CISTERCIAN ABBEYS: Buckland

Buckland

location:	Yelverton, Devon, England
founded:	1278
daughter of:	Quarr (Savigniac)
current status:	in the care of National Trust
visit:	February - December
pictures taken :	May 2010
Buckland Abbey is probably best known today as the house of Sir Francis Drake. After the Dissolution in 1536, the abbey was sold to Sir Richard Grenville who converted it to a residence, using the abbey church as the main part of the house. He sold it to Drake in 1581.

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In 1098, aspiring to a return to the strict observance of the rule of St Benedict, Robert de Molesme founded a New Monastery at Citeaux. Within twenty years the Order of Cistercians had spread to four daughter abbeys, and continued to expand rapidly. By 1250, the order numbered 650 abbeys across Europe and the Near East. Though many have been destroyed by wars and revolutions, those that remain provide a fascinating collection of outstanding sites.

My first visit to a Cistercian abbey was several years ago, to Noirlac, in Cher in central France. I found the austere design of the Cistercian ideal so attractive that I have been visiting Cistercian abbeys ever since. Though they vary considerably in their state of repair, many are open to the public.

I am gradually adding photos and brief details of each of the abbeys I have visited, but anyone who wishes to add further photos or information by way of comment is most welcome to do so.

Kath Banks

July 2009