Drive and Stroll, with Ron Freethy - today, Lancaster Castle

A FEW weeks ago I wrote about Lancaster pointing out that as we approach the year 2000 we ought to know about our county town.

I know well that Preston is regarded as the centre of administration. It does not, however, have a cathedral - only Blackburn and perhaps Lancaster has this feature.

Actually so does Manchester and to be honest I still think of Lancashire as having Manchester and Liverpool (which has two cathedrals) as part of the county.

Everybody in the country knows that Lancaster Castle is a wonderful cross between a museum, an historic monument a courthouse and a jail.

The gatehouse is magnificent and above the portcullis is a stone statue of John of Gaunt.

This 14th Century "tough egg" was the Duke of Lancaster and his name is also remembered in an inn close to the castle.

Few people, I suspect, know of Horseshoe Corner. Here set in the roadway is a replica of shoe said to have been cast by the horse of John of Gaunt.

Look out also for the Conservative Club, a delightful building where Bonnie Prince Charlie stayed during the ill-fated Jacobite rebellion of 1745.

Set close to the main street is the entrance to Penny's Almshouses constructed in 1720 by a local benefactor. It seems to be as tranquil and undisturbed today as it was when the first coat of blue paint was brushed around the polished brass of the door knockers. Penny's gift continues almost unheard amid the rumble of traffic and nearby Bashful Alley is also overlooked in the bustle.

Lancaster Priory (is it Cathedral?) was founded in 1094 by a friend of William of Normandy called Roger de Poitou. He gave the building into the hands of the Benedictine monks from St Martin of Seez in Normandy.

The Priory grew very rich but its buildings were devastated by a invasion of Scots around 1320.

The resilient Benedictines regained their power and held it until they fell foul of Henry V.

In 1414 the year before the battle of Agincourt, Henry grew impatient with English monasteries paying taxes to their mother house in France. Some of this money was used to aim the enemies of England.

No wonder Henry V was narked and put a stop to it.

In retrospect this was a good thing for the Priory because it was being used as a parish church when Henry VIII dissolved the abbeys between 1536 and 1540.

What Lancaster has therefore is a splendid Norman and Early English Priory and is an unspoiled gem to grace the crown of history.

"Serious" historians may argue that in strictly religious terms Lancaster is not a cathedral.

I don't care - it is the finest Anglican building in the county.

The Priory is built on the site of a huge Roman fort and before that there was probably an iron age settlement.

If you want proper spirit sample the fare in The Duke of Lancaster but if drink makes you feel "Gaunt" then walk through the streets to the Priory on the hill and soak up the spirit of Lancashire.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.