CISTERCIAN ABBEYS: Jervaulx

Jervaulx

location:	East Witton, near Ripon, North Yorkshire
founded:	1145
daughter of:	Byland; originally Savigniac, admitted to the Cistercian order in 1147
current status:	privately owned
visit:	all year round
pictures taken :	July 2010
Founded in Wensleydale in 1145, the monks removed their monastery to East Witton in 1156. At the height of its prosperity, the abbey owned half the valley, and was renowned for breeding horses. It was dissolved in 1537 after the last abbot, Adam Sedbergh, was hanged at Tyburn for his part in the Pilgrimage of Grace. At the time of its dissolution, it was valued at £455.10s5d.

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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