We haven’t been on the York history trail for a while so here are the lovely medieval ruins of St. Mary’s Abbey, in the Museum Gardens, close to the city centre.
The abbey was Benedictine, and the monks moved here from Lastingham, and before that from Whitby. Building of the first abbey began in 1088, and for about 450 years it was a thriving and wealthy community, with rebuilding and expansion, until Henry VIII and the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539. Part of the site is now occupied by the Yorkshire Museum, but enough of the abbey remains to give an impression of the size and splendour of it before the dissolution.
The Abbey ruins were a favourite place of mine to sit and read when I was a student. I even went at this time of year well wrapped up and with a flask (no coffee shops then) and a course book.
@snaphappi The museum next to it has Gregorian chanting that can be heard on a good day in some of the ruins. It also has some good information about the Abbey and the lives of Monks. Katharine
