Wetheral Priory Gatehouse
Wetheral Priory Gatehouse is a 15th-century stone fortification in Wetheral, Cumbria. The priory was founded at the start of the 12th century and the gatehouse controlled the entrance to its outer courtyard. When the priory was dissolved in 1538 the gatehouse and a nearby stretch of wall were the only parts to survive. The gatehouse passed into the control of Carlisle Cathedral and became the local vicarage during the 16th and 17th centuries, before being used to store hay. Now part of a modern farm that occupies the former priory site, it is controlled by English Heritage and open to visitors. The crenellated gatehouse has three storeys, with the main entrance and porters' lodge on the ground floor and two domestic chambers on the upper floors. English Heritage considers the building to be "the finest medieval gatehouse in Cumbria".
The exterior of the gatehouse
The gatehouse at the end of the 19th century
Wetheral is a village, civil parish and electoral ward in Cumbria, England. At the 2001 census, the population of the Wetheral Ward was 4,039, The civil parish of Wetheral is slightly larger, with a population of 5,203. being counted as 4,541 at the 2011 Census for both Parish and Ward.
The Cross, Wetheral Village Green
Parish Church: Joseph Nollekens' life-size sculpture of 'Faith' in memory of Henry Howard's wife Maria (who died in childbirth).