The 'extraordinary' Tudor ceiling hidden in tower

The Prior's Tower is not normally open to visitors

Churches and cathedrals can offer amazing cultural experiences, from imposing architecture to brilliant artworks. But it is not just the renowned ones that have something special to offer.

There is a tower within the cathedral close in Carlisle, Cumbria, that hides a Tudor ceiling referred to as a "rare survival".

It is made extraordinary by how well it is preserved - says the Reverend Canon Benjamin Carter.

The 500-year-old ceiling was painted at a time when the cathedral was a priory, before the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII.

"We often sit in this room and tell people this is our second best ceiling," says Dr Carter.

Carlisle Cathedral is famous for its starry vaulted ceiling.

However, the Tudor one on the first floor of Prior's Tower, is not normally open to visitors and offers something particularly rare, because of how well it is preserved.

Carlisle Cathedral is known for its vaulted ceiling

"I don't know whether there was a suspended ceiling that hid it and then it got revealed, or whether it was just one of those things that just survived, in the way that these things sometimes do," explains Dr Carter.

The tower was built in the late 15th Century for the Priory of St Mary and sits on the West Walls of the city.

Today, it is next to the building where the dean lives.

The ceiling is rare because of how well preserved it is

The tower was built in the time of Prior Senhouse and the details of the ceiling includes his heraldry.

Mostly painted red, white and black, it in a room where there is a mixture between Medieval and Georgian designs.

It features a Jacobean fire place that is no longer in use and the rest of the room is panelled like a Georgian drawing room, in light green.

Dr Carter says: "[The ceiling] has painted symbols all over it, which tell of the life of the cathedral and Cumberland.

"It includes Tudor roses, showing our fidelity to the crown at that time."

The top floor of the tower had once been used as a museum, but its spiral staircase makes it a challenge for the space to be fully usable, says Dr Carter.

However, the view from the top, spanning wide across the walls and over the city, adds to the special feel of this Cumbrian hidden gem.