The Abbeys of Great Britain

by H. Claiborne Dixon

“ ‘HERE man more purely lives, less oft doth fall,
More promptly rises, walks with nicer heed,
More safely rests, dies happier, is freed
Earlier from cleansing fires, and gains with-all
A brighter crown.’[1] On yon Cistercian wall
That confident assurance may be read;
And, to like shelter from the world have fled
Increasing multitudes. The potent call
Doubtless shall cheat full oft the heart’s desires;
Yet, while the rugged age on pliant knee
Vows to rapt fancy humble fealty,
A gentle life spreads round the holy spires;
Where’er they rise, the sylvan waste retires,
And aëry harvests crown the fertile lea.
Cistercian Monastery (Wordsworth).

Fountains Abbey is one of the earliest and most important of the houses belonging to the Cistercian order, an order which was under the immediate control of the Bishop of Rome, and which was introduced into England in the year 1129. After that time very few, if any, houses of the Benedictine order were founded in this country. The rules of the Benedictine and Cluniac orders having apparently become somewhat relaxed, it was found necessary to form new orders in which stricter observance should be paid to the original purpose of such religious houses—to personal self-denial for the good of others—to the fulfilment of the monastic vows of poverty, chastity and obedience—while less attention should be given to the attainment of worldly prosperity. These new orders—the Cistercian and Carthusian—settled in thinly populated districts, whereas the Benedictine and Cluniac orders built their houses as a rule in the vicinity of some town or trading centre. Robert de Molême is supposed to have founded at Citeaux the chief monastery of the Cistercian Order, although its popularity dates from the 12th century when St Bernard joined the community. The wave of sanctity which led Robert de Molême to Citeaux spread till it reached York and the Abbey of St Mary—then under the rule of St Benedict. Seven monks, wearied of the relaxed rules of the house, banded themselves together to observe stricter rules, eventually taking council with their prior, Richard, whom they found to be in sympathy with their aims. Violent discussions followed between the abbot and the prior and his associates, till in 1132 Prior Richard appealed to Thurstan, Archbishop of York. Thurstan was refused admittance to the abbey, while the monks prepared to drag Richard and his companions to the monastery cells. The archbishop came to their rescue, and with his help the thirteen brethren freed themselves for ever from their self-indulgent home. They were given land in the valley of the Skell—then a wilderness of rocks and trees—and could only depend upon chance means of subsistence. Their sole shelter was seven yew trees—some of which still remain—but after a while they began to build a hut under an elm tree, which had at one time furnished not only their shelter but their food. Far away from any inhabited place, and dependent on the bounty of the archbishop, they began to suffer great privations. A famine spread over England and the monks had to live chiefly on herbs and elm leaves, reserving any better food for the workmen who were finishing the building of their house. During the absence of Richard at Clairvaux—whence he had gone to ask St Bernard for work and shelter for his monks—Hugh, Dean of York, fell sick and ordered himself to be taken to Fountains, carrying with him money, valuables, and many books. When the abbot returned from France, he and his monks resolved to remain in Skeldale, where they were joined in course of time by Serlo and Tosti, Canons of York, whose wealth greatly enriched the abbey. Within three years of their arrival beside the Skell, the monks of Fountains had acquired land and riches.

Though the Cistercian abbeys do not contain so much rich moulding, nor in any way approach the intricate workmanship of the great Benedictine abbeys, the austere dignity and simple grandeur make the Cistercians’ work every whit as imposing and beautiful as that of the earlier orders. What ruins of a Benedictine house can compare with the grace of those of Tintern, Whitby, Newstead, and Fountains Abbeys, built by the Cistercian or “White monks”?

The cultivated surroundings of Fountains Abbey help in great measure to place it in the foremost rank of the many beautiful ruins in England. Surrounded by thickly-wooded trees, from which many delightful and unexpected glimpses of the ruins may be descried, the Abbey of St Mary’s stands in grounds of which words fail to describe the enchantment and many beauties. A level piece of land, watered by the river Skell, extends immediately beyond the ruins, but in all directions, green slopes, and gentle, leafy eminences meet the eye, while in the far distance the Yorkshire wolds form a dark and effective background to the grey stone of the picturesque ruins. The skeleton of the lofty northern tower gives a sense of completeness to the ruins, and helps to create the illusion, when viewing the abbey from a distance, that the edifice has suffered but little from the ravages of time. On closer inspection it will be seen that sufficient is yet in good preservation to show the spaciousness and loftiness of the various apartments, and the admirable proportions of the abbey church. This imposing edifice measures 385 feet by 67 feet, and is composed of a nave of eleven bays, divided from its aisles by massive columns of Norman Transitional work. Above is a clerestory formed of round-headed lights resting on the string course. A Galilee of the same period stood at the west end of the nave, and in it were interred, as at Canterbury, the bodies of the primates. The transepts had each two chapels, and adjoining the north wing, a tower of four stages was built in the 15th and 16th centuries by Abbot Marmaduke Huby. John of York built the aisleless choir in the 15th century. Beyond it is the magnificent Lady chapel, 150 feet in length, in which Abbot John of Kent placed nine altars as in Durham Cathedral. The great east window, now a blank, is of Perpendicular work. In addition to the church are many most interesting buildings. Foremost among these are the celebrated cloisters on the western side of the cloister garth. The vaulting here is still intact, and covers a nave of two aisles, divided by a range of columns. The almost subterranean gloom is lighted by several lancet-windows, themselves enveloped in thick foliage. The cloister garth is 126 feet square, the church being on the north side, the chapter-house on the east, the refectory, the frater house, kitchen, and other offices opening on to the south side, while the cloisters, which span the river here, are on the west side. Three tiers of seats still remain in the chapter-house, which was built in rectangular form by Abbot Fastolph in 1153, and formerly divided into aisles by ten marble columns. The Early English refectory is an apartment of noble dimensions, consisting of a nave and two aisles. On the northern side, the reading gallery from which the Scriptures were read to the monks during their meals can still be seen. To the east of this is the vaulted frater house (Transitional Norman), and beyond again is the staircase which led to the “Hall of Pleas.” The 13th century bridge which spans the Skell, leads to a fragment of the gate-house—whilst portions of the infirmary, guest-hall and other buildings also remain. When complete, the abbey covered twelve acres of ground, its possessions reaching from Pennicent to St Wilfrid’s lands at Ripon—a distance of thirty miles. In Craven as much as 60,000 acres belonged to the abbey. Though now deprived of its possessions and shorn of its former glory, Fountains Abbey is unrivalled in the extent of its domain and is the object of every care on the part of its present owner. The small fee exacted from all who visit the ruins keeps the beautiful grounds in a condition worthy of the treasured relic which they surround.

[BOLTON (Augustine Canons)]

1120, Monastery founded and endowed at Embsay by William de Meschines and his wife Cecile, and dedicated to the Blessed Virgin and St Cuthbert—1151, Canons remove to Bolton, where Alice de Romillé exchanges land with them, for the purpose of erecting a priory to the memory of her son—1308, Edward II. confirms the grants conferred upon the abbey by various benefactors—1540, Dissolved. Annual revenue, £212, 3s. 4d.

Of this magnificent priory (incorrectly called abbey) very little is left standing. The ruins possess, however, an attraction and a charm peculiarly their own, and of the many abbeys for which Yorkshire is famous, not one holds so high place in popular favour as Bolton. History, tradition, and sentiment alike have contributed to this estimation. Picturesquely situated in Wharfedale, the ruins of the abbey stand on a slightly elevated meadowland, past which the river Wharfe flows in a bend, after raging through its rock-bound bed higher up in the valley, and leaping over precipitous cliffs. Some stepping-stones, placed there no doubt by the monks, afford an easy means of crossing the river below the abbey. Surrounding hills protect this ancient house of prayer—enclosing it on three sides by Simon’s Seat, Barden Fell, and the thickly wooded hills of Bolton Park.

Part of the original nave of Bolton Priory has been converted into the present parish church—the choir and transepts are, however, in a ruinous state. The remains of the Perpendicular east window (overlooking the Wharfe) and of the Perpendicular tower at the west end are of later date than the rest of the ruin. The tower was in course of erection by the last abbot, Richard Moon, when, in the 16th century, the dread order for dissolution fell upon the abbey. The superstructure has fallen, but in the lower portion a large Perpendicular window of five lights in two tiers, placed within panelled buttresses, still remains. Over the entrance to the tower may be seen the arms of