Easby Abbey

Last updated

Easby Abbey
Abbey of St Agatha
EasbyAbbey Refectory.jpg
Easby Abbey refectory
Easby Abbey
54°23′52″N1°43′01″W / 54.39778°N 1.71694°W / 54.39778; -1.71694
Location Richmond, North Yorkshire
CountryEngland
Denomination Premonstratensian
Website www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/easby-abbey/
History
StatusRuin
Founded1152 (1152)
Founder(s)Roald, Constable of Richmond Castle
Dedication St Agatha
Specifications
Materials Stone

Easby Abbey, or the Abbey of St Agatha, is a ruined Premonstratensian abbey on the eastern bank of the River Swale on the outskirts of Richmond in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England. The site is privately owned but maintained by English Heritage and can be reached by a riverside walk from Richmond Castle. Within the precinct is the still-active parish church, displaying 13th-century wall paintings.

Contents

History

The Abbey of St Agatha, Easby, was founded in 1152 by Roald, Constable of Richmond Castle. [1] The inhabitants were canons rather than monks. The Premonstratensians wore a white habit and became known as the White Canons. [2] Easby was a daughter house of the Abbey of St Mary and St Martial (Newsham Abbey) in Lincolnshire; it was the third Premonstratensian house funded in England.

The White Canons followed a code of austerity similar to that of Cistercian monks. Unlike monks of other orders, they were exempt from episcopal discipline. They undertook preaching and pastoral work in the region (such as distributing meat and drink). The canons also raised sheep.

Other former Premonstraterian houses in the north of England include Egglestone Abbey in County Durham and Shap Abbey in Cumbria. Like most northern monasteries, Easby suffered from frequent Scottish raids during the Middle Ages. Great damage was caused to Easby and Egglestone Abbey in 1346 when the English army was billeted there on its way to the Battle of Neville's Cross.

In the late 1530s Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries. The abbey was abandoned and left to fall into ruins, though some of the best features were salvaged: the fine canopied choir stalls are now found in Richmond parish church.

The ruins are now Grade I listed. [3]

St Agatha's Church (Easby Church)

The Abbey remains Easby Abbey - geograph.org.uk - 1179463.jpg
The Abbey remains

St Agatha’s Church is part of the Anglican Parish of Easby, Skeeby, Brompton on Swale, and Bolton on Swale; part of the Richmond Deanery in The Diocese of Leeds. [4]

St Agatha’s Church (also called Easby Church) [2] is located outside of Richmond, Yorkshire, and can easily be reached from Richmond via the trail alongside the river. The exact foundation date of Easby Church is unknown, but it is thought to predate the neighbouring abbey. Little of the original church remains. St Agatha’s retains medieval frescoes that were preserved through the Reformation after being whitewashed. The church and abbey are open free of charge to the public.

In Easby Church is a plaster replica of the carved stone Easby Cross. The original, which dates from the late 8th or early 9th century, is now in the Victoria and Albert Museum. The survival of this extremely rare early Christian cross is remarkable because when the church was being renovated the cross was broken up and used as convenient building stone in the new church. It was preserved there until it was found in the wall of the church and reassembled in the 20th century.

The church is now Grade I listed. [5]

Burials

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abbey</span> Monastery under an abbot or an abbess

An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boxgrove Priory</span>

Boxgrove Priory is a ruined priory in the village of Boxgrove in Sussex, England. It was founded in the 12th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jervaulx Abbey</span> Ruined monastery in North Yorkshire, England

Jervaulx Abbey in East Witton in North Yorkshire, 14 mi (23 km) north-west of the city of Ripon, was one of the great Cistercian abbeys of Yorkshire, England, dedicated to St Mary in 1156. It is a Grade I listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richmond, North Yorkshire</span> Town in North Yorkshire, England

Richmond is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is located at the point where Swaledale, the upper valley of the River Swale, opens into the Vale of Mowbray. The town's population at the 2011 census was 8,413. The town is 13 miles (21 km) north-west of Northallerton, the county town, and 41 miles (66 km) north-west of York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bolton-on-Swale</span> Village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England

Bolton-on-Swale is a village and civil parish in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England. In 2015, North Yorkshire County Council estimated the population of the civil parish to be 70.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brompton-on-Swale</span> Village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England

Brompton-on-Swale is a village and civil parish in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England. The village is located three miles east of Richmond and 10 miles (16 km) north-west of the county town of Northallerton on the northern bank of the River Swale.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skeeby</span> Village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England

Skeeby is a village and civil parish about 18 miles (29 km) north-west of the county town of Northallerton in North Yorkshire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Downholme</span> Village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England

Downholme is a village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately 4 miles (6 km) west from the market town of Richmond and 16 miles (26 km) west from the county town of Northallerton. The village lies close to the edge of the Yorkshire Dales. The population as taken in the ONS Census of 2011 was less than 100, so details are included in the parish of Hudswell. In 2015, North Yorkshire County Council estimated the population of the village to be 50.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Easby, Richmondshire</span> Hamlet and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England

Easby is a hamlet and civil parish in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated near Richmond on the banks of the River Swale, approximately 12 miles (19 km) north west from the county town of Northallerton. The population taken by ONS was less than 100. Population information is included in the parish of Hudswell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Egglestone Abbey</span> Ruined Medieval Abbey in County Durham, England

Egglestone Abbey is a ruined Premonstratensian abbey in County Durham, England. It is located 1+1⁄2 miles (2.4 km) south-east of Barnard Castle, on the south bank of the River Tees, and was historically within the North Riding of Yorkshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coverham Abbey</span> Premonstratensian monastery in England

Coverham Abbey, North Yorkshire, England, was a Premonstratensian monastery that was founded at Swainby in 1190 by Helewisia, daughter of the Chief Justiciar Ranulf de Glanville. It was refounded at Coverham in about 1212 by her son Ranulf fitzRalph, who had the body of his late mother reinterred in the chapter house at Coverham.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coverdale, North Yorkshire</span> Valley of the Yorkshire Dales, England

Coverdale is a dale in the far east of the Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire, England. It takes its name from the River Cover, a tributary of the River Ure. The dale runs south-west from the eastern end of Wensleydale to the dale head at a pass, known as Park Rash Pass, between Great Whernside to the south and Buckden Pike to the north. It is accessible by a single track road, which runs the length of the dale and over the pass to Kettlewell in Wharfedale. The name is taken from that of the River Cover, which is of Brittonic origin. Ekwall suggested that it might mean "hollow stream", but more recently Andrew Breeze has argued that it is cognate with Welsh gofer "streamlet".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holy Trinity Priory, Aldgate</span> Monastery for Augustinian canons in medieval London

The Holy Trinity Priory, also known as Christchurch Aldgate, was a priory of Austin canons founded around 1108 by the English queen Matilda of Scotland near Aldgate in London.

Sir Henry le Scrope was an English lawyer, and Chief Justice of the King's Bench for two periods between 1317 and 1330. He was the eldest son of Sir William le Scrope, who was bailiff to the earl of Richmond in Richmondshire. Henry's younger brother Geoffrey was also a lawyer who probably advanced through the influence of his older brother. Geoffrey served as Chief Justice four times between 1324 and 1338.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Scrope, 1st Baron Scrope of Bolton</span>

Richard le Scrope, 1st Baron Scrope of Bolton was an English soldier and courtier, serving Richard II of England. He also fought under the Black Prince at the Battle of Crecy in 1346.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Radegund's Abbey</span>

St. Radegund's Abbey at Bradsole was a medieval monastic house in the parish of Hougham Without near Dover in southeast England. It was dedicated to Radegund, the sixth-century Merovingian princess, who, once married to the unsavory King Chlothar I, turned to a life of asceticism and charitable works. The remains of the abbey buildings have since have been incorporated into a farm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newsham Abbey</span> Former monastery in England

Newsham Abbey was an abbey in Newsham, a small hamlet north of Brocklesby village in Lincolnshire, England, and one of nine within the historical county. Founded by Peter of Gousla in 1143, Newsham was a daughter house of the Abbey of Licques, near Calais, and the first Premonstratensian house established in England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church of St Mary the Virgin, Richmond</span> Anglican church in Richmond, North Yorkshire, England

The Church of St Mary the Virgin, Richmond, is the Anglican parish church in the town of Richmond in North Yorkshire, England. Previously, there was another church, the Church of the Holy Trinity, which served as a chapel, and in the early part of the twentieth century, it was officiated over by the incumbent of St Mary's. In the 1960s, Holy Trinity was deconsecrated and now serves as the Green Howards' museum in the town.

References

  1. ↑ "Easby Abbey". English Heritage. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  2. 1 2 "Online Guide to Richmond - St Agatha's Abbey, Easby". Richmond Online. 2008. Archived from the original on 3 June 2008. Retrieved 15 June 2008.
  3. ↑ Historic England. "Ruins of Abbey of St Agatha (1131606)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  4. ↑ "Parish of Easby et al website". Archived from the original on 23 January 2019. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  5. ↑ Historic England. "Church of St Agatha (1131607)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 7 June 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.