A corner of yorkshire

T H E G AT E H O U S E , R O C H E A B B E Y

Everyone in the county knows about the great ruins of Fountains and Rievaulx. . But many miles to the south, and tucked away down a narrow winding road, are the stunning remains of Roche Abbey.

It was founded by Cistercian monks in 1147, on a site with the gushing Maltby Beck to one side, and tall limestone cliffs to another. How anyone managed to locate the place is anyone’s guess. But that is how the brothers and their abbot wanted it. They had travelled down from Northumberland, and they wanted privacy and solitude.

To control who came in, they built an imposing gatehouse, and the entire complex – church, outbuildings, dormitories, kitchens and the rest – was all completed by about 1190.

To have chanced upon the gatehouse alone would have made medieval eyes pop out in amazement. To turn the corner and see the glory of the abbey would have given them a sense of awe.