Along with Rievaulx Abbey, we visited Helmsley Castle.  The two are close to each other and have a shared history.  Walter l'Espec built the original castle, and also was the one who deeded the land to the Cistercian monks who founded Rievaulx Abbey.

Never really meant to be a serious military fortification, it was more of a manor home to various relations of l'Espec (himself childless), notably his sister who married Peter de Roos, and whose son subsequently updated the castle.  It last came to a cousin of de Roos, George Manners, who also updated the structure to the Tudor era.  The structures reflect a very long history of ownership and updates to what the then-landholders felt were the fashions and technology of the time.

The castle was never quite breached in battle, but its occupancy ended during the English Civil War when Cromwell's armies besieged the monarchy-loyal occupants.  Cromwell's forces were able to prevent relief supplies from reaching the keep, and the loyalists within had to surrender or starve.  The surrender was particularly (if cynically) magnanimous, as Cromwell's generals let the loyalists essentially write their own terms -- which included all armsmen to exit the Castle, flintlocks un-saftey'd, and the servants and help of the keep to continue to serve and live.  However, after the soldiers, help, and lords/ladies were removed from the Castle, Parliament ordered the castle partly desroyed to prevent anyone from using it again.  A huge chunk of the large East tower (the side facing the town, who would no doubt witness the show of Parliament's strength) was set with charges and blown up.  It was the only real structural damage the Castle had seen, but it was the end for a long time.

Forgotten and then allowed to fall to ruin, and then used in its ruined state as a fashionable romantic notion of a backdrop by which to have picnics, it came into the care of English Heritage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  The Dissolution of the Catholic Church in England by Henry VIII in 1539 is probably the biggest origin of the ruined abbeys that dot the country.  I've posted some pictures (most recently in Winter) of St. Mary's Abbey in York.  But we took a small side trip to Rievaulx Abbey in Yorkshire to see one of the largest and most intact ruins.  At its height during the Dark Age religious fervor, the abbey held around 800 Cistercian monks.  The Cistercians succeeded the Benedictine monks philosophically, trying to more closely follow the austere rules of St. Benedict, too far from which (it was felt by the Cistercians) the Benedictine order had deviated.  Eventually, the Cistercians, too, succumbed to more worldly conforts as the result of its success.

As the Catholic Church lost its hold under Henry VIII, all of the monastic orders lost influence and, along with it, members under the (often violent) pressure from the English crown, and in 1539, Henry VIII closed all of the abbeys and confiscated their wealth to fund the crown.  By that time, the roster of monks at Rievaulx had dwindled to around 18 or so monks when the Abbot finally bowed under the pressure of the crown and closed the monastary.  The treasure was looted and handed to Henry, and the resources that couldn't be moved or had no immediate value to the crown were stripped and absorbed into the local populace, including the very stones used to construct the abbey.

Despite the depletion, a large chunk of the abbey still stands and the grounds "resdiscovered" after much silt and topsoil had buried the larger grounds.  It was excavated and continues to be preserved as an English Heritage site.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've been to York a few times, as I have friends who live there.  I don't tire of the place at all.  It's so interesting, beautiful, and old.  It's rich in history from the pre-Roman era through the English Civil War and it remains an important city for England, at the very least for its heritage.  It's been the backdrop of Shakespeare plays and has been at various times a seat of power for the country.

But first a word from my non-human hosts.

 

 

 

That's Zack, the Maine Coon; Zephyr, the Bengal; and the newest addition, puppy Vesta, the Basenji.

 

The Ouse, one of the main rivers of York. You can see the "Eye of York" there in the background.  It was there when I was last there, and has returned for another spell of time. 

 

English gardens along the River Ouse

 

The outdoor market.  Closed Monday's apparently.  But that little alley is awesome.

 

Average York street scene.  The young and the old!

 

A monkey-puzzle tree.  I'd only ever heard of them, but never seen them. They're amazing.

 

Lupins! (Stick with it to 2:10 to 2:35and it will make more sense)

 

The Treasurer's House.  Originally built around 1750, it fell into terrible disrepair, until a Victorian eccentric bought it and renovated it in order to show off his antiques.  He totally changed the house around, moving fireplaces, removing floors to create a giant mideval feast hall, and various other modifications.  He also gave tours to show off the house and his collection, which is still there today, along with his renovations.

But apart from being an interesting house, it's the site of the best ghost story I've heard in a long time.  Contrary to the link, the cellars are now indeed open (as are the attics, but you have to get there early, as they're guided tours only).

 

St. William's College, near the minster.  William is the partron saint of York (back before patron saints fell out of favor in England around the Henry's Dissolution of the Catholic churches in 1539).  It's reputed that on his return from exile to York, the crowds of people that turned out to see him over-stressed one of the wood bridges, and it collapsed.  St. William blessed the river and the fallen people and all souls survived.  The cynic in me wonders if it was a nice warm day after a drought; on the other hand, given that rivers were also mideval sewers, it probably is a miracle, although no one said anything about dying of typhus afterward.

 

Interior of a fantastic pub called Guy Fawkes where we had dinner. It's the birthplace of the eponymous notorious plotter whose visage is now most recognizable as the mask from V for Vendetta.  Really good fennel risotto, which probably says something about the arc of history.

 

Hi! I'm in England.  Started in York, visiting my friend, and now we're in Cornwall, in Trowan ("TROO-en") near St. Ives.  It's gorgeous, despite the highly variable weather that has given the UK as much rain in two days as they get in a month.

Before we get too far, though, here's some pictures from Yorkshire, where I started.  It's Castle Howard, the manor house used in both version of Brideshead Revisited, one of my favorite books.  Evelyn Waugh was reputedly creating a pastiche when he created Brideshead, the home of the Catholic Marchmain family, but Castle Howard was a huge source of inspiration for him.  It's easy to see why.