Fountains Abbey

Klaus with K (license)

Of the three abbeys we visited — Hailes, Easby, and Fountains — Fountains Abbey was the biggest and best preserved. Fountains Abbey in its day must have been truly magnificent. The most obvious feature of the abbey is its 160-foot tall tower, which despite having been destroyed by Henry VIII, still towers over the valley. Approaching the abbey from the visitors’ center, the tower can be seen rising above the walls of the valley, and you don’t realize that you’re looking at just the very top of a tall tower until you walk the quarter mile to valley edge.

The tip of the iceberg:

The rest of the tower:

But big as the tower is, the abbey itself is massive. While some of the abbey has been reduced to foundations, as was most of Hailes, there are still substantial portions standing, including most of the church:

Can you imagine the size of the stained glass window that went in there?

But there was more — much more — to the abbey than the tower and church.

Cloister court:

Great cloister (there is a cross way down at the far end):

And in addition to the remains of the great abbey, for the price of admission (free to National Trust members), you get to walk the entire grounds of Studley Royal Park, a designated World Heritage Site. Personally, I’m not big into looking at plants, so gardens don’t really excite me, so I stayed with the kids while Melinda checked out the Studley Royal Water Garden.

Iain Gilmour (license)

Overall, Fountains Abbey was the biggest and best of all the abbeys we visited. While there is no reason to restrict yourself to visiting just one abbey, if you can only visit one, visit Fountains. We visited Hailes Abbey, in the Cotswolds, first, which is the poorest preserved of the abbeys we visited. However, we are glad we did, since its audio tour was probably the best (though Fountains was also very good). However, if we had visited Hailes Abbey after Fountains, we would have been sorely disappointed, so if you are visiting more than one abbey on your trip to Britain, visit Fountains Abbey last. We liked Fountains Abbey so much, we went back for a second visit.

Count this a definite recommendation for Fountains Abbey.

York

Founded by the Romans in AD 71, York has been an important city in northern England for almost 2000 years. Four Roman emperors [1] held court in York, and it was in York that Constantine the Great was proclaimed emperor in 306. In the post-Roman era, York was conquered by the Angles, then the Vikings, and finally the Normans, a thousand years ago. York’s main feature is its cathedral, York Minster, but there is also a lot of other things to see and do in York. We spent half a day in York, and covered:

1. The National Railway Museum
2. The Treasurer’s House
3. York Minster
4. A walking ghost tour of the city

Walking the streets of York definitely feels like an old, old city, and while most people think of English history only so far back as the Middle Ages, there are still some towers and columns that date back to the Roman period, and a more contemporary statue of the Roman emperor Constantine reminds you that York (Eboracum) was once a very important city in northern Brittania.
(Left) This tower formed the northwest corner of the Roman legionary fortress of Eboracum. The larger stonework at the top was added during the medieval period.
(Right) A Roman column in modern York serves as a reminder that this was once a Roman city. (Bottom) Statue commemorating Emperor Constantine

The National Railway Museum
England was an early adopter of rail technology, ushering in the Industrial Revolution in the early nineteenth centure, and York became a rail hub, so it is fitting that the National Railway Museum be situated in York.
The museum consists of a large collection of trains, most of which you cannot climb on or get in. After a few pictures of your kids with a few giant locomotives, you can walk through the rest fairly quickly. There are not that many interactive exhibits, and the ones there are (e.g., one on signaling a train on a circular track) are lame. One big area is just shelf after shelf of cataloged train-related items — oh look! a napkin from the 1932 London-to-Edinburgh dining car! Fascinating.
“Oh look! Another train!”

I have visited the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento, and thought the Sacramento museum was better. If you’re ever in that part of California, it is worth seeing. However, in York, where there is so much else to do, you can safely skip the National Railway Museum. If you’re thinking that since it’s free, you may as well visit it anyway, parking is £9, which would be a deal for a whole day, but you can cover the whole museum in an hour, so £9/hr is a bit steep.
There is so much else to do in York, that I’d recommend sites other than the National Railway Museum.
The Treasurer’s House
The Treasurer’s House behind York Minster once housed the treasurers of York Minster. It ceased usage in that role five hundred years ago and fell into disrepair until Frank Green purchased it at the end of the nineteenth century and renovated it. Its claim to fame is that the royal family stayed in it once. It’s probably the smallest and least posh of all places the royal family ever stayed. It’s not that nice.

There are no audio tours available, but there are docents in every room. Unfortunately, they are volunteers who apparently have received no training in the history of the house. On a couple of occasions, we asked the room guide a question about the room we were in, only to have the room guide quickly scan one of the handouts, and then reply, “I don’t know.” Finally, we did find a knowledgeable docent — an orthodox priest — in Princess Victoria’s room, who was able to provide us some details and stories about the house.
When you visit York, you are going to visit York Minster, of course, and the Treasurer’s House is right behind it, so you may as well stop in. It is National Trust, so free to members. However, the house isn’t that good, so if you are pressed for time, you can skip it and not feel like you’ve missed out on anything.
York Minster
York Minster is a cathedral of the same caliber as Salisbury, which we visited earlier. York Minster is much older than Salisbury, but because of its tumultuous history (burnings, lootings, etc.), it has had to undergo major restorations over the last few centuries, so it actually appears much newer than Salisbury Cathedral. However, it is beautiful. Its interior is quite a bit larger than Salisbury’s, and the stained glass windows are beautiful. Unlike Salisbury, the interior of the cathedral is not littered by tombs; apparently, this is a result of the purges and systematic destruction wreaked by the Tudors and the English Reformation. Curiously, most of the chapels in the cathedral are military-related. There are many nooks and crannies to explore in York Minster, including the chapter house, all of which I recommend.

We attended the evening service at York Minster, since we had had such a good experience at Salisbury’s evensong the prior week. There was a visiting choir singing the service, and although they were good, we preferred the voices of the resident choristers at Salisbury. Still, it was an excellent service, and I recommend trying to time your visits to churches and cathedrals in England in order to make the evensong services. I believe most of them do do them every night.
It costs £20,000/day to keep York Minster up and running, so, unlike Salisbury Cathedral, York Minster charges and admission fee to tourists to keep the building up and restore those parts that need restoration: £10 per adult gets you basic admission, children under 16 free; to gain access to the tower, it’s another £5 per person, regardless of age. As worshippers, you can get in free, but I recommend donating at least the price admission if you attend worship, since you are a tourist, too, and it is the right thing to do.
If you do one thing in York, visit York Minster.
A walking ghost tour of the city

Apparently, York is known for its ghosts; everyone, it seems, has a ghost story. We walked a tour of York with a pleasant fellow who told us ghost stories of York. It wasn’t free, and it probably wasn’t worth the money, but it did get us to a few places like Clifford’s Tower and the Shambles. The former is the keep of what was once York Castle; the latter is an old street that still has shops operating on it.
Clifford’s Tower:

Summary
We probably should have budgeted more time for York, as there is much we missed. We had planned on returning the next day, but instead went to Fountains Abbey, which was well worth it. I recommend Yorkshire, and while in Yorkshire, plan on spending at least a day in York. There is some good shopping in York, too, and you might want to split between the shoppers and sightseers in your family, since there is much to keep the non-shoppers engaged in the meantime.

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1. Hadrian, Septimius Severus, Constantius I, and Constantine the Great  ↩
   

Middleham Castle

We visited Middleham Castle on July 6, the 531st anniversary of the coronation of King Richard III. Richard spent much of his boyhood growing up in Middleham Castle, and he rose to become King of England, the last king from the House of York. Richard was defeated and killed by Henry Tudor (Henry VII) at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485. Richard III was villainized in the years following his death by his Tudor successors, who sought to legitimize their claim to the throne, and completely filleted (I am told) by Shakespeare in his play Richard III.

York, Yorkshire, and Middleham are Richard III country. They still consider him a great king, and I spoke to couple of local ladies who thought his body, which was discovered in 2012, should be returned to York to “lie finally at rest” among his people.

A statue of Richard III inside Middleham Castle. Not sure why he is missing his arms, but someone has placed a bouquet of white roses — the symbol of the House of York — at his feet:

You may recall the fanfare around the discovery of Richard III’s remains in Leicester in 2012. If you kept up with that story, you probably heard of a Richard III Society. These are the type of people I spoke to at Middleham on Sunday.

Anyway, to commemorate Richard’s coronation, the castle had an interactive play for children to learn about Richard III. My daughter, Melissa, was chosen to play Richard III, while Paul played Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick. Both of my children, were therefore killed in battle, though one of them did — briefly but heroically — wear the English crown.

The Earl of Warwick, makes a deal with Richard’s brother, George:

The Battle of Barnet rages, Warwick leading the Lancastrians against the Yorkists:

Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, lies slain at the end of the Battle of Barnet, a decisive victory for the House of York:

Richard III is crowned King of England:

Poor Richard III lies dead after the Battle of Bosworth Field:

I must admit, I knew very little about Richard III until this visit and the play, but it turns out he was quite an interesting man, and not a bad king, though I think one of the enduring mysteries of this era is what Richard did with the Princes in the Tower.

Anyway, Middleham Castle is worth a visit if you are in Yorkshire. It is a prototypical rectangular castle with its keep in the middle. This is a major historical spot of English history; I’d place it on par with Kenilworth Castle. The castle complex is not as large as Kenilworth, but it is as well preserved, and a climb up to the top of the keep does present decent views.

View from the keep:

As with other castles, the kids will have a ball exploring.

But the main reason to visit Middleham is to get a sense of the history here. If you’re coming to York and Yorkshire, you must learn some about the War of the Roses (which I didn’t) and come to Middleham. If you are staying in York, you can make a day trip out to Middleham, and either continue on to Richmond Castle and Easby Abbey, or hit Fountains Abbey on the way or way back. If you stay in North Yorkshire, as we did, Middleham is a very short drive and a no-brainer. If you can time it right, visiting on July 6 is a propitious day to visit Middleham.

Richmond Castle

Richmond has been a military town since its founding in 1071, and today is home to Catterick Garrison, the largest British Army base in the world. Towering over the town is the 100-foot high keep of Richmond Castle, visible for miles around. Although the castle fell out of use in the latter part of the 14th century, it’s use as a military post was resurrected when military barracks were built within its walls in 1855, and the castle found use during World War I as a base for the Non-Combatant Corps and a prison for conscientious objectors. Today, it is a tourist site managed by English Heritage.

The distinguishing feature of Richmond Castle is its well-preserved and restored castle keep, 100 feet high with walls 11 feet thick. You can climb all the way to the top of the keep and look down over the castle walls and the River Swale on one side, and the town of Richmond on the other. Your kids will enjoy the climb and the view from the top, and will you. It is not a large castle, and you won’t be there long enough for the kids to get bored. Besides the keep, there are the remains of the chapel and several towers, which our kids thoroughly explored. You will find your kids move faster than you through ruins, but they will also make sure they explore every nook and cranny.

Apparently, there should also have been a display on the WWI prison there and the “Richmond 16,” who were imprisoned as conscientious objectors and sentenced to death (commuted to 10 years’ hard labor), but the display was closed when we were there.

Do I recommend Richmond Castle for visiting families? Yes, if you’re in the area. Middleham Castle, just 30 minutes away, is larger and more historic; if you’re pressed for time, visit Middleham instead. However, visiting Richmond Castle puts you in line of sight to Easby Abbey, so visiting Richmond allows you to knock out both of those in half a day, still giving you time to visit another site.

Easby Abbey

A church has stood at the site of St. Agatha’s church in Easby since at least the 700’s, as the remains of an Anglo-Saxon cross have been found in the church, which dates it to prior to the Viking period of the 9th century. In 1152, Easby Abbey was established around the church, and although the abbey was was dissolved in 1536 (and stripped bare by Henry’s minions), the church remains in active operation to this day.

Our apartment in Easby Hall overlooks St. Agatha’s church and the ruins of Easby Abbey. Easby Abbey is better preserved than Hailes Abbey, which we visited last week. Easby Abbey is completely unstaffed, so you just park and explore on your own. The church, too, is open for tourists, and on Sundays, you can even attend a service there. We were lucky enough to run into a local who was biking by, whom we discovered had majored in theology and happened to know an awful lot about the church and the abbey.

Surrounding St. Agatha’s church is a graveyard containing at least 2000 bodies. Some of these date back to the Anglo-Saxon period, though we would not have noticed the Anglo-Saxon markings on the stones had it not been for our guide. Inside the church is the original lead-lined baptismal dating back to the Norman period, still in use to this day. Also, in recent years, several of the frescoes, which were covered up during the Reformation, have been discovered and restored. The Anglo-Saxon cross, which was discovered in the church, resides in a museum, but the church has a replica of the cross on display.

St. Agatha’s church, surrounded by graves dating back over 1000 years:

Baptismal from Norman period and replica of remains of Anglo-Saxon cross found on-site:

Frescoes uncovered inside St. Agatha’s church:

The abbey itself is quite large. Our guide explained to us that the commissioners pulled down the roofs when they closed the monastery to prevent it from being used or reinhabited by the canons who resided there. Our kids enjoyed running around and exploring the ruins. Unlike Hailes, which had just a few walls and arches still standing, Easby Abbey had much more significant remains standing, which gave a better sense of the size and scale of the abbey.

If you’re visiting North Yorkshire and swinging by the historical sites like Middleham or Richmond Castles, you will be very close to Easby Abbey (you can see Richmond Castle from Easby Abbey, and vice versa), so it’s worth a stop and look round. Admission is free, and you can park in St. Agatha church’s parking lot. The kids will be able to run around and explore on their own, and if they look hard enough, they will discover a rather large, dark, enclosed ground-level chamber with terrific acoustics. We decided that that chamber must have been used by the monks to practice their monkish chants.