluate the significance of individual buildings, including the Abbey ruins, by reference to other UK structures of comparable age and general historic background, assigning a significance grading of:  National  Regional  Local’

1.4.2 This analysis is then further refined by considering the contribution which each building, or component, makes to the overall ensemble at Whalley Abbey, allocating the following grades: High: A building or structure of special interest, largely intact, which makes an important contribution to the overall significance of the site. Medium: A building or structure of lesser interest that has been altered or adapted, but nevertheless forms an integral part of the Abbey complex, and the alteration or loss of which would detract from the overall character and significance of the site. Low: A building or structure that has been materially changed, and/or is of limited intrinsic value, and which contributes minimally to the overall significance of the site. None: A building which makes no contribution to the significance of the site.

1.4.3 Phases of construction: LEP (2002, 48) state that the Abbey site has passed through five distinct phases: 1. The pre-monastic period, of which very little is known with certainty. 2. The monastic period, from the move from Stanlaw in 1296 to the dissolution in 1537. 3. Its time as a gentleman’s country house in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and the period of stagnation through to circa 1821. 4. The nineteenth and early twentieth centuries when it again became a family residence and when what is now The Conference House was extended and modernized. 5. The period from the early 1920s to date, during which the Roman Catholic Church of English Martyrs was built and an Anglican conference centre created.

1.4.4 LEP continue: ‘Each of the phases is important both for the architectural developments and changes, and also for the character of the occupation and use. The Abbey, and its last Abbot, John Paslew, played a part in the Pilgrimage of Grace, which immediately preceded the suppression of the monasteries. From its foundation, the Abbey was associated with the de Lacy family, a family of regional importance, and, in the post-reformation era, it came under the ownership of the Asshetons, a long established and important Lancashire family.

1.4.5 ‘In the twentieth century, the site has returned to its earlier Christian role, but the sharing of this historic religious site by both the Anglican and Roman Catholic Communities could be said to be profoundly symbolic in spiritual terms.’

1.4.6 Not surprisingly, in view of the Grade I listing and Scheduling, the medieval NW and NE Gatehouses, the cloisters, and the conference house were all considered by LEP to be of National Significance: ‘Whalley Abbey was a very late Cistercian foundation, and the extant structures and ruins, and the archaeological remains (as displayed and below ground) are of national significance. Almost nothing is now extant above ground of the Abbey Church, Chapter House, Monks’ Frater and Kitchen, and Infirmary, all key buildings in a monastic complex.’

1.4.7 Regarding the Conference House, LEP (2002, 54) state that (N. Neil’s italics): ‘The Central Block comprises inter alia the Dining Room and kitchen areas, the ground floor entrance passage and cloakrooms, and the chapel; on the first floor are the Entrance Hall, the Great Hall, Newman Room, Archdeacon Robinson Room, and the main staircase. The assistant manager’s flat is on the second floor, adjacent to the Great Hall Gallery. The block includes original medieval fabric, such as the arch adjacent to the chapel, as well as medieval stonework which has probably been re-used from demolished structures, such as the window between the Dining Room and the kitchen.’

1.4.8 ‘The layout of the building during monastic times is not known, but it may have consisted of a great hall (possibly of two storey height), a screens passage, with the entrance through the present ground floor doorway, and service rooms to the east. Accommodation for important guests would probably have been in the East Wing, which appears to incorporate medieval fabric. A gabled extension was added in the later-seventeenth century, at the same time as the entrance stairway was created or rebuilt. The present character is principally the result of the works carried out in the 1860s which produced the present Great Hall, entrance hall, and staircase. During the twentieth century, the present Dining Room and kitchens were created on the ground floor.’

1.4.9 ‘The nineteenth century interiors are a very good example of Gothic Revival/Arts and Crafts work; particularly noteworthy is the roof and fireplace in the Great Hall and the staircase decorated windows. The Archdeacon Robinson Room probably dating to the late nineteenth century has a good fireplace and overmantel, and is attractively panelled.’

1.5 Ongoing desk-based and scientific research 1.5.1 Limited desk-based assessments were carried out by the present writer and other staff of the former Lancaster University Archaeological Unit in c. 1985-94, as pars of standing building surveys an watching briefs, mostly but not exclusively commissioned by English Heritage. Further desk-based was undertaken by the present writer study in advance of watching briefs in 1999-2005 by Neil Archaeological Services (Neil 2006), commissioned by BDBF, and these works included location and copying of published and manuscript cartographic and illustrative sources (c. 1727 onwards), some of which are reproduced below. In 2008, this data-gathering exercise was extended to cover a wide range of documentary sources, and archaeological archives, for the whole of the abbey site, in a project funded by the Whalley Abbey Fellowship and Blackburn Diocese. However, this project has not yet reached the stage of assessment, interpretation, and report compilation. Documents relating to the abbey are now known to be spread among over 40 repositories in Britain and abroad; over 3000 documents have so far been listed, and over 4000 images of sources obtained.

1.5.2 Dating the buildings: dating evidence for the ruined and in-use buildings of the abbey has previously (e.g. Ashmore 1962; 1996) been attempted by a mixture of architectural typology and limited documentary evidence (secondary, i.e. published, sources). Lloyd Evans Prichard (LEP 2002) reviewed this evidence, and prepared ground and first floor plans of the Conference House, colour-coded to indicate the periods of construction, as far as could be determined without additional research or dendrochronology. The present writer was consulted during this process. During the 2005 refurbishment project, evidence was revealed by the watching brief for both below-ground structures previously unknown, and above-ground standing buildings archaeology at ground, first floor, and attic / roofspace level. The interim report (Neil 2006) on archaeology results of the 2005 project included enhanced versions of LEP’s phased plans.

1.5.3 Dendrochronology: in 2005, during refurbishment of the Conference House, English Heritage agreed to 100% fund a programme of dendrochronology (tree-ring dating) http://www.english- heritage.org.uk/publications/dendrochronology-guidelines/, the first part of which was commissioned by them from the Oxford Dendrochronology Laboratory. Sampling of timbers in the Conference House was moderately successful, giving a felling date of 1478 to 1508 for ground floor joists (Fig 9; Bridge 2007), though many timbers sampled provided insufficient rings, or ‘floating’ sequences; the Great Hall roof was not sampled in 2005 for logistical reasons.

1.5.4 2014 tree-ring dating programme: in February 2014, English Heritage (Shahina Farid, Scientific Dating Coordinator, pers. comm.) agreed to a request from Neil Archaeological Services to re-commence the dating programme, and to review the 2005 results. An assessment report (Howard 2014), followed by a sampling programme in the North Range and Conference House Great Hall was commissioned by EH from the Nottingham Tree-Ring Laboratory http://www.tree-ringdating.co.uk/. Sampling in the Great Hall took place in April 2014 (Fig 10a-b). Initial preparation of the samples (Figs 11a-b) confirmed that the samples contained sufficient rings, and laboratory work is now under way. It is not known when the results will be available. All sample holes were infilled with dowels and filler, and stained to disguise them, in keeping with English Heritage policy (Fig 11c).

Fig 9 Interpretation of the 2005 dendrochronology results from the Conference House (after Bridge 2007).

Fig 10a (left) View of the northern side of the Great hall roof, from the Schofield Library ‘minstrels’ gallery’; b (right) Robert Howard sampling one of the Great Hall trusses.

Fig 11 (a, left) Sanding a core sample, before laboratory preparation, and (b, centre) a collection of cores, April 2014; c (right) Alison Arnold infilling a core site in the North Range with dowel and filler, which are then stained to match the adjacent timber.

1.6 Archaeological watching briefs 1.6.1 Whilst several dozen archaeological projects have been undertaken in a modern scientific manner by the present writer between 1999 and 2013, and by other organisations (principally the former Lancaster University Archaeological Unit, LUAU; now called Oxford Archaeology North, OAN) between c. 1985 and 1995 (Lancashire Archives DDX 1915/206 and archives still at OAN), surviving records compiled during earlier alterations and excavations c. 1798-1985 are at best meagre, and in most cases non-existent. Leaving aside the major excavation campaigns of the 1930s, during which the whole of the abbey church footprint was revealed (and which is not relevant to the present proposal), Fig 12a illustrates rebuilding of at least part of the external staircase’s south wall in 1954, and Fig 12b the refurbishment of the kitchens in 1967-68. In neither instance have architects’ drawings or other documentation been found. For the northern first-floor porch, archive illustrations, plans, and photographs provide the best corpus of information. The very extensive documentation for various aspects of Whalley Abbey inherited from former the Ministry of Works and successor bodies, or created by English Heritage (at least 75 files, held at various locations countrywide), offers some possibility of surviving documentation of these earlier works. But, from a sample of three files studied in Manchester in 2010, it would be a very time consuming and expensive task to request and study these files, some of which are in underground ‘deep storage’.

Fig 12 Earlier alterations to the external staircase and vicinity: a (left) 1954 press cutting, looking North towards the North-East Gatehouse (Clitheroe Library; no further details given); b (right) the kitchen access during alterations 1967-68 (photo: Stephen Sartin, via Lancashire County Archaeology Service)

1.6.2 The North-West Wing porch: in 1999, a ramp access was created for disabled access to the ground floor porch access to the North West Wing, during which a watching brief was maintained as a condition of Scheduled Monument Consent (since 2005, this has been used as access to the lift). The 1999 work revealed earlier foundations to the east, confirming that the lower porch had been re-set; two large fragments of engaged column similar to those in the external staircase porch were recovered.

Fig 13 Detail from composite plan of 1999-2005 watching brief results with LEP (2002) phasing, showing possible original extent of ground floor porch re-used at North West Wing (arrowed).

Fig 14a (top left) North West Wing porch viewed from external staircase, showing disabled access ramp to right; b (top right) print from Buckler’s watercolour of the south elevation of the Long Gallery, 1818, showing the lost first floor window. There was probably a similar large window in the north elevation; c (bottom) engaged column fragment recovered from 1999 disabled access watching brief, possibly from an earlier version of the porch, and/or a northern window of the Long Gallery (scales 300 mm)

1.6.3 The recovered fragments from the ground floor porch, and the arches of both the ground floor and first floor porches bear a striking resemblance to the decorative features of the lost windows of the Long Gallery, illustrated by Buckler and others in the early 1800s (Figs 13 and 14). The Long Gallery had been unroofed sometime between Thomas Pennant’s visit in 1773 and the publication of his Tour in 1801 (Pennant 1801, 69n).

1.6.4 The external staircase porch: in 2005, as part of the major refurbishment project in and around the Conference House, the present writer recorded the timber structure below the flagstone landing at the top of the external staircase, before new flagstones were laid on the landing inside the porch (Fig 16). Most of these timbers were shown to be re-used, displaying redundant mortices (arrowed in Fig 15a), but the date of re-use could not be determined. It is likely that these timbers have been renewed sometime between the 1920s and 1980s (probably the former), and may not even originate from Whalley Abbey. The renewal of the timbers and flagstone floor does not imply that the stone superstructure of the porch was altered at this date.

Fig 15 Views of the wooden structure under the flagstone landing of the first-floor entrance porch, 2005. a, left looking South towards entrance door; b, right, looking East towards the porch bench seat. Scales 1 m in 200mm divisions and 2m in 500mm divisions. Redundant mortices are arrowed.

Fig 16a (above) Section through porch from 2005 architect’s drawings for guardrail and strengthening of first floor porch landing; b (below) detail of new porch floor structure (Neil Archaeological Services archive, Ashworth Burke Partnership dwg 130/071/03, Feb 2005).

1.7 Outline history up to the Dissolution of the Monasteries 1.7.1 Before the Norman Conquest, Whalley was the ecclesiastical centre of its district. Wallei is mentioned in Domesday Book, at which time it was Crown land. Soon after 1086, Robert de Lacy acquired the fee, later to become the Honor of Clitheroe, and it remained in this family until 1294. The first reliable reference to a parish church is in 1122, but the present building is largely of thirteenth century and later date, with some earlier fragments incorporated (Farrer and Brownbill 1911, 350). The possibility of a much earlier foundation date is however attested by eleven Anglo-Saxon cross fragments, comprising three composite crosses in the churchyard and other fragments. Tenth or eleventh century dates are now reliably ascribed to these (Hartwell and Pevsner 2009, 688). A reference in the fourteenth century document Status of Blackburnshire claims that the Church of Whalley was founded by Saint Augustine of Canterbury in AD 596 (Taylor-Taswell 1905, 2-11; Snape 1978, 3). However, this and claims (e.g. Chadwick 1991) that Whalley was the site of a Celtic monastery remain highly speculative.

1.7.2 The Cistercian monastery of St Mary the Virgin, properly Locus Benedictus de Whalley, was established on 4 April 1296 with the transfer of monks from Stanlaw Abbey, in the Wirral, Cheshire, which had survived on its flood-prone site since c. 1172. The part of the abbey called Peter of Chester’s Chapel – a ruin attached to the south-east corner of the Conference House - is considered to be a remnant of a building built by the last rector of Whalley c. 1250. The foundation stone of the Abbey Church was laid in 1330 and the first mass said in it in 1380. The abbey’s history is punctuated with litigation against Sawley Abbey, but Whalley is probably most remembered for the implication of John Paslew, the last abbot, in the Pilgrimage of Grace in 1537. Paslew was tried and executed at Lancaster, and one of his monks, William Haydock, hanged at Whalley (Haigh 1969, 89).

1.7.3 Unfortunately, despite more than two hundred years’ of periodic archaeological intervention, the abbey site is still relatively poorly understood. In and around Blackburn Diocese’s Whalley Abbey Conference House, watching briefs have been carried out by Neil Archaeological Services since 1999, and a detailed topographical survey was undertaken in 2008-09 which – for the first time – puts the abbey ruins into context within the post-Dissolution designed landscape, including the embankment viewing terrace to the North. The West Range or Domus Conversorum (Lay Brothers’ Dormitory) and adjacent Presbytery are owned by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Salford and English Martyrs Church, and are not open to the public, while the North West Gateway, under which The Sands public road passes, is in English Heritage Guardianship, and is maintained as a free-entry site. There are a large number of private properties lying within the former monastic outer precinct boundary, which was demarcated by a ditch, later (Lancs HER 0186) erroneously called the ‘Whalley canals’.

1.7.4 A fourteenth century cartulary (collection of land charters) survives, published in Latin transcript in the nineteenth century (British Library Egerton MS 3126; Hulton (ed) 1847-9). Detailed descriptions and histories of the abbey were published by Rev. T.D. Whitaker (1800, and much expanded 1872-6), and in the Victoria County History (Farrer and Brownbill 1908, 131-9; 1911, 381-8), but all of these barely touch upon the post-Dissolution buildings. The late Owen Asmore’s (1981) guidebook, first published in 1962, replaces earlier guides by Canons Wallis (1923; 1938) and Lambert (1949; 1954).

1.7.5 The North-East Gateway, through which one now enters the abbey, was built in the 1480s (Ashmore 1981, 7), possibly during the abbacy of Ralph Holden (1471 or ‘72 to 1481; D. Smith

2008, 350), though a now-defaced shield on the north elevation was formerly thought to bear the letter ‘R’ for [William] Read (abbot 1487-1507), during whose abbacy there was certainly some building or repair work, confirmed by considerable quantities of wood being purchased (Williams 1995, 73). The last abbot, John Paslew (tenure 1507-37), is believed to have rebuilt the Abbot's Lodgings and added a Lady Chapel to the abbey church, the precise location of which is not known.

1.8 The Dissolution of Whalley Abbey, and its later owners 1.8.1 In October 1536, Nicholas Tempest and other leaders of the Pilgrimage of Grace – the northern counties’ revolt against Henry VIII’s religious changes – arrived at Whalley Abbey, and persuaded Abbot Paslew and eight monks to take the rebel oath (Haigh 1969, 65). Soon afterwards, Paslew and two of his monks were arrested and tried at Lancaster on 9th March 1537. Paslew and William Haydock were found guilty, along with two Sawley Abbey monks. Paslew was executed at Lancaster on the 10th, Haydock at Whalley on the 12th (ibid, 89). On or before 24th March, the Earl of Sussex arrived at Whalley to begin the Suppression. Paslew had made provision for some of his monks, including those studying at Oxford University (ibid, 84- 5), and others were found ‘capacities’ by the Crown officers. It had evidently been intended that the abbey and its lands should be presented to the Duchy of Lancaster, but this decision was reversed because of Paslew’s attainder (capital crime), and the monks also forfeited the right to pensions because of this (ibid, 112). In July 1537 the survey of the abbey lands was carried out by Richard Pollard for the Crown General Surveyors, and the demesne lands committed to John Braddyll, a local landowner and servant to Thomas Holcroft (1505-58) - bailiff for the Duchy of Lancaster and receiver of monastic lands for Lancashire and Cheshire - who in turn was a deputy of the Earl of Derby (ibid, 102). Removal of the roofs of the religious buildings, and sale of furnishings and valuables, would have taken place quickly, since the profits to the Crown were crucial to the whole Dissolution process. However, the transformation of the abbey precinct into a gentleman’s residence took place slowly over a period of several generations, and did not commence until 16 years after the suppression.

1.8.2 Parts of the demesne (though precisely which parts has not been determined) were leased by the Crown between 1538 and 1543 to Sir Thomas Butler, John Kechyn, George Shuttleworth, and Sir Thomas Southworth. Presumably these leases terminated when on 15th June 1553 (Haigh 1969, 149; Ashmore 1996, 10) John Braddyll of Brockhall and Richard Assheton purchased the abbeys site and lands from the Crown for £2151 3s 9d (c. £535,000 at today’s values, using the Retail Price Index http://www.measuringworth.com/ppoweruk/). They made a settlement between them, by which Assheton accepted the abbey buildings and demesne and £467 16s 8d cash-back (c. £101,000 at today’s values), while Braddyll took the other lands (GMCRO E4/26/3). The chronology of conversion of the complex is gradually becoming clearer, as a result of archaeological work in 2005 during refurbishment of the building (Neil 2006). Although Harwell and Pevsner (2009, 695) give a date of 1667 for the Long Gallery, preparations for building it were commenced in the week that Charles I was executed (30 January 1649), as evidenced by the letter books (Chethams Lib. Mun. A.3.90, f30) of Sir Ralph Assheton’s (d. 1680), who subsequently demolished the abbey church in 1661-2 (Whitaker 1872, 141).

1.8.3 At the Dissolution, the Crown officers inventoried the contents of the abbey buildings (transcript in Hulton 1849, 1254-65). At the beginning are the contents of the Bowser’s (Bursar’s or Treasurer’s) house, then the hostery [thought to have been adjacent to the North West Gatehouse] room by room, then separately listed come the Abbot’s chamber, the Abbot’s

dining chamber, the buttery, the brew house, the bake house, the abbot’s kitchen, the animals in the grange (graunge), the convent kitchen, a little chamber in the dorter, the ‘little revestury next to the library’, the ‘revestury next to the gallery’, the standaries [wardrobes or chests] in the church, and the store house.

1.8.4 Post-Dissolution history: after the execution of Abbot Paslew in March 1537, the abbey was taken into Crown hands and stripped of its valuables; the monks were dispersed, though some were allowed to serve as chantry priests at Whalley parish church and elsewhere. The abbey's choir stalls survive, split between Whalley parish church, Blackburn Cathedral, and Cliviger. Whilst the religious buildings would have been rendered unusable, by removal of the roofs and sometimes by demolition, it was Crown policy to leave domestic and agricultural buildings, and gatehouses, in a usable condition for future secular use. Although most of the abbey church at Whalley was not pulled down until more than a century later (Ashmore 1996, 12), it is likely that it was left ruinous. The financial accounts for the suppression and sale of the fittings and materials from Whalley remain to be located and studied, but at Jervaulx, for example, the roof lead alone was worth more than £1000 (Coppack 1990, 131). In 1539 the abbey was committed to John Braddyll, the Crown-appointed bailiff, who in 1553 joined with Richard Assheton in purchasing the abbey lands, Assheton taking the monastic buildings, which were then inherited within the Assheton and Curzon families until 1834.

Fig 17 (a, left) Datestone of 1588 on the east elevation of the conference house; (b, right) lead gutter of 1698, repaired 1991, on the front elevation of the conference house.

1.8.5 When Sir Ralph Assheton IV died childless, Whalley Abbey descended to another line of the family, Sir Ralph Assheton of Middleton (1652–1716), second baronet, who left three daughters as co-heirs. His will was disputed (LRO DDHCL 20/1/3), but Whalley passed to his second daughter, Mary (1695–1776), who in 1717 married Nathaniel Curzon (1676–1758), 4th Baronet, of Kedleston Hall, Derbyshire. Their second son, Assheton (1730–1820), who inherited Whalley Abbey and was MP for Clitheroe 1754-80 and 1792-4, was created Baron Curzon of Penn (in Buckinghamshire) and raised to Viscount in 1802. His son pre-deceased his father, and so he was succeeded by his grandson Richard William Penn Curzon-Howe, who became 1st Earl Howe (of the second creation) in 1821 (Cockayne et al 1926, 601-2). At present, there is no evidence that any of the Curzons after 1716 lived at Whalley Abbey, but few of the tenants are named.

1.8.6 Earl Howe (1796–1870), sold the abbey estate in 1834 to the Rev’d Robert Whalley, William Whalley, John Taylor, Adam Cottam, and Thomas Carr (LRO DDX 638/5/4) for £51,456 (c. £4.25 million at today’s values).

1.8.7 On Taylor’s death in 1867, Whalley Abbey descended to Col. John Hargreaves (1839-95; Crossley 1930, 47), of the famous Accrington Broad Oak Calico Print Works family, whose son sold it to Sir John Travis Clegg in about 1900 (Williams 1995, 142). The censuses of 1841 to 1901 indicate that Whalley Abbey continued to be a tenanted property throughout most of the nineteenth century.

1.8.8 The manor-house was built around and incorporating (in places to second-storey height) parts of the abbot’s lodgings. There is a date stone of 1588 on a buttress to the east wing of the Conference House (Fig 17a), though the incorporation of an early doorway at ground floor level, cut by a Victorian entrance, implies that at least the footprint if not some of the structure is pre- Dissolution. The Long Gallery built over the former abbot’s kitchen was begun in January 1649. Of specific relevance to the North Porch, the north-east range of rooms to the conference house bear leadwork with the date 1698 (Fig 17b). The latter artefact, immediately to the east of the external staircase, was repaired in c. 1991, and no pre-repair detailed photographs have so far been located, but there is no reason to doubt that the inscribed date accurately recreates the original. Further searching of the uncatalogued Gordon Thorne (architect) archive in Lancashire Archives DDX 2227, acc 8678, might repay work in this instance. Further alterations were made by successive nineteenth century owners, such as the rebuilding of buildings around the southern courtyard, and the demolition and replacement of the northern part of the Long Gallery range, and we need to be aware of the successful attempts of the eighteenth and nineteenth century builders to match the style of the late seventeenth-century work.

1.8.9 The best summary of the descent of the abbey estate is still Ralph Assheton’s (1887) pamphlet. Archives relating to the Assheton/Curzon family are widely scattered around the UK, and those held by the Centre for Buckinghamshire Studies (in which county the present Earl Howe resides) have not yet been studied. Very few Taylor, Hargreaves, or Travis-Clegg original documents have so far been located.

2. DESK-BASED ASSESSMENT OF NORTH PORCH AND SURROUNDING AREA

2.1 Illustrative sources 2.1.1 Illustrative and cartographic sources from the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries will be taken as a group and compared with photographs from the 1870s onwards. The earliest illustration of the abbey is the 1727 view by Samuel and Nathaniel Buck (LA DP 189/14; Figs 18a and b below), which – despite vertically exaggeration and evidently some artistic licence (e.g. the abbey mill the south of the North Range buildings is omitted, but other sources suggest that it existed at this location from before 1537 until demolished c. 1816) - is likely to be a fairly accurate representation of the buildings then extant. However, this view - as with the Porter map of 1762 (LRO DDWT Map 1; Fig 18c), and J.M.W. Turner’s sketches executed in 1800 for Rev’d T.D. Whitaker (1872, opp 83, 135 and 139) – is taken from the south, such that the north porch is completely obscured. An earlier map, of which a later copy dated 1757 survives, shows only the Whalley lands owned by Thomas Braddyll and therefore largely omits the abbey buildings (LRO DDX 336/23). Graffiti on the leadwork of the gatehouse roof indicates that repairs may have been ongoing in 1804 and 1809.

2.1.2 More useful is one of a series of sketches by John Buckler (Figs 20 and 21a), dated 1808 (British Library Add MSS 36368), on which was based a watercolour formerly in the possession of Blackburn Diocese, but now sold. A sketch from the same viewpoint, by Rev’d S.J. Allen, dated c. 1834 (York City Archives Acc 100/SO5/011) confirms Buckler’s detail, in somewhat different style (Fig 21b). Whitaker’s plan of 1800 (Fig 19a), followed by that accompanying Earl Howe’s sale conveyance of 27th Sept 1834 (Fig 19b; LRO DDX 638/5/4), both show the external staircase.

Fig 18a (top) Buck brothers’ 1727 view of the abbey; b (bottom, left) detail showing the Conference House; c (bottom right) detail from Porter’s map of 1762 (LA DDWT Map 1).

Fig 19a (left) Extract from ground floor plan in 1800 (Whitaker 1801), showing the external staircase and (left, labelled ‘A.d.’) the Long Gallery, by then roofless; b (right) detail from Earl Howe’s sale conveyance of 27 Sept 1834 (LRO DDX 638/5/4), showing the Conference House and external staircase (arrowed), and ruined Long Gallery.

Fig 20 Print from watercolour painting of the house, by John Buckler (or ?his son, John Chessel Buckler), 1808 (based on drawings in British Library Add MSS 36368, fol. 229-43). Note the subsidiary doorway in the West Courtyard Wall, right of centre, with decorated lintel, which was moved to a position near the North-East Gateway, before c. 1889 (see Fig 17).

Fig 21a (left) Detail from Buckler illustration showing the external staircase and porch; b (right) detail from drawing of the porch by Rev’d Samuel James. J. Allen, c. 1834 (York City Archives Department Acc 100/SO5/011)

2.1.3 The earliest photographs of the front of the house, dated c. 1870 and 1889 (Figs 22, 23) show the extent to which ivy formerly covered the façade, but appear to confirm that the structure of

the porch has NOT been significantly altered since that date, though the large bay window has been added to the bay to the West. Beyond this to the West, the North West wing has been constructed, following removal of part of the derelict Long Gallery (unroofed after 1773 but before 1801, based on Thomas Pennant’s 1801 description). This original construction of this wing is likely to have taken place before 1866, the date on an unexecuted design for its ‘enlargement’ by Edward Paley of Lancaster (Lancashire Archives DDWT, Box 24).

Fig 22 Earliest known photograph of the house, by the Grant family, c. 1870.

Fig 23 Very clear photograph of the front elevation of the house, by Pye of Clitheroe, 13 Sept 1889 (courtesy of Mick Pye). Note the North-West wing in the background, built by the Hargreaves family c. 1866-70, and the fact that the subsidiary doorway (c.f. Figs 15 and 16a) has been moved.

2.1.4 The ivy appears to have been removed from the façade soon after Manchester Diocese’s purchase of the abbey in 1923, and subsequent works have been a combination of repairs and

practical alterations, which have not altered the external appearance significantly. Unfortunately, most of these early photographs are of too low a resolution to confirm whether the handrails on the staircase were extant, or are from viewpoints where it would have been obscured. However, they appear NOT to be present in 1936 (Fig 24b) but present in c. 1990 (Fig 25).

Fig 24 Photographs from (a, left) c. 1910, and (b, right) 22 June 1936 (Blackburn Diocesan Archive, via Lancashire County Archaeology Service)

Fig 25 Undated photograph, c. 1990 (Blackburn Diocesan Archive, via Lancashire County Archaeology Service)

2.2 Chronology of twentieth-century alterations 2.2.1 Soon after the purchase of the Abbey, detailed plans and elevations were prepared by Robert Martin, architect and surveyor to the Diocese of Manchester. The originals have been deposited in the Lancashire Record Office (DRB acc 7633, 7642).

2.2.2 The East Wing was converted into a residence for the Warden and his family, and an appeal issued to raise funds for the improvements needed in the Conference House in order to accommodate visitors attending training courses and on retreat. In 1940 the decision to provide extra accommodation was made and the architect Sir Charles Peers visited Whalley Abbey, subsequently proposing that the Chapter House Range and the Reredorter should be restored as a two storey building. The new structure would provide bedrooms on the upper floor, with a lecture room and chapel below (Williams, 1995, 173). This proposal was not followed through.

2.2.3 In January 1966, during the course of making a new passage in the vicinity of the former still room, an old wooden doorway was discovered (Fig 26). The Lancashire Evening Telegraph described the structure: ‘The thick wooden beams, despite wearing axe marks, are in reasonably good repair, and an especially interesting feature is that twigs were used as a foundation for plaster work.’ (LET 4 January 1966) The exact location of the feature is uncertain (the still room, between the kitchen and North West Wing, has two entrances) and, unfortunately, it appears that this doorway was removed and disposed of.

Fig 26 Miss Peggy Gradwell, warden of the abbey, inspecting the doorway found in 1966 (from a newspaper cutting).

2.2.3 A chapel was created in the undercroft kitchen, and a new kitchen built in the ruins of the Long Gallery. This arrangement was unsatisfactory because the Dining Room was then located in the Great Hall, at first floor level (Williams, 1995, 156-7). In 1970 the Dining Room was relocated to the undercroft immediately below, and the Chapel moved to its present location. A new fireplace in the Dining Room was made by Mr Turner, a local builder (Williams, 1995, 201). This work was followed by the creation of a new kitchen in the space adjoining the new Dining Room which had formerly been occupied by the wine cellar, still room, and fuel store. This was part of a larger project which involved inserting a new floor in the nineteenth-century west wing, creating three storeys in the place of two, and creating new dormer bedrooms.

2.2.4 During the course of creating the new kitchen, a medieval window was found in the north wall of the undercroft (Williams, 1995, 206).

2.2.5 The present chapel was created in 1970 to the design of Laurence King and John Hayward (Williams, 1995, 195).

2.2.6 In 1987, Mr Gordon Thorne, consultant architect to Blackburn Cathedral, was appointed architect to Whalley Abbey. He carried out a building survey, and recommended the reconstruction of the roof, re-pointing the walls. In addition, the bedrooms needed refurbishment and modernisation. The cost was estimated at £250,000, of which English Heritage offered forty percent, and the Getty Foundation nearly half. The re-roofing was complete in 1991, and the balance of the work in the following year (Williams, 1995, 219).

2.2.7 Various minor works in 1999-2003 were designed by Mr Steve Burke, of Ashworth Burke Partnership, Clitheroe, following which a major refurbishment project throughout the Conference House was undertaken in 2004-05. During all these works an archaeological watching brief was maintained by Neil Archaeological Services, and a great deal of new information about the building was recorded.

3. ASSESSMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE

3.1 Assessment criteria 3.1.1 English Heritage advise (Drury and McPherson 2008, 21) that: ‘In order to identify the significance of a place, it is necessary first to understand its fabric, and how and why it has changed over time; and then to consider:  who values the place, and why they do so,  how those values relate to its fabric,  their relative importance, …  whether associated objects contribute to them,  the contribution made by the setting and context of the place, and  how the place compares with others sharing similar values. If conflict cannot be avoided, the weight given to heritage values in making the decision should be proportionate to the significance of the place and the impact of the proposed change on that significance.’

3.1.2 The assessment of the Whalley Abbey first floor porch will concentrate on:  The historic significance of the building itself,  the rarity of this style of building, in this type of context, locally and regionally, and  new information about many aspects of Whalley Abbey could be utilised to address lacunae in the archaeological resource, identified in The Archaeological Research Framework for the North-West (Brennand et al 2006; 2007, 7, 107, 118, 126, 130, 139, and 142). The key Framework initiatives to which Whalley Abbey could readily contribute are: 1. ‘Monastic outer courts, ancillary buildings, and precinct boundaries should be investigated through topographical and aerial photographic analysis, geophysical survey and selective excavation, incorporating paleoenvironmental sampling. [and standing building survey? – N. Neil] 2. Combined documentary and landscape studies should be undertaken of landed estates gained as a result of monastic suppression to identify patterns of adoption and adaption of monastic remains and estate organisation. 3. Post-medieval elite houses need to be studied in their social context. 4. Examine the country house and estate as innovators and consumers of technology. 5. A high priority must be the excavation of well-documented house sites and their environs with artefact recovery and plotting a priority within the excavation design, to inform intra-regional study of selected households.’

3.1.3 Against these will be set:  The extent of previous alteration to the building at various periods, and  the need to retain a practical function for the building in the future.

3.2.4 English Heritage advise (Drury and McPherson 2008, 24) that ‘if all or part of a significant place will be lost, whether as a result of decision or inevitable natural process, its potential to yield information about the past should be realised. This requires investigation and analysis, followed by archiving and dissemination of the results, all at a level that reflects its significance. Where such loss is the direct result of human intervention, the costs of this work should be borne by those who benefit from the change, or whose role it is to initiate such change in the public interest’.

3.2 Construction phases 3.2.1 The porches: as has been indicated, the external staircase and porch (and - for comparison - the ground floor porch to the North West Wing) present considerable difficulties in terms of absolute dating. The similarity in architectural style (ashlar) of the first floor porch with the adjacent northern bay of the Conference House (dated leadwork gutter, 1698; Fig 17b), and with the Long Gallery (arches, columns; begun between 1648/9 and 1667 according to various sources) lead naturally to comparisons. But there are valid reasons to consider the possibility of either or both porches being of later date, replicating earlier styles. A number of scenarios are possible:  the first floor (external staircase) porch was built in the late seventeenth century to match the Long Gallery windows (c. 1648) or the northern bay (c. 1698), and has remained in situ ever since. The staircase is first shown on Whitaker’s plan of 1801 and the porch is first illustrated by the earliest views from the north side, c. 1808 (Buckler) and c. 1834 (Rev’d S.J. Allen).  the ground floor porch comprises an original seventeenth-century porch, taken down when the north end of the Long Gallery was demolished, and re-built in c. 1866 when the North west Wing was constructed. The ground floor porch is thought to have been constructed / reconstructed c. 1866, when the North West Wing was built (an unexecuted design by Paley of Lancaster, with this date, exists). It is just possible that the Long Gallery’s south window was taken down as late as this and the ground floor porch built from its fragments.  Alternatively, both the first floor and ground floor porches were built from fragments recovered from the Long Gallery when it was partly demolished, during the nineteenth century, but not necessarily contemporary with one another. The northern end of the Long Gallery is shown on Whitaker’s (1801) first edition plan (Fig 19a ‘Ad’ at left; no artist’s views so far located), but may have been taken down soon afterwards, since the building appears truncated in Buckler’s 1818 sketch and watercolour. The southern window was extant until at least 1817 (Buckler; Fig 14b).

3.2.2 The external staircase handrails and guardrails are all undoubtedly of twentieth-century date, the most recent being the black-painted balustrade on the east side of the first floor porch, and handrails to the bottom flight of steps, both of which were installed in 2005 (Fig 16; Neil Archaeological Services archive, Ashworth Burke Partnership dwgs 130 and 131/071/03, Feb 2005). The bronze or brass rails between the second and top landings (including the east rail to which the alteration proposal relates) are known to be older than the others – possibly c. 1980 as opposed to 2005 – but no specific documentation has been found.

3.3 Assessment of the proposed development in context 3.3.1 Historic significance: as a Grade I listed structure overlying a Scheduled Ancient Monument, the whole of the Whalley Abbey Conference House is of National Significance.

3.3.2 Rarity: external access staircases were an important feature of medieval secular and monastic Great Halls (Wood 1965, 328-30), but very few examples survive in other than fragmentary condition. Documentary evidence suggests that most originated as wooden staircases, protected by penthouse roves. The Norman example at the Almonry, Great Guesthouse of the Poor, in Canterbury, and a thirteenth-century example at Aydon Castle, Northumberland are arguably the best surviving, while those at Stokesay Castle, Shropshire (c. 1285), Manorbier Castle, Pembrokeshire (c. 1260), and a simpler arrangement at the Archbishop’s Palace, Maidstone,

Kent also merit mention (Wood 1965, pl L and p. 330 fig 107). In post-medieval buildings, external staircases remained an integral element of houses built in the classical style, with a piano nobile or bel étage on the first floor, and in cases (as at Whalley Abbey) where earlier first floor great halls continued in use. Searches of English Heritage’s Images of England and Pastscape portals indicate upwards of 70 examples of external staircases amongst Listed Buildings countrywide, but no other first-floor porches have been identified for certain. It is considered to be beyond the scope of the present report to widen the search for close comparisons.

3.3.3 Re-used architectural fragments: medieval architectural fragments have been identified in the fabric of the exterior of the Conference House, and there is potential for there to be more. Some medieval fragments at Whalley are in prominent positions, such as the re-used doorway and De Lacy heraldry above it on the ground floor, just below the external staircase. Elsewhere, fragments have been recovered from corework contexts during watching briefs, suggesting that the stones were seen as building rubble. Examples of stone from religious sites re-used in a secular context (spolia) have been found at Walmgate, York (http://www.iadb.co.uk/wgate/main/archfrags.php), and many other places. This could be (but was not always) ‘a memory practice, a particular way of relating to the past, a meaningful, creative appropriation of the past’, conveying nostalgia, ruins, and architectural meaning http://proteus.brown.edu/architectureandmemory/8561 . An example of the latter practice is a spandrel from the original East Window at St Martin’s Church, Bowness on Windermere, deliberately placed under a new pulpit in the 1870s.

3.4 Recommendations 3.4.1 It is clear that – irrespective of whether the external staircase and first floor porch are entirely of mid/late seventeenth-century construction, or have been altered in the Georgian period – they form an integral, and highly significant part of the overall design of the Conference House, which has managed to retain much of its exterior grandeur despite Victorian and later alterations.

3.4.2 Notwithstanding this, the need to keep the building safely accessible to its users is vital to maintain the continued function of the building. The solution presented by IWA Architects is elegant, in keeping with the style and quality of the existing handrails, and most importantly will require no fixings to historic fabric, only to late twentieth-century structure, including the flagstone upper landing laid in 2005.

3.4.3 If consents are granted, the following are recommended mitigation measures:  A pre-intervention rectified (square-on, scaled) photographic record of any affected parts of the structure, using traditional film cameras (for archive longevity), tied-in to surveyed target points.  A photographic record during the works should be made.  Copies of the architect’s drawings, this report, and the photographs should be deposited in Lancashire Archives, Preston, with Neil Archaeological Services other records of works at Whalley Abbey.  A Contingency plan should be agreed in the (unlikely) event of very significant archaeological deposits or artefacts, being encountered during these. In such instances, the EH Inspector and LCAS should be consulted immediately.

 Ownership of finds: whilst, under current English Law, the landowner of the site is legally owner of artefacts recovered, except Treasure Act items (to the Crown or Duchy of Lancaster), it is usual practice to deposit the assemblage with a Museums Libraries and Archives Council ‘Registered Museum’ by gift, usually the Museum of Lancashire (Lancashire County Council). However, MoL has no remaining storage space, and the present writer is currently in discussions with Blackburn Diocese regarding the long-term deposition, and potential use for education groups of, artefact assemblages from the abbey.  Future prospects: in view of English Heritage’s 1990s funding of recording works, and their renewed engagement with dendrochronology in the North Range, discussions are ongoing with them and Oxford Archaeology North regarding longer-term assessment and analysis at Whalley Abbey.

4. BIBLIOGRAPHY

4.1 Primary sources British Library (BL), London Add MSS 36368 Architectural, topographical and other drawings by John Buckler (1770-1851), his son John Chessell Buckler (d. 1894), and his grandson Charles Alban Buckler (one of 89 volumes) fol. 229-43 Sketches for views of Whalley abbey, 1808-17. Photographs of watercolours based on these sketches are held by Blackburn Diocese.

Chetham’s Library, Long Millgate, Manchester Mun.A.3(2)90-91 Ralph Assheton of Whalley, letter books including accounts, household; 1648-1715, 2 volumes

Diocese of Blackburn, Church House, Blackburn (Archive administered by Napthens, solicitors) 1 box of archives relating to Whalley Abbey c. 1920s -2014

Greater Manchester County Record Office, Manchester (GMCRO) E4 Egerton family, Earls of Wilton E4/26/3 Marriage settlements etc., 1555-1811; including Braddyll-Assheton settlement, 1555

Lancashire Archives (LA), formerly Lancashire Record Office, Bow Lane, Preston DDHCL Honour of Clitheroe DDHCL 20/1/3 Letters patent re disputed will of Ralph Assheton of Middleton, 1716 (not yet seen since conservation in 2014)

DDWT Worsley-Taylor of Whalley. Estate papers, Whalley area, C17-20th; mostly uncatalogued DDWT/Map 1 A map of the demesn-lands of Whalley Abbey together with several other messuages and tenements lying within the townships of Whalley and Billington, Lancaster belonging to Ashton Curzon esq., surveyed by Henry Porter, 1762 DDWT, Box 24 Proposal drawings (unexecuted) for North West Range, April 1866, by Edward Graham Paley (1823-95), shows NW Range of conference house as having been built before this date. [photos of (sheet 1) ‘plans for enlargement’ of basement & second floor, and (?West) elevation; (2) perspective drawing of main floor; (3) first floor plan as proposed, 2 colours.

DDX Smaller deposits DDX 41/18 This document has been misplaced in LRO. Alternative copy DDX 336/23 used. DDX 336/23 (?copy of DDX 41/18) A sett of Mapps of the Several Estates of Thomas Braddyll, Esq in the Counties of York and Lancaster, according to George Grey of Lancaster, Land Surveyor … copied by R. Cottam, 1757

DDX 638 Miscellaneous Legal Papers DDX 638/5/4 Conveyance of the manor of Whalley, the capital mansion called Whalley Abbey, etc. in the County Palatine of Lancaster, the Rt Hon. Richard William Penn, Earl Howe to John Taylor esq., dated 27 September 1834

DDX 1915 Oxford Archaeology North DDX 1915/206/1-5 Whalley Abbey, 1987 – 1996, files and drawings, largely uncatalogued

DDX 2227, acc 8678 Files (4 boxes, uncatalogued) of Gordon Thorne, architect, relating to contract work at Whalley Abbey, 1990s.

DP Documents purchased DP 189/14 Samuel and Nathaniel Buck engraving of Whalley Abbey, 1727

DRB Diocese of Blackburn DRB acc 7633 and acc 7642 Uncatalogued/partly catalogued collections of plans of Whalley Abbey, 1920s - c.1940s

Oxford Archaeology North, Lancaster Archives of archaeological works at Whalley Abbey 1985-1995 (but most deposited with Lancashire Archives DDX 1915, and/or with Lancashire County Archaeology Service)

York City Archives Department Acc 100/SO5/001-12 Sketches of Whalley Abbey by Rev Samuel James Allen (1797-1856) 011 (Digital image IMG0272.JPG) Abbot's House, from North-East

4.2 Published primary, and secondary sources Alcock, N W, Barley, M W, Dixon, P W, and Meeson, R A, 1996 Recording timber-framed buildings: an illustrated glossary, Council for British Archaeology Practical Handbook 5, repr 1999, York

Ashmore, O., 1962 A guide to Whalley Abbey, 1 edn, Blackburn: Whalley Abbey Fellowship

Ashmore, O., 1981 A guide to Whalley Abbey, 4 edn, Blackburn: Whalley Abbey Fellowship

Ashmore, O., 1996 A guide to Whalley Abbey, 5 edn, Blackburn: Whalley Abbey Fellowship (repaginated)

Assheton, R., 1887 The abbey lands of Whalley in the county of Lancaster, London: Mitchell and Hughes ‘for private distribution only’

Barker, S., Bennis, E., Brereton, S., Neil, N., Riley, J., Taylor, E., and Thurnhill, R., 2013 A local list of Lancashire's unregistered historic designed landscapes, unpubl. report, Preston: Lancashire County Council, Lancashire Gardens Trust, and Manchester Metropolitan University http://www.lancsgt.org.uk/llr4.613.pdf

Brennand, M., Chitty, G., and Nevell, M (eds) 2006 The archaeology of North West England: an archaeological research framework for the North West Region. Vol 1. Resource assessment, (Archaeology North West, 8 (Issue 18), for 2006)

Brennand, M., Chitty, G., and Nevell, M (eds) 2007 Research and archaeology in North West England: an archaeological research framework for North West England. Vol 2. Research agenda and strategy, (Archaeology North West, 9 (Issue 19), for 2007)

Bridge, M., 2007 The Conference Centre, Whalley Abbey, Whalley, Lancashire: Tree ring analysis of timbers, Research Department Report Series 2007/66, Swindon: English Heritage http://services.english-heritage.org.uk/ResearchReportsPdfs/066-2007WEB.pdf

Buck, S., and Buck, N., 1727 The south view of Whalley Abby [sic], in the County of Lancaster, in A collection of engravings of castles, abbeys and towns in England and Wales, 3 vols, 1720-42, pl. 155, London [see LRO DP 189/14; complete bound set in John Rylands University Library of Manchester, Deansgate, Manchester]

Chadwick, J.S., 1991 Hypothesis: early history of Whalley, Where Rivers Meet, 4(1) (Winter 1991). Whalley Dist. Hist. Archaeol. Soc. [whole volume]

Cockayne, G. E. (revised Gibbs, V., ed Doubleday, H. A., Warrand, D., and Howard De Walden, Lord), 1926 The complete peerage, or a history of the House of Lords and all its members from the earliest times, 6 Gordon to Hurstpierpoint, London: St Catharine Press

Coppack, G., 1990 Abbeys and priories, London: Batsford for English Heritage

Crossley, R. S., 1930 Accrington captains of industry, Accrington: Observer and Times Office / Wardleworth, printer

Drury, P., and McPherson, A., 2008 Conservation principles policies and guidance for the sustainable management of the historic environment, London: English Heritage http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/publications/conservation-principles- sustainable-management-historic-environment/conservationprinciplespoliciesguidanceapr08web.pdf

Farrer, W., and Brownbill, J. (eds), 1908 Victoria history of the county of Lancaster, Vol 2, London: Constable

Farrer, W., and Brownbill, J. (eds), 1911 Victoria history of the county of Lancaster, Vol 6, London: Constable

Haigh, C., 1969 The last days of the Lancashire monasteries and the Pilgrimage of Grace, Chetham Soc., 3 Ser. 17

Hartwell, C., and Pevsner, N., 2009 The buildings of England: Lancashire North, New Haven: Yale University Press

Howard, R., 2014 Scientific dating service, dendrochronology assessment: North Range, Whalley Abbey, Lancashire, English heritage, unpublished report, Feb 2014

Hulton, W. A. (ed.), 1849 The Coucher Book or chartulary of Whalley Abbey, vol 4, Chetham Soc, Old Ser 20

IFA, 2001 Standard and guidance for the archaeological investigation and recording of standing buildings or structures, 1996, rev 1999 and 2001, Reading, Institute of Field Archaeologists

King, J. (ed), Howard, R., Menuge, A., Cooper, N., and Hook, R., 2006 Understanding Historic Buildings: A guide to good recording practice, Swindon: English Heritage http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/publications/understanding-historic-buildings/

Lambert, C H, 1949 Whalley Abbey yesterday and today, 2 edn, Blackburn

Lambert, C H, 1954 Whalley Abbey yesterday and today, 4 edn, Blackburn: Blackburn Times

Layton-Jones, K., 2014 National review of research priorities for urban parks, designed landscapes, and open spaces: final report, Research Report Series no. 4-2014, Swindon: English Heritage http://services.english-heritage.org.uk/ResearchReportsPdfs/004_2014WEB.pdf

LEP, 2002 Whalley Abbey conservation plan: final document, Unpubl. report for Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance and English heritage, Manchester: Lloyd Evans Prichard, December 2002

Neil, N.R. J., 2006 Interim report on archaeological works at Whalley Abbey Conference and Retreat House, Lancashire, January to August 2005, Unpubl client report for Blackburn Diocesan Board of Finance, Lancaster, Feb 2006

Neil, N R J, 2007 Tracing the Cistercian abbey at Whalley, in Gaimster, M. (ed) Medieval Britain and Ireland: Fieldwork highlights in 2006, Medieval Archaeol., 51, 258-63

Pennant, T, 1801 A tour [in 1773] from Downing to Alston Moor, London: Oriental Press

Snape, H. C, 1978 The parish church of Saint Mary and All Saints, Whalley, Lancashire, 5th edn, Burnley: Fulton Advertising

Taylor-Taswell, S. T., 1905 Whalley church and abbey, Blackburn: Blackburn Times office

Wallis, J E W, 1923 Whalley Abbey: a short sketch of its history and buildings, 1st edn, London: Soc for Promoting Christian Knowledge

Wallis, J E W, 1938 Whalley Abbey: a short sketch of its history and buildings, 4th edn, London: Soc for Promoting Christian Knowledge

Whitaker, Rev T. D., 1801 An History of the original Parish of Whalley and Honor of Clitheroe in the counties of Lancaster and York, to which is subjoined, an account of the parish of Cartmell, 1st edn, Blackburn: Hemingway and Crook

Whitaker, Rev. T. D. (rev. and enlarged Nichols, J. G., and Lyons, P. A.), 1872-6 An History of the original Parish of Whalley and Honor of Clitheroe ..., 4 edn, 2 vols, London: Routledge

Williams, G. A., 1995 Locus Benedictus (The Blessed Place): The story of Whalley Abbey, Whalley: Whalley Abbey Fellowship

Wood, M., 1965 The English mediaeval house, London: Phoenix House, repr. 1994, London: Studio Editions

4.3 Sources located, but not seen Centre for Buckinghamshire Studies, Aylesbury AR 94/80 Earl Howe manuscripts, c. 1000 documents, including 21 Bundle of deeds of property in Accrington and Whalley in Lancashire, Bowland in Yorkshire, etc., C16th – 18th 312 Accounts made to the Abbott of Whalley, 1534 441 Bundle of deeds including: Plan of land near Whalley, 18th cent, Lease for a year of the manor of Whalley, 1750