abbey
Bolton Priory, North Yorkshire, England
It was founded in 1154 by the Augustinian order, on the banks of the River Wharfe. The land at Bolton, as well as other resources, were given to the order by Lady Alice de Romille of Skipton Castle in 1154. In the early 14th century Scottish raiders caused the temporary abandonment of the site and serious structural damage to the priory.
Building work was still going on at the when the Dissolution of the Monasteries resulted in the termination of the priory in 1539. The east end remains in ruins. A tower, begun in 1520, was left half-standing, and its base was later given a bell-turret and converted into an entrance porch. Most of the remaining church is in the Gothic style of architecture, but more work was done in the Victorian era, including windows by August Pugin.
Waverley Abbey, Surrey
Waverley Abbey was the first Cistercian abbey in England. It was founded in 1128 by William Giffard, Bishop of Winchester about one mile south of Farnham on a site surrounded on three sides by a bend of the River Wey. Situated on a floodplain, the abbey was damaged on more than one occasion by severe flooding, and was rebuilt in the 13th century. Despite being the first Cistercian abbey in England, and being motherhouse to several other abbeys, Waverley was “slenderly endowed” and its monks are recorded as having endured poverty and famine. The abbey was closed in 1536 as part of King Henry VIII’s Dissolution of the Monasteries.
More about Waverley Abbey…
Knowlton Church, Dorset
Knowlton Church is a Norman church, built within a neolithic henge monument. Nearby is Great Barrow, the largest round barrow in Dorset. The site of the ancient village of Knowlton (as opposed to the present day hamlet) is located 50 yards west of Knowlton Church along Lumber Lane at the banks of the River Allen. It is believed that the village was a victim of the Black Death.
The village of Knowlton is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086–87 as Chenoltone.
photo by LLAP Dorset
Hore Abbey, Ireland
Hore Abbey (also known as St. Mary’s Abbey of the Rock) sits both literally and figuratively in the shadow of the mighty Rock of Cashel in County Tipperary. Although the Rock of Cashel is one of the most visited heritage sites in Ireland, very few spend the extra time on a short walk to visit the wonderful Abbey below.
The abbey is a Cistercian monastery, and most of the visible remains date to the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Local legend has it that the Abbey was given to the Cistercian order in 1270 AD, as the Archbishop of Cashel, MacCearbhaill, had a dream that the Benedictines (who were the original owners of the site) were plotting against him. He drove the Benedictines from Cashel, and invited the Cistercians to take their place.
The last Abbot of Hore Abbey was Patrick Stackpole, he had held the position for several decades, but peacefully surrendered the Abbey to the Crown Forces during the Dissolution of the Monasteries circa 1540. The lands were granted to the powerful Butler Family, and were eventually transferred again by Queen Elizabeth I to Sir Henry Radcliffe, Earl of Sussex.
photo by BillH-GSACC
Melrose Abbey: Vampires, Wizards and Ghosts…oh my!
The specter of a ghostly vampire monk has been seen at the abbey. The 12th century legend says that he was bitten and thus returned from the dead. He would rise from his Melrose Abbey grave at night and feed at the local nunnery. One night a brave monk kept vigil at his tomb and when the vampire monk climbed out to feed, he chopped his head off with an axe. This killed the vampire monk for good this time but his evil presence was thought to remain at the Abbey for some time. Some say they can still feel his evilness today. Also, the apparition of a group of walking monks has been seen at the abbey. Perhaps they are still patrolling the grounds, protecting the locals from the vampire.
Sir Michael Scot (1175 – c.1232) is said to haunt his own grave at the abbey. In life, he was a philosopher and wizard who practiced black magic and the black arts and it was said that he could even fly. Locals also claimed that he single-highhandedly built Hadrian’s Wall. Sir Michael Scot, “the Wizard of the North”, is credited variously as Scotland’s first scientist, alchemist, sorcerer and astronomer. He is also one of Scotland’s forgotten geniuses. His fame earned him a place in Dante’s Inferno, as well as Cornelius Agrippa’s De occulta philosophie. Go here for more about Michael Scot.
In addition to wizards and vampires, the shadow of a strange amorphous black figure has also been seen sliding along the ground. As to whom or what this is no one really knows.
Melrose Abbey was founded around 1136 by David l and dedicated to the Virgin Mary. It was a Cistercian abbey and became one of the richest in Scotland, with the largest flock of sheep of any of the religious houses in the country — about 15,000 by 1370. The heart of Robert the Bruce is buried in the abbey grounds in a leaden casket. He had sponsored the rebuilding of the abbey after an attack by the English in 1322.
The abbey is located in Melrose, Roxburghshire, in the Scottish Borders.
Lanercost Priory (and its boggles)
Lanercost Priory was famous in the 19th century for “boggles”, little creatures who played tricks on hapless humans. According to legend they can be deterred by a Bible or a silver crucifix.A boggle, bogle or bogill is a British (particularly Northumbrian and Scots) term for a ghost or folkloric being. The 19th century historian Jeremiah Sullivan said boggles could be:
Any shape - human, animal or composite - or just a noise, large dogs, white horses, unaccountable casts, or white rabbits.
Lanercost Priory was founded circa 1169 by Robert de Vaux and is dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene which is unusual for the region. The priory’s proximity to Scotland inevitably had an effect on the fortunes of the priory, and it was a target of Scots attacks in retaliation to English raids. This became acute after the outbreak of the War of Independence.Some of the priory’s visitors included Edward I and Robert the Bruce.
The priory is in the village of Lanercost, Cumbria, England, within sight of Naworth Castle.
More Cumbria boggle legends…
The abbey was founded in 1150 by King David I and was first colonized by monks from Melrose Abbey. It received its Papal Bull from Pope Alexander III in 1174, and later came under the protection of the Bishop of Moray in 1187. The abbey went on to become one of the largest and wealthiest religious houses in Scotland, receiving the valuable salmon fishing rights on the River Findhorn from Robert the Bruce in 1312, subsequently renewed by James I and James IV.
Kinloss Abbey is a Cistercian abbey approximately 3 miles east of Forres in the county of Moray, Scotland.
by moraypix on Flickr.
Inchcolm Abbey is a medieval abbey located on the island of Inchcolm in the Firth of Forth in Scotland. The Abbey, which is located at the centre of the island, was founded in the 12th century during the episcopate of Gregoir, Bishop of Dunkeld. Later tradition placed it back in the reign of King Alexander I of Scotland (1107–24), who probably had some involvement in the island. He was apparently washed ashore there after a shipwreck in 1123, and took shelter in a hermit’s hovel.
by Chris Scyner
Sweetheart Abbey, south of Dumfries, near to the Nith in south-west Scotland, was a Cistercian monastery, founded in 1275 by Dervorguilla of Galloway, daughter of Alan, Lord of Galloway, in memory of her husband John de Balliol. His embalmed heart, in a casket of ivory and silver, was buried alongside her when she died - the monks at the Abbey then renamed the Abbey in tribute to her. Their son, also John, became king of Scotland but his reign was tragic and short. The depredations suffered by the Abbey in subsequent periods, have caused both the graves to be lost. The abbey, built in deep-red, local sandstone, was founded as a daughter house to Dundrennan Abbey; this new monastery became known as the New Abbey.
by Gregor Samsa
Elgin Cathedral- Mythical door by Clantyre on Flickr.
The cathedral was built in 1224 on ground granted by Alexander the II in Elgin, Moray, north-east Scotland.
A fire in 1270 damaged the cathedral significantly initiating a major rebuilding program that substantially increased the size of the edifice. It was unaffected by the Wars of Independence but was again badly damaged by burning in 1390 following an attack by Robert III’s brother Alexander Stewart, Earl of Buchan, also known as the Wolf of Badenoch. In 1402 the cathedral precinct again suffered an incendiary attack by the followers of the Lord of the Isles. The cathedral was abandoned during the Reformation in 1560 and the services transferred to Elgin’s parish church of St. Giles.
Glastonbury Abbey by Bill M on Flickr.
Netley Abbey by lovestruck. on Flickr.
Tintern Abbey by archidave on Flickr.
Titchfield Abbey by Beardy Vulcan on Flickr.
Valle Crucis Morning by Howard ‘H’ Pimborough on Flickr.