the 'Ley tunnel'. Mystery plays Furness Abbey has hosted a number of large-scale mystery plays. The first of these were performed over several consecutive nights in 1958. The mystery plays continued throughout the 1960s until the recruitment of participants, perhaps over 100, became difficult. Author Melvyn Bragg attended the 1988 mystery plays revival, which were the last such performances at the abbey. Prince Edward has also attended a mystery play. Access and facilities Furness Abbey is located off Manor Road close to Barrow's main thoroughfare, Abbey Road, which is named after the Abbey itself. The Abbey also lies next to the Furness Line and was served by Furness Abbey railway station until closure in 1950. The closest stations are now Roose and Dalton. English Heritage operates a small visitor centre at Furness Abbey which includes a number of stone carvings and effigies as well as a gift shop. It, alongside the abbey is open to the public between 10am and 6pm daily, although this is restricted to 10am to 4pm on weekends within the winter/spring season. Free passes are available for English Heritage members as well as local residents, while standard visitor entry in 2018 is £5.70 per adult. During Winter venturing into the Abbey is strongly discouraged due to the Abbey grounds being prone to flooding. Burials William de Mowbray William Russell, former Bishop of Mann and the Isles Rǫgnvaldr Guðrøðarson Rǫgnvaldr Óláfsson In literature Furness Abbey features twice in the Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Books of the 1830s, both with a poetical illustration by Letitia Elizabeth Landon: in the 1832 edition: Furness Abbey, in the Vale of Nightshade, Lancashire to a drawing by Harwood, in which she 'sighs for the days of the veil and the vow', as an escape from the vanity of the modern world; and, in the 1835 edition: Chapter House, Furness Abbey to a painting by Thomas Allom, a descriptive passage from the French of Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve. Gallery See also List of monasteries dissolved by Henry VIII of England Listed buildings in Barrow-in-Furness Abbot's Wood, Cumbria Further reading Atkinson, Rev. J.C., The Coucher Book of Furness Abbey, Printed from the Original Preserved in the Record Office, London, Part 1, London, 1886 References External links English Heritage Information for teachers: English Heritage Risk assessment information for teachers: English Heritage 1123 establishments in England 1537 disestablishments in England Christian monasteries established in the 12th century