Whitby Abbey

Robert J. Wright (2003), private collection

“Well they chose the right places, didn’t they?” How often I’ve heard that, while showing friends around medieval monastic ruins - especially in God’s Own County! The monks themselves, however, didn’t quite put it that way. Apparently, they thought that they lived in a desert, devoid of all comforts and far from the haunts of men. They were spinning a yarn which was already old when the Benedictines, then the Cluniacs, Augustinians, Cistercians, and many more established their religious houses in England.

The roots of monasticism, you see, go back to the real desert places of early Christianity, and they had to maintain appearances. In reality, these astute ascetics usually chose well in terms of economic potential, and they always stayed close to sympathetic benefactors. We should be grateful to them.

But how do you really tell a Premonstratensian from a Savignac? Join us to find out about the religious orders and their sublime architecture.

RJW F222329 Online course (via Zoom)

10 weeks, Tuesday 25 April - Tuesday 4 July (incl., with half-term break on 30 May)

£110 (individual registration); £198 (for two people sharing one screen).