Located in Northumberland, Brinkburn Priory and Manor House is maintained by English Heritage. Only the church (a gothic-style structure) remains today, but the site was originally founded as a medieval Augustine monastary in the mid-1100s. It was never a very wealthy monastary, and it suffered raids along the English-Scottish borders. A concert and weddings are held here today. Next to the church is the manor house, which is built using the vaulted basement that used to be the monk's dining hall. The priory has also been used in filming an episode of "Blackadder".
To visit the priory and manor house, visitors must walk a ten-minute down-hill walk to the priory from the parking area. The walk contiues down a hill with a river at the bottom of the hill. When I visited, there was a wedding taking place, but I was able to quickly nip inside the cathedral before the guests started to show. I was also able to hear the organ practice for about a minute inside the cathedral and a few minutes outside during a conversation with English Heritage staff about the priory.
After the dissolution of monastaries, the priory church needed repairs. It was restored in the 19th century.
The manor house is in a poor state today, but it is easy to see its former glory. It dates from the 12th century.
Some of the floors have been removed. Visitors could only visit the ground floor and basement levels.
I found Brinkburn Priory to be a peaceful location with a little river and beautifully-restored priory.
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