Finchale Priory, Newton Hall, Durham

The starting point of the 22-mile Finchale Camino Inglés, which ends at the little church of Escomb and goes via Durham Cathedral

‍Highlights

• Grave of St Godric
• Finchale Priory ruins

St Godric of Finchale was the most contrite pirate who ever lived. For 20 years, he roamed the high seas, making his fortune from trade and buccaneering in far-off lands. He once snatched King Baldwin I of Jerusalem to safety after the Battle of Ramla in 1102, ferrying him secretly to the port of Jaffa.

He met the Pope, visited Compostela in Spain, and traded goods with the ports of northern Europe and Scotland. Then he visited Inner Farne Island, and his worldly adventures came to an abrupt end. A vision of the 7th-century abbot St Cuthbert, who had lived on Inner Farne as a hermit, persuaded him to abandon seafaring and make good the misdeeds of his youth. Aged 40, with a lifetime of adventure behind him, St Godric settled by the river at Finchale, and stayed put for more than 60 years.

He died in 1170 aged over 100. His grave still lies on the riverbank he called home, amid the ruins of the abbey built to house his shrine. It is a beautiful part of the world. The extremity of St Godric’s penitential self-denial left no doubt that he was a sincerely reformed man. Infamy mellowed into respect, then admiration, and finally full veneration as a saint. He was famed as much for the austerity of his regime as for the holiness of his thoughts. St Thomas Becket and Pope Alexander III both sought his advice.

Rather incongruously, he is also the first English hymn writer whose verses and music survive. He claimed to know nothing about composition, but was taught the songs by the Blessed Virgin in a dream. They are rarely sung now but versions can be found on iTunes and other online music sites.

The abbey ruins share the tree-lined valley of the River Wear with an eco-village/holiday park. A group of boys were kicking their rugby ball against the ruined walls as I tried to contemplate the legacy of St Godric, sitting on the grass by his simple grave. The park is the only development nearby. The site still looks like the perfect landscape for a Christian recluse, and St Godric took full advantage.

He built a simple wooden hut from branches, with an oratory alongside containing a cold bath for immersion. He would stand naked in the river all night to pray, the devil sometimes stealing his clothes from the riverbank. Wild animals would come and warm themselves by his fire, and a stag once found refuge from hunters in his hut. His existence sounds closer to that of an early Celtic ascetic or St Cuthbert himself than a later medieval monk.

Towards the end of his life, he built a little stone chapel dedicated to St John. Its foundations are still visible in the ruins of the abbey church. A small stone cross set into the grass by this spot marks the site of his grave. It is next to where the high altar used to stand. No name records this most simple of shrines. St Godric was not one for pomp or ceremony.

Despite the anonymity of this tomb, St Godric happens to be one of the best documented English saints. A monk named Reginald of Durham wrote a detailed life soon after the saint’s death in 1170, a document which includes the hymns. The monks of Durham knew St Godric well, and cared for him as he grew weak towards the end of his life. They established the priory in 1196 to remember their remarkable holy man. As the ruins demonstrate, it was an extensive foundation. St Godric was originally buried in Durham but was moved back to Finchale.

The setting is relatively unspoilt, the stone walls rising from neatly mown lawns. The abbey is less than 4 miles north of Durham, in the care of English Heritage.

Directions‍

In the grounds of: Finchale Abbey Touring Park, Finchale Abbey Farm DH1 5SH‍

www.finchaleabbey.co.uk (holiday park)‍

www.english-heritage.org.uk (search for Finchale)

W3W: yards.lousy.opera

GPS: 54.8183N 1.5402W‍

Finchale Priory is at the end of a long dead-end road, which starts opposite Frankland HM Prison. It is signposted to the priory and the holiday park. Although access to the priory ruins is free, you will need to pay to park your car in the holiday camp car park.

To locate St Godric’s grave, I used a laminated plan that was on display, perhaps temporarily, near the entrance. If that isn’t available, as you enter by the main gate, there is a tall wall on the right. The grave is on the other side of that wall, and you need to walk around the ruins to get there. The picture above will help you locate it.