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On a recent trip down the Ards peninsula, the
Chapple family stopped at the beautifully preserved site of Greyabbey. The site is
believed to date from 1193, when this Cistercian abbey-monastery
was founded by Affreca, wife of John de Courcy, the
Anglo-Norman conqueror of Ulster. The surviving tradition is that Affreca
founded the abbey in gratitude for a particularly difficult sea voyage – making
it the only Cistercian monastery on the island to have been founded by a woman.
The foundation was set up as a daughter house of the Cistercian monastery at Holmcultram, in Cumberland,
and the two maintained close ties for many years. Construction in stone began
soon after the initial foundation, though the site appears to have been largely
destroyed during the invasion of Edward Bruce (1315-18) and
was later dissolved in 1541. At various times it suffered further damage and
depredation, but was reroofed during the 17th century and continued in use as
the local parish church until the end of the 18th century when a replacement
was built nearby. Repairs in the late 19th century notoriously made use of far
too much concrete, which visually detracts from the site and will, in the
longer term, have to be removed and rectified. Nonetheless, this is a
remarkably important building as it is the earliest completely Gothic style
building in Ulster.
I don’t intend to provide a step-by-step guide to
the site, but there a few magnificent portions that deserve to be highlighted.
The Church
The main church building dates to the early 13th
century and would have been the central focus of the monk’s lives. The west
doorway is remarkably elaborate, and one of the finest in Ireland. It is of
‘Early English’ style and dates to the period from 1220-1230. The pointed
window above the doorway is a 15th century insert, and the bell cote at the
very top was added in the 17th century when the site was used as a parish
church. In the south wall of the chancel there is a piscine for washing altar
vessels, and a sedile, a stone seat for high-ranking clerics. Along the
external face of the north wall there are large beam holes that supported the
roof of the pentice buildings on this side. On the exterior face of the southern
wall there are the remains of a Collation seat, where the abbot would have sat
during the evening service. The surviving remains are two projecting corbels
that would have held the wooden seat, and a portion of an arch to define and
demarcate the area. The inside of the church retains a number of post-Medieval
grave monuments, chiefly associated with the Montgomery family.
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| Overview of the West doorway |
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| Panoramic overview of the west gable |
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| Detail of the carved capitals on the left hand side of the West doorway |
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| Detail of the carved capitals on the right hand side of the West doorway |
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| View along the Nave towards the East Windows |
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| The East Windows |
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| View of east gable from the graveyard |
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| View down the Nave to the West Doorway from the Crossing |
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| The piscina (left) and sedile (right) |
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| North doorway with beam holes for pentice buildings above |
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| Doorway |
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| Panoramic overview of external north wall of the church |
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| View through the crossing arch towards the East Windows |
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| Chapple Minor taking his ease in the shade underneath the collation seat |
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| Graveslab with stepped cross decoration |
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| Large Montgomery monument, dated 1641, on modern concrete base |
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| Monument to Hugh Montgomery, d. 1707 |
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| View of the church from the Refectory |
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| View of the church from the southern end of the eastern range |
The
Refectory
The refectory, or ‘frater’ was the monk’s communal
dining space, located in the south range of the monastery, on the opposite side
of the cloister garth from the church. Apart from the church, it is the best
preserved of the monastic buildings.
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Panoramic overview of the Refectory from the south-west.
The hole in the wall to the far left is interpreted as a serving hatch that connected this building to the original kitchen. |
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| Panoramic overview of the Refectory from the north |
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| Panoramic overview of the site |
The Chapter
House
This room, where the monks would have come to
daily meetings, was once aisled and vaulted, with a decorated west door, and
three windows in the east wall. Today only the bases, and one reconstructed
column, survive internally. Traces of the windows and parts of the door
mouldings can also be seen.
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| Interior of the Chapter Room |
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| Detail of surviving portion of the Chapter House’s decorated west doorway |
The hut
In our rush of enthusiasm to get into the site, we hurried past the rather unassuming interpretive centre building.
We had two small boys with an excess of energy to burn off, and stopping off
for some historical education and general context would not have been a wise
move. To all intents and purposes it didn’t look like we were missing all that
much … it was not a particularly inviting building. On the other hand, had I
returned home without taking a look inside, I would have really been missing
out! The place has a rather TARDISy
feel of being bigger on the inside. In amongst the rather good informational
boards there are a whole host of original items from the site. These include
various pieces of masonry, displayed in innovative an interesting ways to give
a feeling of how they would originally have functioned in the completed
building, along with a selection of stones bearing mason’s marks. The centre
also holds an effigy of a 'sword seizing' knight, dating to around 1300 AD. The
remains of a second effigial tomb of a woman in thickly cut robes is
traditionally believed to be that of Affreca, the founder of the monastery.
Although she is thought to have been buried here, the tomb belongs to the 14th
century - long after her time. I want to say one final word about the
‘children’s toys’ provided here. There are two exquisite ‘build-your-own’
models, one of the abbey itself and the other of how a vaulted arch would have
been constructed. First, let’s please not pretend these are for children! I
loved them and would have happily worked at building an arched vault and
designing my own Cistercian monastery for quite a bit longer than I managed.
Unfortunately, the Chapples Minor, having extensively run, climbed, and generally
caused mayhem eventually exhausted themselves. They required parental
assistance to shepherd them back into the car and home. Thus, my opportunity to
imagine myself as a Medieval Cistercian architect, builder, and friendly giant
was at an end. For now …
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Inside The TARDIS Hut |
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| Effigy of a 'sword seizing' knight, c.1300 AD |
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| Display of vaulting and stonework |
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| Examples of cut and dressed stones with mason’s marks |
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| Effigial tomb of a woman (not Affreca), 14th century |
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| Build your own monastery! |
I do hope you enjoy these images, and (perhaps) be
inspired to get up, get out, and come see Northern Ireland for yourself!
See also:
The Northern Ireland Sites & Monuments Record
for Greyabbey.
Note:
The site also boasts a reconstruction of a
Medieval ‘Physic Garden’. I am given to understand that it is quite lovely and
interesting, but I just didn’t get a chance to investigate further. All the
more reason to come back …
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