Bolton Priory ruins. In 1154, a group of black-robed Augustinian canons and their Prior arrived to occupy land next to the village of Bolton-in-Wharfedale, made available to them by Lady Alice de …More
Bolton Priory ruins.
In 1154, a group of black-robed Augustinian canons and their Prior arrived to occupy land next to the village of Bolton-in-Wharfedale, made available to them by Lady Alice de Romille, the owner of nearby Skipton Castle. They had spent two years enduring harsh conditions on higher land in nearby Embsay, until Lady Alice provided this site near the River Wharfe, sheltered by the surrounding hills from the cruelest of the winter weather. The monastery they built here survived the weather but not the political climate of the Reformation. In 1539 the Priory was faced with complete obliteration as King Henry VIII undertook a campaign to destroy the monastic houses of England. Work to create the West Tower was halted, lead was torn from the roofs, furnishings stripped out, valuables carried off to the King's treasury. Most of the estate was sold to the Clifford family, owners of Skipton Castle, and later passed to the Cavendish family, now the Dukes of Devonshire.
Source: Lawrence OP on Flickr
In 1154, a group of black-robed Augustinian canons and their Prior arrived to occupy land next to the village of Bolton-in-Wharfedale, made available to them by Lady Alice de Romille, the owner of nearby Skipton Castle. They had spent two years enduring harsh conditions on higher land in nearby Embsay, until Lady Alice provided this site near the River Wharfe, sheltered by the surrounding hills from the cruelest of the winter weather. The monastery they built here survived the weather but not the political climate of the Reformation. In 1539 the Priory was faced with complete obliteration as King Henry VIII undertook a campaign to destroy the monastic houses of England. Work to create the West Tower was halted, lead was torn from the roofs, furnishings stripped out, valuables carried off to the King's treasury. Most of the estate was sold to the Clifford family, owners of Skipton Castle, and later passed to the Cavendish family, now the Dukes of Devonshire.
Source: Lawrence OP on Flickr