Coverham Abbey,

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 cou ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, was a

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 ...

monastery that was founded at Swainby in 1190 by Helewisia, daughter of the Chief Justiciar Ranulf de Glanville. It was refounded at Coverham in about 1212 by her son Ranulf fitzRalph, who had the body of his late mother reinterred in the

chapter house A chapter house or chapterhouse is a building or room that is part of a cathedral, monastery or collegiate church in which meetings are held. When attached to a cathedral, the cathedral chapter meets there. In monasteries, the whole commu ...

at Coverham. There is some evidence that the during the first half of the 14th century the abbey and its holdings were attacked by the Scots, with the abbey itself being virtually destroyed. Later in that century there is a record of there being fifteen canons plus the abbot in residence. The abbey ruins are a

Scheduled Ancient Monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

and a

Grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Ire ...

Swainby Abbey

Swainby Abbey () was a

abbey in

. It was founded in 1187 or 1188 by Helewise, the daughter of Ranulph de Glanville, Sheriff of Yorkshire and later Justiciar for King Henry II. She was the wife of Robert, Lord of

Middleham Middleham is an English market town and civil parish in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire. It lies in Wensleydale in the Yorkshire Dales, on the south side of the valley, upstream from the junction of the River Ure and River Co ...

. In 1195, Helewise was buried at the abbey. The monastery was moved to Coverham in 1202.

Dissolution and remains

In the years leading up to dissolution, Coverham Abbey had been reduced to a modest size with fewer than a dozen monks, whose lands and comforts were managed by their monastic bailiff, Edward Loftus, father of the future Archbishop Adam Loftus. Early in 1536, the King’s receiver William Blytheman, assisted by the Abbey's last

seneschal The word ''seneschal'' () can have several different meanings, all of which reflect certain types of supervising or administering in a historic context. Most commonly, a seneschal was a senior position filled by a court appointment within a royal, ...

Thomas Wraye, sent inspectors to the Abbey to search for misdemeanours, record rents and compile an inventory of possessions, no doubt ably assisted by Loftus. By April, the Abbot was granted a pension, the monks offered the chance recant their vows and the monastery was stripped of all value, including “''781 oz. of silver plate and 3 oz. Gold''” included 6 brass bells and all the lead stripped from the roofs. What was left was sold to Humphrey Orme twenty years later and rapidly fell into ruin. The principal surviving remains include the ruins of the church and the guesthouse, which was incorporated into a house built on the site in 1674.White, Robert (2002) ''The Yorkshire Dales. A Landscape Through Time''. Ilkley: Great Northern Books, pp 56-62 This was replaced in the late 18th century by the current building known as Coverham Abbey House but still retains the surviving monastic features. The original gatehouse partially survives and there are many sculptural remains preserved including several tomb covers some with effigies of knights, from the 14th century. The site is usually inaccessible to the public but can be glimpsed from the churchyard of Coverham's redundant medieval parish church, Holy Trinity Church, Coverham. The exterior of the abbey and its grounds doubled as the home of Mrs Bond in two early episodes of the BBC television series '' All Creatures Great and Small''.''All Memories Great & Small'', Oliver Crocker (2016; MIWK)

Burials

* Geoffrey le Scrope (1285–1340) and his wife Ivetta De Ros * Ralph Neville, 1st Baron Neville de Raby * Ranulph Neville, 1st Baron Neville

References and notes

Notes

Sources

* 'Premonstratensian houses: Abbey of Coverham', A History of the County of York: Volume 3 (1974), pp. 243–45. * Anthony New. 'A Guide to the Abbeys of England And Wales', p123-25. Constable.

External links

{{coord, 54.2732, -1.8387, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Monasteries in North Yorkshire 1536 disestablishments in England Premonstratensian monasteries in England 1190 establishments in England Christian monasteries established in the 12th century Coverdale (dale) Scheduled monuments in North Yorkshire Grade I listed buildings in North Yorkshire