The

ruins Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate ...

of Kirkham Priory are situated on the banks of the River Derwent, at Kirkham,

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The Augustinian

priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. They were created by the Catholic Church. Priories may be monastic houses of monks or nuns (such as the Benedictines, the Cistercians, or t ...

was founded in the 1120s by

Walter l'Espec Walter Espec (died 1153) was a prominent military and judicial figure of the reign of Henry I of England. His father was probably William Speche (William Espec), who joined William the Conqueror in the Norman conquest of England. The senior Spec ...

, lord of nearby

Helmsley Helmsley is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the North Riding of Yorkshire, the town is located at the point where Ryedale leaves the moorland and joins the flat Vale of Pickering. Helmsley is ...

, who also built

Rievaulx Abbey 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 in 1538 under Henry VIII during the Dissolu ...

. The priory was surrendered in 8 December 1539 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Legend has it that Kirkham was founded in remembrance of l'Espec's only son who had died nearby as a consequence of his horse being startled by a boar. The area was later used to test the

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

landing vehicles, and was visited by

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

. The ruins are now

Grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

and a

scheduled 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, visu ...

in the care of

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, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...

Gatehouse ruins

The Gatehouse of Kirkham Priory, built , is a specimen of English Gothic medieval architecture. It is a rare survival of such a gatehouse, comparable to that of

Butley Priory Butley Priory, sometimes called ''Butley Abbey'', was a religious house of Canons regular (Augustinians, Black canons) in Butley, Suffolk, dedicated to The Blessed Virgin Mary. It was founded in 1171 by Ranulf de Glanville (c. 1112-1190), Chief ...

in Suffolk. It has a wide arch of continuous mouldings with a crocketed gable running up to the windows, with sculptures of

St George and the Dragon In a legend, Saint Georgea soldier venerated in Christianity—defeats a dragon. The story goes that the dragon originally extorted tribute from villagers. When they ran out of livestock and trinkets for the dragon, they started giving up a huma ...

on the left, and David and Goliath to the right. Above the arch is Christ in a pointed oval recess, plus two figures below of

St Bartholomew Bartholomew was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Most scholars today identify Bartholomew as Nathanael, who appears in the Gospel of John (1:45–51; cf. 21:2). New Testament references The name ''Bartholomew ...

and

St Philip Philip the Apostle (; Aramaic: ܦܝܠܝܦܘܣ; , ''Philippos'') was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Later Christian traditions describe Philip as the apostle who preached in Greece, Syria, and Asia-Minor. In ...

, in niches. There are also many escutcheons with the armorials of the various benefactors of the Priory, including the arms of de Ros, Scrope, de Forz, Vaux, FitzRalph & Espec (3 cart-wheels, each with 6 spokes). * Arms of

Scrope Scrope (pronounced "scroop") is the name of an old English family of Norman origin that first came into prominence in the 14th century. The family has held the noble titles of Baron Scrope of Masham, Baron Scrope of Bolton, and for a brief time, t ...

: ''Azure, a bend or'' * Seal 1 WilliamDeForz 4thEarlOfAlbemarle Died1260

Arms of de Forz * CoA Gilbert de Clare

Arms of

de Clare The House of Clare was a prominent Anglo-Norman noble house that ruled the Earldoms of Pembroke, Hertford and Gloucester in England and Wales throughout its history, playing a prominent role in the Norman invasion of Ireland. They were desce ...

* Arms of de Ros

Burials

*Sir William de Ros (b. before 1200 – d. ca. 1264/1265), father of Robert de Ros, 1st Baron de Ros. *

Robert de Ros (died 1285) Sir Robert de Ros (before 1237 – 13 May 1285) was an English nobleman. Family Robert de Ros of Helmsley, Yorkshire, born c. 1225, was the son of Sir William de Ros (died c. 1264/5) and Lucy FitzPeter, the daughter of Peter FitzHerbert and ...

William de Ros, 1st Baron de Ros William Ros or Roos, 1st Baron Ros of Helmsley (c. 1255 – 6 or 8 August 1316), was one of the claimants of the crown of Scotland in 1292 during the reign of Edward I. Family William Ros was the eldest son of Robert de Ros (d. 17 May 128 ...

William de Ros, 2nd Baron de Ros William Ros, 2nd Baron Ros of Helmsley, sometime spelled William Roos (c. 1285 – 3 February 1343) was the son of William Ros, 1st Baron Ros and Maud de Vaux. Biography As 2nd Baron Ros of Helmsley, Werke, Trusbut & Belvoir, he was summoned ...

* Ralph Greystoke, 5th Baron Greystoke

Preparation for D-Day landings in the Second World War

During the Second World War, the priory was used by the military in training for what became the largest seaborne invasion in history, the D-Day landings which took place on 6 June 1944. Amongst units moved to Kirkham were the British 11th armoured division, the aim being to give drivers experience of manoeuvring and to test various waterproofing compounds and to gain experience with equipment to be used in the landings. Tanks, jeeps and other military vehicles destined for the landings were put through their paces at the priory and on the banks of the River Derwent. Troops made use of the high wall of the Western Cloister in training with scrambling nets, which they would subsequently use to make their way from the main transport ships into the smaller landing craft during the invasion. Prime Minister Winston Churchill and King George VI visited the priory in secret to monitor preparations, an indication of Kirkham's significance as a training ground.

References

External links

Priory Portal

Visitor information: English Heritage
* *{{oscoor gbx, SE73586577 Monasteries in North Yorkshire Churches in North Yorkshire English Heritage sites in North Yorkshire Ruins in North Yorkshire 1120s establishments in England Grade I listed churches in North Yorkshire Christian monasteries established in the 1120s Augustinian monasteries in England Grade I listed monasteries Grade I listed ruins Church ruins in England

Gatehouse ruins

Burials

Preparation for D-Day landings in the Second World War

Further reading

References

External links