St Mary's Abbey

Like many people I'm sure, York is one of my favourite cities in the North. It has a bit of everything: historic sites, ghosts, shopping and fat rascals galore and consequently is a busy place all year round. However, there are little pockets of quiet dotted around the city if you know where to find them. The ruins of St Mary's Abbey are located in the Yorkshire Museum Gardens and a great place to get away from the hustle and bustle of the nearby streets.

The abbey was founded as a Benedictine monastery around 1068, partly for William the Conqueror to reinforce his hold on the North following the 1066 Conquest. The foundation stone for a new church dedicated to St Mary was laid around 1089 by King William II (William Rufus). St Mary's grew to become one of the largest and richest monasteries in the north of England, raising over £2,000 a year.

Between 40 and 60 monks lived there, following the Rule of St Benedict, which included eight prayer sessions a day, starting as early as 2 a.m. The monks tasks involved administration, copying books, managing vast estates and providing a charitable service to the poor, who could claim alms at the main gateway. The abbey was a self-contained precinct, with its own granaries, a mill, a bakehouse, a brewery, and a tailor's workshop. The monks' relaxed lifestyle compared to other orders led to a notable event in 1132 when a prior and 13 other monks left the abbey in a riot demanding a return to a simpler, poorer life. This group went on to found the stricter Cistercian monastery at Fountains Abbey.

The Abbot of St Mary's was a powerful figure, even holding a seat in the House of Lords and was otherwise known as a Mitred Abbot. There were around 30 abbots at St Mary's from 1088-1539, with William Thornton being the last abbot during the dissolution of the monasteries. The abbey's great era ended abruptly under Henry VIII on 26th November 1539 when the abbey surrendered its vast wealth of £2,085 (or £1.7m in today's money) to the crown. The grounds were also acquired by the crown and converted into a palace known as 'Kings Manor' which served as the headquarters for the King's Council of the North for the next two centuries. In the 18th century, the abbey was left to ruin and its stone was used to build the nearby St Olav's Church, Beverley Minster and the landing stage of Lendal ferry.

There is not a huge amount of the abbey still standing, but the north and west walls are fairly well preserved and feature late 13th-century Gothic architecture, including arcading and traceried windows. You can also see the footprint of other parts of the abbey in the grounds, and the chapter house remains are in situ in the museum itself. If you head down towards the River Ouse, you'll also spot the Hospitium which was originally a medieval building used by the abbots to entertain guests and is still in use today to hold weddings and other functions. On the south side of the gardens you'll also find Marygate Gatehouse which was the main entrance to the abbey precinct, built in the 12th century.

There is a huge amount of history in this area of York and close to the abbey are part of the city walls built in the 4th century, Incredibly, the walls are probably in better condition than the abbey and I only just discovered the Multangular Tower built by either Roman Emperor Septimius Severus or Constantine the Great. Certainly worth a quick look if you're in the area!

Below is the Medieval Hospitium and the 12th century remains of Marygate Gatehouse built in the 12th century. Finally there is the Multangular Tower part of the Roman walls.