page_title: Furness Abbey
section_title: Folklore and supernatural activity
hierarchical_section_title: Furness Abbey / Folklore and supernatural activity
caption_attribution_description: Furness Abbey
context_page_description: Furness Abbey, or St. Mary of Furness, is a former Catholic monastery located to the north of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. The abbey dates back to 1123 and was once the second-wealthiest and most powerful Cistercian monastery in the country, behind Fountains Abbey, prior to its dissolution during the English Reformation. The abbey contains a number of individual Grade I Listed Buildings and is a Scheduled Monument.
context_section_description: There are many stories and sightings claiming that Furness Abbey is haunted. There are supposedly at least three ghosts which have been seen numerous times at the Abbey. First, it is said that the spirit of a monk has been seen climbing a staircase and also possibly walking towards the gatehouse before vanishing into a wall. Another sighting is that of a squire's daughter. She was known to meet her lover at the ruined abbey after the Reformation, although one day her partner took a journey out to sea from which he never returned. It is thought that the girl went back to the Abbey every day until her death to the site she and her partner once loved; the track she walked is today still known as "My Lady's Walk." There have also been many sightings of a white lady, although due to possible conflicting stories, it is unclear whether the White Lady and the ghost of the squire's daughter are the same person or not. Possibly the most famous ghost of Furness Abbey is a headless monk on horseback, who rides underneath the sandstone arch near the Abbey Tavern; the death of this individual is linked to an invasion by the Scots in 1316.
  A tunnel is said to run underneath the Abbey to both Piel Castle and Dalton Castle, allowing the monks to receive supplies and keep watch upon the local settlements. It has also been rumoured that the Holy Grail and King John's missing jewels are hidden somewhere inside the 'Ley tunnel'.
caption: View looking across the former guesthouse towards the Cemetery Gatehouse and main church building
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