Two or three miles to the south, the road finds itself close to the deep valley of the Derwent. A short turning, embowered with tall trees whose dense foliage only allows a soft green light to filter through, goes steeply down to the river. The railway, although traversed by thundering express trains bound for York or the coast, is so hidden that it scarcely interferes with the beautiful spot where stand the ruins of Kirkham Abbey. We cross the deep and placid river by a stone bridge, and come to the Priory gateway. It is a stately ruin partially mantled with ivy, and it preserves in a most remarkable fashion the detail of its outward face. Ten shields bear the devices of Clare, Plantagenet, Ros, Greystoke, and Vaux, with others of some uncertainty, possibly including Espec, the founder of the Abbey. Through the wide pointed arch there is a glimpse of a sloping meadow backed by tall trees and the steeply rising ground just beyond the river. It appears in the picture of the gateway reproduced in these pages.
The mossy steps of the cross just outside the gateway are, according to a tradition in one of the Cottonian manuscripts, associated with the event which led to the founding of the Abbey by Walter Espec, lord of Helmsley. He had, we are told, an only son, also named Walter, who was fond of riding with exceeding swiftness.[D]
One day when galloping at a great pace his horse stumbled near a small stone, and young Espec was brought violently to the ground, breaking his neck and leaving his father childless. The grief-stricken parent is said to have found consolation in the founding of three abbeys, one of them being at Kirkham, where the fatal accident took place. The stone the unfortunate boy struck in falling is, according to the legend, incorporated in the base of the cross. Unfortunately, this picturesque story lacks any confirmation from other sources, and all that is definitely known is that Walter Espec founded the priory for Austin canons early in the twelfth century.
Of the church and conventual buildings only a few fragments remain to tell us that this secluded spot by the Derwent must have possessed one of the most stately monasteries in Yorkshire. One tall lancet is all that has been left of the church; and of the other buildings a few walls, a beautiful Decorated lavatory, and a Norman doorway alone survive.
Stamford Bridge, which is reached by no direct
STAMFORD BRIDGE
The river is the Derwent, and the bridge is not ancient. In the battle fought here in 1066 between Harold and the Norwegians, the wooden bridge which figured so conspicuously in the early part of the fight crossed the river close to the point from which this picture was made.