A DAY of celebration to mark the 800th anniversary of the death of the man who founded Cartmel Priory was held on Sunday.

The church was founded in 1189 by Sir William Marshal on land recently granted to him by King Henry II. He became a famous medieval figure whose later involvement with the Magna Carta still has a bearing on British and other nations’ laws and governments today.

The commemoration started with a special evensong service in the Priory held in the main choir where the monks had originally spent much of their days praying. In his sermon, the Rev Nick Devenish gave thanks to William Marshal for his establishment of the Priory and its church which has been Cartmel's community and spiritual hub for the past eight centuries.

There then followed a talk by David Carpenter, professor of medieval history at King’s College, London, on the life of William Marshal. He noted that much information was available on Marshal’s life due to the existence of a biography written just a few years after his death which had been contributed to by people who had known him.

He said that Marshal was highly regarded as a gallant, capable and loyal servant to Henry II, Richard the Lionheart, King John and Henry III over a period of 50 years.