Brinkburn Priory - Rothbury, Northumberland (EH)
To approach Brinkburn, you first walk down a pleasantly winding gravel path above the river Coquet until suddenly the Norman north door appears through the dark foliage. Although relatively small, the doorway is beautifully decorated with carved mouldings and is surmounted by a gable containing three trefoil niches. Here is evidence of the changing architectural style in Britain at the time - the priory was founded around 1135 and there are both Norman or Romanesque features and Early English Gothic, making Brinkburn a Transitional style.
On entering by the north door, the well proportioned interior appears complete - the once ruined church was carefully restored in 1858-9 by the then owners, the Cadogan family. Luckily, enough remained of the original fabric to give a good idea of how it should look, so the appearance today seems close to what the Augustinians what have recognised. The roof line on the tower has been followed, and new tiles replaced the medieval ones on the floor. Some of the original tiles can be seen beside the high altar. A carved stone grave cover can also be seen. It dates from 1484, and was for the then Prior of Brinkburn, William. As well as the cross decorated with fleur-de-lis, there is a mitre and crozier, symbols of his office as he was also a suffragen Bishop of Durham. The glass in the windows was designed after some traces of the original glass had been discovered and although the new gabled section with a wheel window in the south transept is a little early stylistically, it nevertheless adds to the charm of the whole building.
Brinkburn Priory Church and Manor House
The nave of the church has an arcaded aisle only on the north side, as occurs at other Augustinian priories and here the floor is raised slightly above the main body of the nave. This is due to the sloping ground of the site, which in due course caused problems structurally. The restorers had to demolish some of the remaining building to make it safe before rebuilding into the rest of the existing fabric. If you look carefully around the church, you can see the more recent stone work, but the whole building is still a testament to the time of its construction. The simple fat, round pillars of the arcade and the more complex columns soaring up to the gracefully pointed arches above the crossing all reflect the finely judged eye of the original builders. In the east window, above the high altar, the three tiers of three simple lancet lights lead the eye and the mind upwards to God. You can still see in the stonework the marks of a wooden screen across the nave, separating the priors from the lay worshipers, and there would have been wooden choir stalls above this, roughly where the nineteenth century replacements are now. In the north chapel there is a mid-fourteenth century alteration, a small ogee head window and there was a door opened in the north wall at some point - closed up again during the restoration. Around the church are large modern sculptures, and an organ was put in last century.
The south-west aisle and nave, showing the west end
Outside, there are few remains of the rest of the priory buildings, such as the cloisters, chapter house and refectory, as the land was used for a private residence after the Reformation. The existing house, very close to the priory, now has a distinctly Strawberry Hill Gothic feel and has recently been conserved for viewing by the public. Much damage has been done by dry rot and damp, but the subsequently exposed structure work tells its own story. There are remnants of the original medieval buildings, notably a stone arch which, although mutilated, is still recognisably the laver recess for the refectory. There are some family photographs on display, showing the house in happier times, but it ceased to be occupied in 1952, and the site is now cared for by English Heritage.