Hailes
Abbey
6 April 2002
Our last
visit of the school holiday took us to Hailes Abbey, only a couple of miles
from Toddington, and just across the road from
Hailes Abbey
was an important Cistercian monastery until its closure by Henry the
Eighth. It fell into disrepair, and for
a long time the ruins were substantially obscured by a country mansion built on
the site. Since the middle of the last
century, the site has been cleared and excavated. It is now maintained by English Heritage, and
there is a small museum alongside the remains of the Abbey, presenting an
overview of monastic life and architecture.
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On arrival, we declined the audio guides
on offer, and preferred to follow the series of information boards around the
site |
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This
one includes an artist’s impression of part of the building |
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Very little of the fabric still stands,
the most notable features being a number of cloister arches |
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We enjoy posing in these, Jay in balletic
mood, while Roger affects a monastic air |
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Parts of the walls remain, though some are
unstable |
Teresa and Jay explore
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The mark of one of the stonemasons can still
be seen on one of the walls |
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The mark is above the plaque reading MASON’S PRIVATE MARK
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Another part of the wall retains evidence
of the basic washing and bathing facilities |
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Remains of the domestic quarters of the
abbey – the monks entered the church itself through the archway on the right |
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Very little remains of the abbey church Jay
standing on the base of one of the pillars in the nave |
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Part of the museum is an open air
courtyard exhibiting some of the masonry and stone carving recovered on the
site |
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The benefits of being a monk, according to
St Bernard |
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… which we translate asIt’s
good to be here, where life is purer, falls
rarer, recovery
faster, progress
safer, repose
securer, death
happier, redemption
quicker, and
the reward greater |
