875 years on, monks walk again in historic abbey's grounds

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  • Published Date: 06 March 2007
  • Location: Yorkshire
Nearly 900 years on, monks walk again in historic abbey's grounds


History revisited: Robed monks once again walked through the ancient ruins of Rievaulx Abbey, near Helmsley in North Yorkshire, as English Heritage celebrated the site’s 875th anniversary yesterday. Pictures: Bruce Rollinson



By Mark Branagan

Nearly nine centuries ago one of France's most powerful monks, Bernard of Clairvaux, decided on a new mission – conquer England, starting with Yorkshire.

So 875 years ago yesterday – March 5, 1132 – a colony of brothers, dispatched by Bernard from Clairvaux Abbey in France, celebrated the founding of Rievaulx Abbey by the River Rye, near Helmsley in North Yorkshire.

It was a crowning moment in the career of Bernard of Clairvaux, who was said to be so charismatic in recruiting novices that they arrived by the cartload from French villages; mothers hid their sons from him, and wives their husbands.

North Yorkshire was chosen as the Cistercian monks' first foothold in the North, from where they would spread their teachings to the whole of northern England and Scotland.


Rievaulx Abbey, North Yorkshire


Rievaulx – French for Rye Valley – prospered throughout the Middle Ages when large numbers of recruits took their vows. But financial difficulties, war, famine and cattle diseases led to decline, while the outbreak of the Black Death in 1348-9 had devastating results on numbers.

By the late 14th century there were only 14 monks, three lay brothers and an abbot at Rievaulx and when the Dissolution of the Monasteries came in 1538 the population was still only 23.

But yesterday robed monks once again walked through the ancient ruins as English Heritage celebrated the site's 875th anniversary – when the 13 original monks were joined by the Norman Lord Walter L'Espec and other nobles at a ceremony to found the magnificent abbey.

To mark the historic milestone, 13 monks from nearby Ampleforth Abbey processed through the nave to celebrate Mass, watched by Rievaulx villagers and Lord and Lady Feversham of Duncombe Park.

English Heritage visitor operations manager John Lax said: "When the first monks arrived in the Rye Valley it was a wild and lonely place, so the decision to settle here was an act of faith. But the abbey proved a meteoric success, the community doubling to 600 in just a few years.

"We didn't want to let this anniversary pass, so we planned to recreate a flavour of the original foundation ceremony and celebrate Rievaulx's enduring glory nearly nine centuries later."

The presence of the Ampleforth monks also underlined another link with the past – leading the original Cistercian party was St William, a Yorkshireman who was also a teacher and Bernard's secretary at Clairvaux Abbey.

He was chosen by Abbot Bernard to return as leader of the expedition. Greatly admired for his devotion and abilities, he was later made a saint and buried in Rievaulx's chapter house.

Mr Lax added: "Both the Pope and Henry I were petitioned to found the abbey, and L'Espec donated some of his vast land holdings around Helmsley.

"Abbot Bernard promised that his 'army' would restore the land with a strong hand. It was a promise more than fulfilled."

Rievaulx was one of eight Cistercian houses established in Yorkshire, but it also provided the launch pad for the colonisation of Scotland. Abbeys such as Jedburgh and Melrose owe their existence to the Rye Valley community.

yorkshiretoday.co.uk