Lanercost Priory was founded in 1166 by Robert de Vaux, and occupied by Augustinian Canons, who lived by the teachings of St. Augustine.  The priory's strategic position was used by defending English armies.  Scots invaders set fire to the cloister in 1296.  King Edward 1 visited the priory on three occasions between 1280 and 1306.  It sustained extensive damage in 1346 after a raid by King David of Scotland.  At the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1536, everything of value was seized by the Crown, but the building itself was purchased by Sir Thomas Dacre of nearby Naworth Castle.  The priory is currently in the care of English Heritage.