Plans to permanently shut an ancient monastery during the winter have been confirmed. Furness Abbey, on the outskirts of Barrow, Cumbria, was founded about 900 years ago and was the first of England's ...

Furness Abbey, on the outskirts of Barrow, Cumbria, was founded about 900 years ago and was the first of England's "greater monasteries" to be dissolved during Henry VIII's religious reforms.