Cockersand Abbey

Cockersand Abbey, Cockerham, Lancashire.
The Leper Hospital of St. Mary was founded here in 1184 by the hermit Hugh Garth. By 1192 it had become an abbey for a French Order of Canons, but remained a hospital and went on to become one of the richest religious institutions in the county. In 1539 the abbey was closed by Henry V111 as part of the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Much stonework was later used for local building projects, but the 13th century chapter house was spared, becoming a family mausoleum for the Daltons of Thurnham Hall from 1785 to 1861.