Notre Dame de Rouen. The façade of the Gothic Church in France. Photographer: Hippo1947. Licence: SHUTTERSTOCK.

Friday 20 October 2017

Rievaulx Abbey. Cistercian Monastery. Founded 1132. Powerhouse Of The North.



Rievaulx Abbey, 
Yorkshire, England.
Building started in 1132 
by twelve Monks 
from Clairvaux, France.
[Editor: Play the following "Nunc Dimittis", by Christian Forshaw, whilst viewing this photo.]
Photo: 13 April 2014.
Source: Own work.
Author: Juliet220.
(Wikimedia Commons)


"Nunc Dimittis".
By Christian Forshaw.
From the CD "Sanctuary".
Available on YouTube at



Rievaulx Abbey, 
Yorkshire, England.
Saved from: ENGLISH HERITAGE
Illustration: PINTEREST


Rievaulx Abbey, 
Yorkshire, England.
Photo: 28 July 2006.
Source: Own work.
Author: Tilman2007.
(Wikimedia Commons)


"Mortal Flesh".
(Anonymous).
Arrangement: Christian Forshaw.
From the CD "Sanctuary",
by Christian Forshaw.
Available on YouTube at



Artist's reconstruction of the Monks in Choir,
Rievaulx Abbey, 
Yorkshire, England.
Illustration: ENGLISH HERITAGE


The perfect accompaniment to Rievaulx Abbey.
Christian Forshaw's arrangement of "Me, Me And None But Me", by John Dowland.
From the CD "Renouncement", by Christian Forshaw and The Sanctuary Ensemble.
Grace Davidson - Soprano.
Christian Forshaw - Saxophone.
Alexander Mason - Organ.
Available on YouTube at


Rievaulx Abbey 
in Winter.
Yorkshire, England.
Source: Unknown.
Author: Unknown.


"Te Deum".
5th-Century A.D., Solemn Monastic Gregorian Chant.
This would have been a regular daily part of 
The Divine Office at Rievaulx Abbey.
Available on YouTube at



Rievaulx Abbey 
at Dawn.
Photo: 2011.
Author: Antony McCallum.
Attribution: WyrdLight.com
(Wikimedia Commons)


"Magnificat".
By Christian Forshaw.
Andy Davey playing Alto Saxophone on this beautiful composition by Christian Forshaw.
The Choir is called "Sine Nomine" and it was recorded, with Christian's permission,
as part of an Evensong in Coventry Cathedral, England, in August 2008.
Available on YouTube at


Rievaulx Abbey, 
Yorkshire, England.
Photo: 28 July 2006.
Source: Own work.
Author: Tilman2007.
(Wikimedia Commons)


The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia.

Rievaulx Abbey was a Cistercian Abbey, in Rievaulx, near Helmsley, in the North York Moors National Park, North Yorkshire, England.

It was one of the great Abbeys in England until it was seized by King Henry VIII of England in 1538 during The Dissolution of The Monasteries. The striking ruins of its main buildings are a tourist attraction, owned and maintained by English Heritage.

Rievaulx Abbey was the first Cistercian Monastery in the North of England, Founded in 1132 by twelve Monks from Clairvaux Abbey, France.

Its remote location was well suited to The Order's ideal of a strict life of Prayer and self-sufficiency, with little contact with the outside World. The Abbey's Patron, Walter Espec, also Founded another Cistercian Community, that of Wardon Abbey, in Bedfordshire, England, on unprofitable wasteland on one of his inherited estates.

The first Abbot of Rievaulx, Saint William I, started construction in the 1130s. The fourth Abbot, Saint Aelred of Rievaulx, elected in 1147, expanded the buildings and otherwise consolidated the existence of what, with time, became one of the great Cistercian Abbeys of Yorkshire, second only to Fountains Abbey in fame.

Under Aelred, the Abbey is said to have grown to some 140 Monks and 500 Lay Brothers. By the end of his tenure, Rievaulx Abbey had five Daughter-Houses in England and Scotland.


Rievaulx Abbey, 
Yorkshire, England.
Photo: 28 July 2006.
Source: Own work.
Author: Tilman2007.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Rievaulx Abbey, 
Yorkshire, England.
Ruins of the former Cistercian Monastery.
Founded in 1132.
Photo: 15 November 2007.
Source: From geograph.org.uk
Author: Dennis Turner
(Wikimedia Commons)


Rievaulx Abbey.
Photo: 15 October 2009.
Source: From geograph.org.uk
Author: Simon Palmer
(Wikimedia Commons)

Once a magnificent construction
by human hands,
to Adore and Glorify God.

AND NOW . . .


Rievaulx Abbey, 
Yorkshire, England.
Ruins of the former Cistercian Monastery.
Founded in 1132.
Photo: 5 May 2012.
Source: Own work.
Author: Mandala Heaven.
(Wikimedia Commons)




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