Finchale Priory

In our next bit of exploration of the local historical sites with Grammy, we visited Finchale Priory (pronounced: Feenk-uhl). It was a monastery that also served as a retreat center of sorts for monks who were taking time away from the Cathedral in Durham. For an off-the-beaten-path sort of place it was quite impressive. I believe Grammy read that some duke or something funded its construction so he would garner extra prayers for himself.

For those of you who don't know (as I didn't myself), a priory is "Any religious house administered by a prior or prioress. If the prior was subject to a resident abbot, the house was called an abbey or monastery."