Guidebook: Finchale Priory
Finchale Priory owes its origins to one remarkable man: St Godric, who founded a hermitage on the spot where the priory now stands after a life full of adventure and travel, and lived a solitary existence there until his death in 1170 at the age of 105. The monastery that was built around St. Godric's tomb developed as a cell of the Benedictine Priory of Durham Cathedral, but the numbers of monks were always small and from the 14th century until its suppression in 1538 the priory acted as a rest or 'holiday' place for the monks of Durham.