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| Fountains
Abbey 1 |
From manicured-looking
hills to the enchanting villages that dot the landscape, much of England's
countryside is worthy of visiting. Leaving the modern, energetic cities of
London and others behind
is at once a step back in time and a visual delight, and in perhaps no other region
is this more the case than North
Yorkshire. Home to two national parks–the Yorkshire
Dales and the North
York Moors, North Yorkshire boasts some of the country's loveliest countryside
and most stunning monuments, among them several of England's notalbe abbeys. These
monastic ruins, often located in spectacular settings, are some of the most lavish
and well-preserved around and provide a brilliant way to experience England's
charming north.
ORIENTATION
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North
Yorkshire Countryside 2 |
Lying approximately 320
km (200 mi) north of London,
North Yorkshire
is largely a picturesque patchwork of farms, stone walls, heather-covered moors
and dramatic sea cliffs. The county stretches from the Yorkshire
Dales' western boundary east to the sweeping coastline of the North
Sea and from just beyond Leeds
in the south up to the towns of Darlington
and Middlesbrough
in the north. The region, largely left untouched by the Industrial Revolution,
lacks the larger manufacturing cities of other parts of Yorkshire
and is instead a county of old world villages, market towns and small cities,
the most notable of which is York,
the main urban centre of the region as well as an important historical city.
HISTORY
Defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as “establishments occupied
by a community of monks or nuns,” most abbeys were created in the 1100s
by monks from mainland Europe although a few had Celtic origins as early as
the 7th century AD. Many of the abbeys enjoy spectacular settings thanks to
the land on which they are located having been bequeathed to the monasteries
by the area's landed gentry. As a result, communities were formed around the
abbeys of hundreds of monks and lay brothers, the latter being workers who lived
in the monastery but relieved the monks of routine jobs such as looking after
the land, serving as masons or tending herds of livestock. Together the monks
and lay brothers turned the large tracks of lands into considerable wealth,
mainly through the production of wool and textiles.
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| Rievaulx
Abbey 3 |
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The prominence of such structures
and communities was not to last however and their demise was both sudden and
catastrophic. While the ruins today exhibit the inevitable and gradual breakdown
of the grand structures over the last 500 years, their decline was more the
direct result of Henry VIII's separation from the Catholic Church of Rome in
the mid 16th century and the Dissolution of the Monasteries that followed. In
less than five years, between 1538 and 1541, the abbeys' assets–in the
form of their lands, the wealth they produced, the opulent artifacts within
the monasteries, even parts of the structures themselves – were all directed
to the royal exchequer and assured their immediate destruction. Of the ruined
abbeys today, almost all share one commonality, an absence of any roof. Constructed
of lead, the roofs were of particular value and were quickly dismantled, leaving
the abbeys open to the elements and unavoidable collapse but also adding to
their ethereal beauty today.
One noticeable benefit of
the abbeys' destruction are the handsome villages and halls that surround them.
Many of these nearby villages and estates owe their appeal to the fine stone
pillaged from the abbeys and used to construct the buildings that still stand
today. Nevertheless, the ruins themselves remain an impressive display of architectural
grandeur, striking natural beauty and visions of centuries gone by.
FEATURE ATTRACTIONS
This article features Yorkshire's
four main abbeys, organised here in a clockwise circular tour leaving from either
Leeds
or York,
although a visit to only one or two of the historical ruins is adequate to appreciate
their distinctive beauty.
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Bolton
Abbey Priory Ruins 4 |
Bolton Abbey
Located in the the Yorkshire Dales, approximately 35 km (22 mi) northwest of
Leeds, lies Bolton
Abbey, an extensive estate which includes the 12th century Priory
Ruins, the village itself and a present-day yet historical parish church.
Founded in 1154 by an Augustinian order, the Priory was built on land given
to the Augustinian Canons by Lady Alice de Rumilly of the nearby Skipton
Castle. While it is rumoured that she gave the land to the Canons as
a tribute to her deceased son, this story is considered unlikely since the boy's
signature reputedly appears on the Priory's deeds.
Set in the grounds of the
meandering River
Wharfe, Bolton
Abbey enjoys an idyllic setting, apparently noticed by practically all
who visit. From classical poetry and art to alternative rock and BBC plays,
Bolton Abbey has left its impression. William Wordsworth's poem The White Doe
of Rylstone was inspired by a visit to Bolton Abbey and the album cover of Faith
by The Cure reportedly features a foggy picture of the ruins. It is not necessary,
however, to know fame to be impressed with this relatively modest abbey and
the often shroudy scene surrounding it, as portrayed in J.M.W. Turner's 1809
watercolour of the estate.
Fountains Abbey
Largely considered the most well-preserved Cistercian house in all of England,
Fountains
Abbey is a Grade One listed building and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Not surprisingly, the abbey is a hugely popular attraction well worth a visit
to see the magnificent ruins and the 333 ha (822 acres) estate on which it is
located. Founded in 1132 by 13 monks dissatisfied with their respective monasteries,
the beautiful secluded valley that is home to Fountains was at the time thought
to be uninhabitable by man. However, with access to woodlands for timber, quarries
for stones and the River Skell providing an unlimited water supply, the monks
and their sizable band of lay brothers soon became one of England's richest
religious houses and of considerable importance, with the abbots sitting as
members of parliament.
Like other abbeys, Fountains
did not survive the Dissolution and its fine stonework was carted off to build
other structures, in this case, Fountains
Hall, a five-storey Jacobian mansion that was built in 1610 on the abbey's
estate. Fountains is located 6.5 km (4 mi) west of the town of Ripon,
halfway between the Yorkshire
Dales and the North
York Moors.
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| Cottage
with Thatched Roof in Rievaulx Village 5 |
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Rievaulx Abbey
If Fountains Abbey is an exhibit of imposing grandeur, Rievaulx
Abbey is one of natural splendour. Thought by many to be the most beautiful
monastic ruin in England,
Rievaulx Abbey became one of the great Cistercian abbeys of England, second
only to Fountains and arguably as worthy of a visit if not more so. The church
and the monks refectory, constructed in the 12th and 13th centuries, remain
significantly intact with many of the elaborate columns, molded arches and graceful,
medieval windows still intact.
If visitors are not sufficiently
impressed with the ruins themselves and the striking valley setting in which
the abbey lies, the tiny village of Rievaulx
that adjoins the ruins is every bit as memorable. Centuries-old cottages with
traditional thatched roofs and colourful rose bushes are postcard perfect and
hardly believable as the present, modern-day residences they are. Equally picturesque
is the nearby market town of Helmsley,
claimed by many to be the prettiest village in the north of England. Whether
there are prettier places or not, Helmsley is nothing if not quaint and a great
base from which to explore the abbeys.
Whitby Abbey
Whitby
Abbey is unique from most other Yorkshire
ruins in two ways–the abbey was a Benedictine order of Celtic heritage
dating back to 657 AD, making the religious site much older than the Cistercian
ruins, and whereas most of the other abbeys enjoy settings that speak of a peaceful
idyll, Whitby Abbey's imposing location high on a cliff overlooking the North
Sea is as dramatic as it is striking.
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The
Town of Whitby and the River Esk 6 |
The original church was
founded by the Anglo-Saxon King of Northumbria but fell to a Viking attack in
867 AD before being re-founded in the 11th century. The church's Viking and
Celtic origins that predate the present ruins are evident in the ancient gravestones
that surround the ruins, adding to the site's mystique and spectacular setting
that reportedly providing inspiration for Bram Stoker's Dracula. After
the Dissolution, the abbey was abandoned but its prominent location high above
sea remained a landmark for sailors for centuries to come.
Visitors can drive directly
to the abbey or can choose to climb the 199 steps that lead from the town below
to the abbey looming above the sea cliff. Whitby
in itself is worth a visit as an attractive seaside town and a base from which
to explore the area's beaches, cliffs and coves. This unassuming little town
is also home to the Captain
Cook Memorial Museum since it was here that the now famous captain and
explorer learned his skills as a sailor and set forth to the distant seas of
the South Pacific.
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| Castle
Howard 7 | |
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Each of the abbeys mentioned
above are open year round and have information centres as well as entrance fees.
For a more informal viewing of lesser-known (and less grand) abbeys, visitors
can check out Byland
Abbey in the tiny village of Easingwold, Jervaulx
Abbey outside of Masham, Saint
Mary's Abbey in York
or Kirkstall
Abbey in Leeds.
Entrance to these abbeys and others are sometimes left unattended and rely on
visitors' contributions for maintenance. The latter mention, Kirkstall Abbey,
is particularly unique in that it is an 800 year old ruin smack dab in the midst
of the traffic and bustle of Leeds. Many of England's
abbeys are now owned by the National Trust conservation charity and in the care
of English Heritage.
WHEN TO GO
Rain is a well-known possibility
at any time in England
and a visitor can experience grey skies in the peak of July as easily as in
the dead of January. That said, however, there are a couple of compelling reasons
to plan a visit between April and September. November through February are indisputably
dark and often cold and wet with prolonged showers. Spring months on the other
hand can be sunny and warm with an occasional downpour but also particularly
scenic with the abundance of daffodils and spring vegetation about. September
and October, likewise, offer a chance of reasonable weather and some reprieve
from the immense crowds that abound during July and August. Temperatures vary
but generally speaking, visitors to Yorkshire can expect average winter temperatures
around 5°C (41°F) up to 20°C (68°F) in the peak of summer.
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Other note worthy
attractions around Yorkshire:
York,
a nearly 2000 year old city with Roman and Viking origins is a must see.
The Roman
Walls enclosing the city and the commanding York
Minster set the town apart from many of its English counterparts
while offering sightseeing, shopping and dining among its cobbled streets
and snickleways.
Castle
Howard is one of the finest estates in England if not the whole
of Europe. Built in the late 1600s, the Baroque house is visually stunning
and is only surpassed by its setting atop the Howardian Hills overlooking
the lake.
Haworth,
home to the Bronte family, is a tiny village high in the Pennine Moors
of West Yorkshire. Visitors can tour the Parsonage
where many of the famous works were written or stroll the narrow, cobbled-streets
of the village itself.
Robin
Hood's Bay, a haven of narrow streets and wee houses, is nestled
by the sea beneath the high plateau of the east coast moors.
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Another reason to visit
during the more popular spring and summer months is the assurance that most,
if not all, of the country's attractions, facilities and tourist information
centres will be open. While the abbeys mentioned herein are open year round,
other less popular monuments and grand houses often close in late fall for the
winter months or have limited visiting hours.
GETTING AROUND
While public transit is
both popular and readily available in England,
touring the countryside and visiting the abbeys is best accomplished by car.
Leeds
or York,
two of the area's main cities, are both good starting points for a tour of North
Yorkshire and can easily be reached via bus
or train
service. Both cities are home to several multi-national car
rental companies, making a self-guided circuit of the area easy to organise
and allowing visitors the opportunity to fully explore the national
parks, the country roads and the quaint villages that make up this beautiful
region.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF:
- Klaus, K; c/o Wikipedia
Commons; Fountains Abbey; Ripon, North Yorkshire, England
- Weppler, S; c/o World
Web Technologies; North Yorkshire Countryside; Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire,
England
- Weppler, S; c/o World
Web Technologies; Rievaulx Abbey; Helmsley, North Yorkshire, England
- Bolton Abbey Priory
Ruins, Bolton Abbey, North Yorkshire, England
- Weppler, S; c/o World
Web Technologies; Cottage in Rievaulx Village; Helmsley, North Yorkshire,
England
- Whitby Bay Harbour,
Whitby, North Yorkshire, England
- Weppler, S; c/o World
Web Technologies; Castle Howard; York, North Yorkshire, England
