Brinkburn Priory

In a charming and secluded setting within a loop of the River Coquet, Brinkburn Priory is quite a find. And to find it in the warm sunshine of a late afternoon was a delight. 

The Priory was founded in the 1130s as a community of Augustinian canons, it was frequently troubled by Scottish raids and was one of the first monitories to be closed at the Dissolution in 1536. After this, the priory church was used for a while as the parish church, whilst parts of the monastic buildings were adapted to form a manor house. 

In the picture, the church, carefully  restored and reroofed in the mid 19th century, is on the right, whilst the manor house, abandoned and now empty, is on the left. In between are some of the remains of the monastic buildings. 

Here is a Turner painting of the priory before it was restored. 

The extra is the north entrance of the church showing Transitional Architecture. The doorway is old Norman style, comprising three recessed semicircular arches with bird and beasts heads, and chevron mouldings. Above this is new Early English style, with an arcade of three pointed arches and trefoil heads.