Editing Roche Abbey (section)

==Despoliation==
[[File:View of ruined transept of Roche Abbey 1810 by John Buckler.jpg|thumb|left|upright|View of ruined transept of Roche Abbey by [[John Buckler (artist)|John Buckler]], [[watercolour]], 1810]]
The Roche Abbey records have been either lost or destroyed, so there are no accounts of the abbey's activities, other than that there were 14 monks and an unknown number of novices at the time of the [[Dissolution of the Monasteries|dissolution]] by [[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]] on 23 June 1538. It was this that led to the abbey being reduced to ruins, although the surviving parts of the walls of the north and south [[transept]]s are still impressive.<ref>
[http://cistercians.shef.ac.uk/image_gallery/pages/0248.php Roche Abbey Surrender Deed, The Cistercians in Yorkshire, Public Record Office, cistercians.shef.ac.uk]</ref> The local community at time of the dissolution decided they had first right of claim on Roche Abbey and its possessions. Timber, lead and stone were also removed in vast quantities.<ref>*[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=36241 History of Roche Abbey, British History Online]
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Between 1567–1591, Michael Sherbrook wrote an influential account of the Dissolution of the Monasteries, ''The Falle of Religiouse Howses, Colleges, Chantreys, Hospitalls, &c''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Willmott |first=Hugh |title=The Dissolution of the Monasteries in England and Wales|year=2020 |publisher=Equinox |location=Sheffield |isbn=9781781799550 |page=39}}</ref> Sherbrook was rector of nearby [[Wickersley]] while writing, and included a section on Roche Abbey. Sherbrook was a child at the time of the suppression and the account, "the most complete from any religious institution in England", was related to Sherbook by his uncle who had been present at the spoliation of the abbey.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/roche-abbey/history/suppression/ |title=The suppression of Roche Abbey |publisher=English Heritage |accessdate=2024-05-17}}</ref>

{{blockquote|For the church was the first thing that was spoiled; then the abbot's lodging, the dormitory and refectory, with the cloister and all the buildings around, within the abbey walls. For nothing was spared except the ox-houses and swinecoates and other such houses or offices that stood outside the walls – these had greater favour shown to them than the church itself. This was done on the instruction of [[Thomas Cromwell|[Thomas] Cromwell]], as [[John Foxe|Fox]] reports in his ''Book of Acts and Monuments''. It would have pitied any heart to see the tearing up of the lead, the plucking up of boards and throwing down of the rafters. And when the lead was torn off and cast down into the church and the tombs in the church were all broken (for in most abbeys various noblemen and women were buried, and in some kings, but their tombs were no more regarded than those of lesser persons, for to what end should they stand when the church over them was not spared for their cause) and all things of value were spoiled, plucked away or utterly defaced, those who cast the lead into fodders plucked up all the seats in the choir where the monks sat when they said service. These seats were like the seats in minsters; they were burned and the lead melted, although there was plenty of wood nearby, for the abbey stood among the woods and the rocks of stone. Pewter vessels were stolen away and hidden in the rocks, and it seemed that every person was intent upon filching and spoiling what he could. Even those who had been content to permit the monks' worship and do great reverence at their matins, masses and services two days previously were no less happy to pilfer, which is strange, that they could one day think it to be the house of God and the next the house of the Devil – or else they would not have been so ready to have spoiled it.|Michael Sherbrook's Account of the Spoliation of Roche<ref>[http://cistercians.shef.ac.uk/roche/history/spoilation/sherbrook.php Michael Sherbrook's Account of the Spoliation of Roche, cistercians.shef.ac.uk/roche]</ref>}}

Sherbook's account gives the impression of a frenzy with looting by locals, and that the spoliation at Roche Abbey happened in a short space of time. Reassessment of the source and comparison with the treatment of other religious houses suggests a more organised and structured approach, with lead from the roofs likely removed by Cromwell's men. A grant of 1546 mentions valuable materials, such as lead and glass, still on the site which the archaeologist [[Hugh Willmott (archaeologist)|Hugh Willmott]] suggests indicates that the process of spoliation took a longer time than implied by Sherbook.<ref>{{cite book |last=Willmott |first=Hugh |title=The Dissolution of the Monasteries in England and Wales|year=2020 |publisher=Equinox |location=Sheffield |isbn=9781781799550 |page=40}}</ref>

Left in ruin, the land passed through a number of private hands until the [[Earl of Scarbrough|4th Earl of Scarbrough]] decided it needed revitalising to enhance his adjoining family seat at [[Sandbeck Park]]. Lord Scarborough enlisted the talents of [[Capability Brown]]. With an astonishing{{According to whom|date=November 2010}} disregard for history, Brown demolished buildings, built large earth mounds and turfed the whole site.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.rotherhamweb.co.uk/h/sandbeck.htm |title=Capability Brown work on Roche Abbey |access-date=15 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161107234814/http://www.rotherhamweb.co.uk/h/sandbeck.htm |archive-date=7 November 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Until the end of the 19th century Roche Abbey remained buried beneath Brown's work and wooded parkland. But subsequent excavation in the 1920s returned Roche to its former splendour.