St Mary's Abbey is a ruin in the heart of the city centre, York. It is located in the Museum Gardens, and it has featured in our project at least 16 times, but it is always interesting to find a new viewpoint for a familiar subject.
This shot was taken from the shelter of the old bowls pavillion, as I took shelter from yet another shower of rain on my afternoon walk today.
St Mary’s Abbey was first built in 1088. The ruins we see here are the remains of the church tower in what became one of the wealthiest and most powerful Benedictine monastery in England.
King Henry VIII banned all monasteries in England in the 1530s. The monks at St Mary’s were pensioned off in 1540 and some of the abbey buildings were converted into a palace for the King for when he visited York. Gradually other buildings fell into ruins and were used as agricultural buildings or as a source of materials for other buildings before being excavated by the Yorkshire Philosophical Society in the 1820s. Today the ruins are at the heart of a very attractive park.
For further views of the abbey, search 365 for 'St Marys Abbey'
Very beautifully composed - my hand and I toured England and Scotland for 6 weeks in 2019. It's always fun to see places we've seen and places we hadn't seen. This is one of the special places we saw.
Interesting story about this abbey. Pity so many beautiful church buildings were destroyed or ravaged in those difficult times. I remember once visiting the Minster of Warwick and all the sculptures of different saints had their heads cut off.
Thank you all for your lovely comments and favs, they are very much appreciated.
Although I've taken photos of the abbey ruins many times, it is nice to still be able to go back and find a different viewpoint!
Ian