In February 2015, 25 members braved temperatures of -4 degrees to take part in a sponsored sleep out in the Gatehouse in aid of Cumbria Community Foundation’s ‘Winter Warmth’ Appeal. The Brownies raised nearly £1,000, saw no ghosts but DID see a pair of resident Tawny Owls! The group were also filmed for Border TV news, which was very exciting!
Wetheral Priory Gatehouse was probably built in the 15th century and formed the entrance to the priory's outer courtyard. Wetheral Priory was a small Benedictine institution, founded by Ranulf le Meschin following the Norman invasion of Cumbria at the beginning of the 12th century. The motherhouse of the priory was St Mary's Abbey in York. The priory was known for a special right of sanctuary for criminals that had been granted to it by Henry I, allowing the priory to shelter felons who could reach the church and ring the bell there.
The gatehouse originally formed part of a range of buildings running along the side of the outer courtyard, and would have controlled access to the institution, as well as symbolising its power and status. The Anglo-Scottish border was also still dangerous in the 15th century, and many monasteries in the area, like Wetheral, had protective fortifications.
By the 16th century, the priory was in decline, but its closure came as a result of the dissolution of the monasteries in England and Wales under Henry VIII.] To help speed the process of closing the institution, Ralf Hartley was appointed as the prior of Wetheral by Henry's minister, Thomas Cromwell; royal commissioners visited in 1536, and the priory was finally surrendered to the Crown in 1538. The priory's belongings were sold off or taken by Henry, depending on their value, but the lands were given to Carlisle Cathedral. Although the rest of the priory soon fell into disrepair, the gatehouse became the local vicarage; it was still intact and in use by the minister in 1687.
The gatehouse was later used as a hayloft. In 1978 it passed into the guardianship of the state, and is now in the care of English Heritage and open to the public. Still well preserved, it is protected under UK law as a Grade I listed building.