Furness Abbey Hotel


The Furness Abbey Hotel, now a public house named The Abbey Tavern, stands in Abbey Approach, Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England, to the north of the remains of Furness Abbey. The current structure is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.

History

In the 17th century this was the manor house for the Preston family, and probably incorporated the guest house of Furness Abbey. By the 19th century the Prestons had left the house, and it remained empty until it was purchased by the Furness Railway in 1847. The Lancaster architects Sharpe and Paley converted it into a hotel to accommodate visitors to the abbey. This contained 36 bedrooms and "only" three bathrooms. The public rooms included an entrance hall and a reading and sitting room, both with stained glass windows, a billiard room, and a ballroom. It was extended in 1866–69, probably by E. G. Paley, to link it to the newly built Furness Abbey railway station. In 1953–54 the building was demolished, other than part of the north wing.

Architecture and assessment

The building, as it currently exists, is constructed in red sandstone with slate roofs. It is in two and three storeys. It "represents a fragment of a substantial hotel that served the Furness Railway". The architectural historians Matthew Hyde and Nikolaus Pevsner comment that "it is a pity no more is left of so tantalising a building".