Editing Roche Abbey

{{Short description|Cistercian abbey in South Yorkshire, England}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Infobox historic site
| name = 
| native_name = 
| native_language = 
| image = Roche Abbey (211961681).jpeg
| caption = 
| type = [[Abbey]]
| locmapin = South Yorkshire
| coordinates = {{Coord|53.4025|-1.1834|region:GB_scale:1000|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| gbgridref = 
| location = [[Rotherham]], [[South Yorkshire]]
| area = 
| built = 
| architect = 
| architecture = 
| governing_body = [[English Heritage]]
| owner = Private
| designation1 = Scheduled monument
| designation1_offname = Roche Abbey Cistercian monastery, including monastic precinct, gatehouse and 18th century landscape garden
| designation1_date = 8 February 1911
| designation1_number = {{listed building England|1019059}}
| designation2 = National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens
| designation2_type = Grade II*
| designation2_offname = Sandbeck Park and Roche Abbey
| designation2_date = 1 June 1984
| designation2_number = {{listed building England|1001161}}
| designation3 = 
| designation3_offname = 
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| designation5_offname = 
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}}
'''Roche Abbey''' is a now-ruined [[abbey]] in the civil parish of [[Maltby, South Yorkshire|Maltby]], Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. It is in the valley of Maltby Dyke, known locally as Maltby Beck, and is administered by [[English Heritage]].  It is a [[scheduled monument]] and Grade II* listed in the [[National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens]].<ref>{{NHLE |desc=Sandbeck Park and Roche Abbey |num=1001161 |accessdate=22 June 2018}}</ref>

==Early history==

The abbey was founded in 1147 when the stone buildings<ref>One of the most valuable assets of Roche Abbey was the extraordinary quarry controlled by the Abbey itself. The stone quarried there was so sought-after that it was used in the "groined roof of [[King's College, Cambridge|King's College]] chapel, Cambridge," according to Samuel Lewis in his 1848 ''A Topographical Dictionary of England''.[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51130]</ref> were raised on the north side of the beck. The co-founders of Roche were Richard de Busli, likely the great-nephew<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=RVdjrMmpwq8C&dq=%22roche+abbey%22+charter&pg=RA1-PA366 Miscellanea Genealogica Et Heraldica: Fourth Series, W. Bruce Bannerman (ed.), Mitchell, Huges and Clark, London, 1910]</ref> of the first [[Roger de Busli]], the Norman magnate builder of [[Tickhill Castle]], and Richard FitzTurgis.<ref>[http://www.rotherham.gov.uk/graphics/Learning/Archives/Local+Towns+and+Villages/EDSWickersley.htm FitzTurgis of Roche Abbey] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081203133325/http://www.rotherham.gov.uk/graphics/Learning/Archives/Local+Towns+and+Villages/EDSWickersley.htm |date=3 December 2008 }}
</ref> According to the Monasticon Anglicanum, the two Richards gave land to the monks on each side of the stream on the understanding that abbey should be built on whichever side was considered most stable for building and that both of them would receive as much credit as the other, with the one whose land was rejected being held to the same level of thanks, regardless of whose side of the stream it was built on.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Fletcher |first=J. S. (Joseph Smith) |url=https://archive.org/details/cisterciansinyor00fletuoft/page/60/mode/2up |title=The Cistercians in Yorkshire |date=1919 |publisher=London : Society for promoting Christian knowledge; New York : Macmillan |others=Kelly - University of Toronto |pages=60}}</ref>

When the monks first arrived in South Yorkshire from [[Newminster Abbey]] in Northumberland, they chose the most suitable side of the stream that runs through the valley to build their new [[Cistercians|Cistercian]] [[monastery]].  Twenty-five years later, at the end of the century, the Norman Gothic great church, dedicated to the [[Virgin Mary]], had been finished, as well as most of the other buildings.  The control of the abbey was vested in the [[de Vesci]] family, lords of Rotherham, who in turn subfeuded the land to Richard FitzTurgis, lord of Wickersley (and who took Wickersley as his surname).<ref>[http://www.rotherham.gov.uk/rotherham/Templates/Inner/Inner3_printerfriendly.aspx?NRMODE=Published&NRORIGINALURL=%2Fgraphics%2FLearning%2FArchives%2FLocal%2BTowns%2Band%2BVillages%2FEDSWickersley.htm%3FWBCMODE%3Dauthor&NRNODEGUID=%7B0A08DC37-25C1-42A0-8632-8F5BC1279082%7D&NRCACHEHINT=Guest&WBCMODE=author Family of FitzTurgis, later Wickersley, Rotherhamgov.uk]{{dead link|date=April 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

From the start, the Abbey of Roche, built for the so-called [[White Monks]], as the Cistercians were known, had an almost otherworldly air. It was, after all, built at the northern end of an area once covered by [[Sherwood Forest]], and it was said that [[Robin Hood]] went to Mass here.{{citation needed|date=December 2024}} (A diocesan pilgrimage is still made today on Trinity Sunday.)<ref>[http://www.hallam-diocese.com/history.htm The Marvel of the Monasteries, History of Hallam Diocese, The Catholic Diocese of Hallam, hallam-diocese.com] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080914141549/http://www.hallam-diocese.com/history.htm |date=14 September 2008 }}</ref> At its height it supported a community of around 175 men, of whom about 60 were choir monks, the remainder being lay brothers, a Cistercian innovation.<ref name=guide>{{cite book|last1=Fergusson|first1=Peter|title=Roche Abbey|date=1990|publisher=English Heritage|location=London|pages=10, 25}}</ref>

Eventually, on the death of co-founder FitzTurgis,<ref>One of the earliest appearances of the FitzTurgis name is on a York charter of 1194 which refers to "Turgis, son of Turgis.' [https://books.google.com/books?id=ZwUwAAAAMAAJ&dq=fitzturgis&pg=PA362] The name Turgis is Norman and its origin is the Old Norse ''Þórgísl'' (''Thorgisl'' "hostage of [[Thor]]"). The name FitzTurgis means, when translated, son of (''fils de'' in French) Turgis (still common as a Norman surname nowadays Turgis [http://www.geopatronyme.com/cgi-bin/carte/nomcarte.cgi?numero=0054263&periode=1] and Tourgis [http://www.geopatronyme.com/cgi-bin/carte/nomcarte.cgi?numero=0255691&periode=1], and in place-names such as [[Tourgéville]] (Calvados). Both FitzTurgis and de Busli have been described by one historian as 'two members of the lesser baronage'. The name FitzTurgis was later Anglicised to [[Sturgis (surname)|Sturgis]]/[[Sturges]] and its variants.</ref> control of the abbey passed to his son Roger, now 'de Wickersley',<ref>[http://www.wickersleyweb.co.uk/wickersley/index.htm de Wickersley of Broomhall and Wickersley, wickersleyweb.co.uk] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724140740/http://www.wickersleyweb.co.uk/wickersley/index.htm |date=24 July 2011 }}</ref> and then eventually to a granddaughter Constantia, who married [[William Levett (baron)|William de Livet]] ([[Levett]]), a family of Norman origin who were lords of the nearby village of [[Hooton Levitt]] (or Levett).<ref>{{cite book
 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9bcKAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA265
 |title=Nicholas de Lyvet, Calendar of the Charter Rolls Preserved in the Public Record Office
 |author=H.C. Maxwell Lyte
 |author-link=H.C. Maxwell Lyte
 |publisher=Great Britain Public Record Office
 |year=1906}}</ref> The abbey continued in the [[Levett]] family until 1377, when John Levett sold his rights in the abbey to the London merchant Richard Barry.<ref>[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=36241 The Abbey of Roche, Houses of Cistercian Monks, A History of the County of York: Volume 3, Victoria County History, William Page (ed.), pp. 153–156, 1974, British History Online]</ref> By the time of the dissolution full control of Roche Abbey was held by [[Henry Clifford, 2nd Earl of Cumberland]], who came in for multiple grants at the Dissolution as he was married to the niece of King [[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]].<ref>[[James Hobson Aveling]] (1870). [https://books.google.com/books?id=awIhAAAAMAAJ&dq=%22john+levet%22+merchant&pg=RA1-PA126 ''The History of Roche Abbey, from its Foundation to its Dissolution'']. Robert White</ref><ref>Although the Levett family had disposed of their patronage of Roche Abbey by sale to a London merchant in the fourteenth century, a lawsuit was filed in 1534 by 'William Levet v. Henry, Abbot of Roche.' A photograph of the original court roll held in the O'Quinn Law Library at the University of Houston: [http://aalt.law.uh.edu/H8/CP40no1080/aCP40no1080fronts/IMG_6658.JPG]</ref>

==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]
</ref>

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.

==The abbey today==
[[Image:RocheAbbey.jpg|thumbnail|upright|Roche Abbey]]

The site is now in the care of English Heritage. The cliff path walk provides access to a view across the abbey grounds where its layout can be appreciated. Some of the buildings are low-standing but the walls of the church still stand to full height and the gothic French idealism thrust into its design and architecture is visible.  Later additions to the buildings included a kitchen area and [[abbot]]'s quarters, built on the other side of the beck and accessed by a bridge which still stands. The monks' latrines were over Maltby Beck so the running water took away the waste. The stream was dammed higher up to ensure fast-flowing water: quite a modern facility for the 13th century. There are several local legends concerning [[Ghosts in European culture|ghost]]s, tunnels to other buildings, and even a lost wishing well.<ref>[http://cistercians.shef.ac.uk/roche/location/ Roche Abbey]</ref>

==Burials at the abbey==

The nave was the burial place for the lay brothers but others outside the immediate abbey community buried here include Peryn of Doncaster and his wife, Ysabel. There is also a tomb of the 14th-century Rilston family, presumably local worthies.<ref name=guide />

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110927093256/http://www.rotherhamweb.co.uk/gallery/roche2/ Images of Roche Abbey, RotherhamWeb, Rotherhamweb.co.uk]
* [https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/roche-abbey/ Roche Abbey] at English Heritage

{{Monasteries in South Yorkshire |state=expanded}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Buildings and structures in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham]]
[[Category:English Heritage sites in South Yorkshire]]
[[Category:Cistercian monasteries in England]]
[[Category:Monasteries in South Yorkshire]]
[[Category:Ruins in South Yorkshire]]
[[Category:1147 establishments in England]]
[[Category:Churches in South Yorkshire]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in South Yorkshire]]
[[Category:Christian monasteries established in the 1140s]]
[[Category:Gardens by Capability Brown]]
[[Category:Ruined abbeys and monasteries]]
[[Category:Monasteries dissolved under the English Reformation]]
[[Category:Grade II* listed parks and gardens in South Yorkshire]]
[[Category:Maltby, South Yorkshire]]