WHALLEY (_Cistercian_) 1172, Monastery founded at Stanlawe in Cheshire, by John, Constable of Chester--1296, Gregory, Abbot of Stanlawe, removed to Whalley--1539, Dissolution of the Abbey. From Langho Station (a quarter of an hour beyond Blackburn), in the picturesque and prosperous Lancashire uplands, a walk of two or three miles brings us to Whalley, the locality of the earliest Christian preaching in the North, for here in 627, Paulinus made his first efforts to convert the Northumbrians. The venerable church is crowded with antiquities, and will well repay a visit, even were there no Whalley Abbey alongside. Of this stately building comparatively little now remains. The archæologist, conversant with monastic ruins, may be able to trace the various portions, but for the ordinary visitor there are only two grand old gateways, a few grey walls, some fragments of arches and broken corridors. The abbey was approached through the two strong and stately gateways still remaining. The central portion of the north-west gateway is almost entire and belongs probably to the middle of the 14th century. The north-east gateway is of much later date. The house itself stood on the banks of the Calder, and appears to have consisted of three quadrangles--the westernmost holding the cloisters and being enclosed upon the north by the wall of the church. The predominating style is that of the Transition from the Decorated to the Perpendicular. The whole area of the close contains nearly 37 statute acres and is defined by the remains of a deep trench which surrounds it. It is pleasant to see the abundance of trees now growing within the ancient boundaries, and the clumps of green fern in nooks of aisle and corridor. The original monastery was founded at Stanlawe by John, Constable of Chester, 1172, and after almost a century was removed to Whalley, primarily owing to its unsuitable situation at Stanlawe, where not only was the soil barren, but a considerable part of it was liable to encroachments by the sea, which at spring-tide almost surrounded it--and secondarily on account of the destruction by fire of Stanlawe Abbey in 1289. Whalley became the seat then of an establishment which for two centuries and a half exercised lavish hospitality and charity, as well as paternally governing the tenants of its ample domains. The full complement of monks was 20--exclusive of the lord abbot and prior. In addition there were 90 servants. These monks lived well and entertained liberally, as may be inferred from the following table of animal food consumed:--For the abbot’s table--75 oxen, 80 sheep, 40 calves, 20 lambs and 4 pigs; for the refectory table--57 oxen, 40 sheep, 20 calves, and 10 lambs; whilst 150 quarterns of malt and 8 pipes of wine were annually consumed.