Easby Abbey, or the Abbey of

St Agatha ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...

, is a ruined

Premonstratensian The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their habit), is a religious order of canons regular of the Catholic Church ...

abbey on the eastern bank of the

River Swale The River Swale in Yorkshire, England, is a major tributary of the River Ure, which becomes the River Ouse, that empties into the North Sea via the Humber Estuary. The river gives its name to Swaledale, the valley through which it flows. ...

on the outskirts of

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, Californi ...

in the

Richmondshire {{Infobox settlement , name = Richmondshire District , type = District , image_skyline = , imagesize = , image_caption = , image_blank_emblem= Richmondshire arms.png , blank_emblem_type = Coat ...

district of

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by national parks, including most of the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors. It is one of four co ...

, England. The site is privately owned but maintained by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

and can be reached by a riverside walk from

Richmond Castle Richmond Castle in Richmond, North Yorkshire, England, stands in a commanding position above the River Swale, close to the centre of the town of Richmond. It was originally called Riche Mount, 'the strong hill'. The castle was constructed by Ala ...

. Within the precinct is the still-active parish church, displaying 13th-century wall paintings.

History

The Abbey of St Agatha, Easby, was founded in 1152 by Roald, Constable of Richmond Castle. The inhabitants were canons rather than

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedic ...

s. The Premonstratensians wore a white habit and became known as the White Canons. Easby was a daughter house of the Abbey of St Mary and St Martial (

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

) in

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...

; it was the third Premonstratensian house funded in England. The White Canons followed a code of austerity similar to that of

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint B ...

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 Egglestone Abbey is a ruined Premonstratensian abbey on the southern (Yorkshire) bank of the River Tees, in northern England, south-east of Barnard Castle. The abbey was historically within the North Riding of Yorkshire, but since 1974 has ...

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

and

Shap Abbey Shap Abbey was a religious house of the Premonstratensian order of Canons regular situated on the western bank of the River Lowther in the civil parish of Shap Rural, around from the village of Shap, in the Eden District of Cumbria, England. ...

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. ...

. Like most northern monasteries, Easby suffered from frequent Scottish raids during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

. Great damage was caused to Easby and

in 1346 when the English army was billeted there on its way to the

Battle of Neville's Cross The Battle of Neville's Cross took place during the Second War of Scottish Independence on 17 October 1346, half a mile (800 m) to the west of Durham, England. An invading Scottish army of 12,000 led by King David II was defeated with heavy los ...

. In the late 1530s

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

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 Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

Picture gallery of Easby Abbey

File:EasbyAbbey.jpg, Easby Abbey claustral west range File:Easby abbey 2.JPG, Easby Abbey, May 2007 File:Easby abbey wideview.JPG, View of Easby Abbey from the north-east, May 2007 File:EasbyAbbeyGatehouse.jpg, Abbey gatehouse

St Agatha's Church (Easby Church)

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. St Agatha’s Church (also called Easby Church) 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 Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

. 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

Picture gallery of St Agatha's Church

File:St agatha yorkshire.JPG, St Agatha's Church, 19 May 2007 File:St agatha fresco1.JPG , Fresco at St Agatha's File:St agatha fresco2.JPG , Fresco at St Agatha's

Burials

Henry le Scrope Sir Henry le Scrope (b. in or before 1268 - 7 September 1336) 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 (c. 1259 - c. 1312), who was bailif ...

was buried at the Abbey *William le Scrope (son of Henry), who was a soldier who distinguished himself in the French and Scottish wars (also buried at the Abbey) *

Richard le Scrope, 1st Baron Scrope of Bolton Richard le Scrope, 1st Baron Scrope of Bolton ( 1327 – 30 May 1403) 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. Biography Richard le Scrope was a Knig ...

was buried at the Abbey in 1403. *

Roger Scrope, 2nd Baron Scrope of Bolton Roger Scrope, 2nd Baron Scrope of Bolton was a member of the English peerage in the late fourteenth century. He was the second son of Richard le Scrope, 1st Baron Scrope of Bolton (''c''. 1327–1403) and Blanche de la Pole (sister of the earl o ...

, also buried at the Abbey *

Richard Scrope, 3rd Baron Scrope of Bolton Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...

* Henry Scrope, 4th Baron Scrope of Bolton * John Scrope, 5th Baron Scrope of Bolton

References