Abbey or priory · near Durham · County Durham

Finchale Priory

Finchale Priory is a Benedictine cell: hermitage, monastic precinct and site of priory watermill. Look for it 1.2 km northeast of Durham. It is protected as a scheduled monument.

Photo: Finchale Priory (Public domain)

Where

1.2 km

northeast of Durham

Run by

English Heritage

a national heritage body

How well known

Top 16%

#1,300 of 8,556 places we list

Warmest months

Jun–Sep

highs of 17–20°C

In brief

Abbey or priory near Durham

Just outside Durham

Finchale Priory is 1.2 km northeast of Durham. Towns near it ↓

Cared for by English Heritage

One of the places English Heritage looks after; members usually get in free. About ↓

Scheduled monument

On the official list of protected heritage; Durham has 447 listed buildings in all, on its History page. About ↓

Written from OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, the ONS built-up areas and Met Office 1991–2020 averages.

When to go

The year in Durham

The warmest stretch in Durham is June to September, at 17–20°C in the afternoon.

Jan7° / 1°54 mm

Feb8° / 1°48 mm

Mar10° / 2°43 mm

Apr12° / 4°52 mm

May15° / 6°47 mm

Jun18° / 9°65 mm

Jul20° / 11°62 mm

Aug20° / 11°69 mm

Sep17° / 9°58 mm

Oct14° / 6°66 mm

Nov10° / 4°76 mm

Dec7° / 1°64 mm

Green months are the warmest. Typical afternoon highs and night lows in Durham, and rain in a month. Met Office HadUK-Grid 1991–2020 averages for Durham. Opening times change through the year: check before you go. Durham’s full climate →

About

Finchale Priory

Its care is managed by English Heritage. 4 Wikipedia editions have an article on it. Around it, within 15 km, lie 38 more places, Durham Castle (5.3 km) first on our list.

Durham’s listed buildings and monuments →

Type: Abbey or priory
Run by: English Heritage
Listed: Scheduled monument
Wikipedias: Covered in 4 languages
Town: 1.2 km northeast of Durham
Official site: english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/finchale-priory

Facts: Wikidata (CC0) and OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors).

Plan your visit

Entry, hours, address

Entrance feesFreeNo entrance fee.

Hours and entry: OpenStreetMap contributors. They change through the year: check its site before you go.

The map

Where it sits

Orange shows Finchale Priory; numbers mark the places near it.

Towns near it

Towns around Finchale Priory, by distance

Largest of the 8 is Durham, home to 50,502. The towns whose pages list it: the one it is in, those within 5 km of it, then larger towns further out.

1 · 1.2 km southwest of it

Durham

50,502 people · 15 places to visit

2 · 1.4 km east of it

West Rainton

2,323 people · 4 places to visit

3 · 1.7 km north of it

Great Lumley

3,627 people · 4 places to visit

4 · 3.1 km northeast of it

Fence Houses

6,945 people · 5 places to visit

Compare the 8 towns

Town	Where Finchale Priory is	People	Places to visit
Durham	1.2 km southwest of it	50,502	15
West Rainton	1.4 km east of it	2,323	4
Great Lumley	1.7 km north of it	3,627	4
Fence Houses	3.1 km northeast of it	6,945	5
Chester-le-Street	3.3 km northwest of it	23,554	10
Nettlesworth and Kimblesworth	3.3 km west of it	899	9
Houghton-le-Spring	3.4 km northeast of it	12,552	5
East Rainton	3.4 km east of it	1,476	3

Each has its own grades, prices and things to do.

Make a day of it

More near Finchale Priory

A visit can add 4 castles, 2 museums and a cathedral, from 38 places within 15 km.

CastleDurham Castle5.3 km away 2

CathedralDurham Cathedral5.5 km away 3

MuseumBeamish Museum11 km away · 350K visitors a year 4

CastleLumley Castle4 km away 5

Abbey or priory · English HeritageMonkwearmouth-Jarrow Abbey15 km away 6

CastleLambton Castle5.4 km away 7

MuseumOriental Museum6.6 km away · 19K visitors a year 8

Castle · English HeritageHylton Castle13 km away

Within 15 km, close and well known first. Numbers match the map.

Before visiting Finchale Priory

Where is Finchale Priory?

Finchale Priory is 1.2 km northeast of Durham, County Durham.

What is Finchale Priory?

Benedictine cell: hermitage, monastic precinct and site of priory watermill.

Who runs Finchale Priory?

English Heritage, so members usually get in free; check opening times before you go.

When is the best time to visit Finchale Priory?

June to September are the warmest months in Durham, with afternoon highs of 17–20°C (Met Office 1991–2020 averages).

Is Finchale Priory a listed building?

Yes: scheduled monument.

What else is there to see near Finchale Priory?

Within 15 km: Durham Castle (5.3 km), Durham Cathedral (5.5 km), Beamish Museum (11 km) and Lumley Castle (4 km).

Places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database Licence) and Wikidata (CC0), placed in the ONS 2022 built-up area (Open Government Licence v3.0). Visitor counts are the latest Wikidata gives, with their year.

Photos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).

Photo credits (9)

Finchale Priory: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
Durham Castle: Carla Brain, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Durham Cathedral: Benjamin Smith, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Beamish Museum: Benjamin Smith, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Lumley Castle: Bill Henderson, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Monkwearmouth-Jarrow Abbey: R J McNaughton, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Lambton Castle: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
Oriental Museum: Wereon, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Hylton Castle: Craigy, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.