. The tourist's picturesque guide to Furness Abbey and Windemere district ... so the Kirkbys ,of Kirkby, theBroughtons of Broughton, and the Huddlestons ofMillom. Subsequently the Penningtons, de Couplands,de Berdseys, and other families, enriched the monas-tery with endowments, until nearly the whole of thepeninsula was in the hands of the Abbot of Furness,who ruled with undisputed sway. So large were thepossessions of this establishment, in this and othercountries, and to such an extent did its opulence aug-ment, that it was surpassed by no religious house in thekingdom, except Fountains Abb
. The tourist's picturesque guide to Furness Abbey and Windemere district ... so the Kirkbys ,of Kirkby, theBroughtons of Broughton, and the Huddlestons ofMillom. Subsequently the Penningtons, de Couplands,de Berdseys, and other families, enriched the monas-tery with endowments, until nearly the whole of thepeninsula was in the hands of the Abbot of Furness,who ruled with undisputed sway. So large were thepossessions of this establishment, in this and othercountries, and to such an extent did its opulence aug-ment, that it was surpassed by no religious house in thekingdom, except Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire ; and HISTORICAL SKETCH. its affairs of business were managed in accordance withthe advice, suggestions, or decrees of the chapter, by asteward, often a person of high rank, who deemed it anhonour to occupy the office. All the deeds and otherdocuments required in the various transactions of theabbey were confirmed by the abbot, with the consentof his brethren, affixing to the parchments the of the convent, a representation of which is An impression of the seal remains appendant to thedeed of surrender, in the British Museum, and thefollowing is an explanation of the device :—It consistsof a circle, within the circumference of which is afigure of the Virgin Mary, beneath a canopy of threecompartments, the centre one filled in with stars, andthe other two with sprigs of the deadly nightshade,holding in suspension two shields, each charged withthree lions passant gardant* The Virgin holds in herleft arm the infant Saviour whose head is surroundedby a halo of glory, and in her right hand a globe, as * Three lions were not introduced into the arms of Englanduntil after the marriage of Henry II. with Eleanor of Acquitaine,and yet the abbey was founded in the reign of Henry I. Thearms of Stephen are differently described : by seme he is said tohave borne three lions pass, gard.—by others, a Sagittarius arg. 52 FURNESS ABBEY queen of the worl
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Keywords: ., bookauthorwordsworthcollection, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870
