Cleeve Abbey
 Abbeys |
Vallis Florida, a 13 th century Cistercian monastery, more commonly called Cleeve Abbey, recently celebrated its 800 th anniversary. It was founded in 1198 by the Earl of Lincoln's grandson and took the best part of 100 years to complete the stone buildings. The colony of Cistercian monks brought to Cleeve from Revesby Abbey would initially have lived and worshipped in wooden buildings whilst construction of the abbey continued.
The principal reason for Cleeve's lengthy period of construction was that its finances were never secure from the time the first stone was laid. Unlike the great Cistercian monasteries elsewhere, at Glastonbury and in Yorkshire particularly, Cleeve ranked lower in the pecking order and never enjoyed the huge revenue that made them such wealthy institutions. As the 14 th century wore on so Cleeve's fortunes declined. This resulted in additional building projects being abandoned, a lowering of moral and discipline amongst the Order, and a falling-off of staff numbers generally - even during their most prosperous period Cleeve Abbey only accommodated 28 monks to fulfil all functions.
In the 15 th century the abbey's fortunes took an upswing, mostly due to the appointment of a new abbot. 1450 saw the appointment of Abbot David Juyner, and gradually the situation began to improve; he injected much needed discipline and enthusiasm for the task in hand. The new air of optimism engendered a more industrious and pragmatic approach to the problems facing the house. His long duration of rule witnessed an increase in revenue, the completion of old abandoned building projects and additional new building programmes being undertaken. His successors, most notably Abbot Dovell, continued the good work and these years proved to be Cleeve Abbey's most prosperous period, albeit for a relatively short duration. Less than a hundred years after Juyner's appointment, the abbey was surrendered to the Crown during the Dissolution of the Monasteries, in 1536.
The Dissolution saw the abbey church dismantled and all that remains to us today is an outline of the original foundations marked out in stone, plus a fragmentary section of the southern wall where it abuts the buildings of the cloisters. The remaining buildings were converted, in the first instance, for use as a grand house and then later, the whole complex was employed as a farm utilising the large refectory as a storeroom - thus it remained for 300 years. It is because the abbey buildings have been lived in and utilised for work up to the 19 th century, without any great alterations being made, that we are fortunate today to have them survive in such a complete state.What distinguishes Cleeve Abbey from most ruined monasteries is that the domestic buildings around the cloister have survived remarkably intact, and as such provide a quite astonishing insight to the living quarters and working environment of a medieval monastic community. Perhaps the most amazing 13 th century survivor is the monk's dormitory (dorter) that could sleep up to 36 monks and is located on the first floor; a large barrel shaped room retaining its original timber roof, it was lit by a series of small lancet windows. The Sacristy still contains a wonderfully decorative 13 th century wall painting, an important architectural feature of the abbey, as well as a mosaic tiled floor. The rib-vaulted Chapter House has retained traces of its original painted splendour on the ribs and window tracery.
The long hall of the refectory was reconstructed in the 15 th century and incorporates an outstanding piece of medieval craftsmanship, the ‘wagon-style' timber roof. This is embellished with delicately carved timber bosses and angels, cut deep into the wood. Also 15 th century is a magnificent wall painting covering the entire wall of a room adjacent to the refectory. In front of the refectory is a large section of the original 13 th century clay tile floor belonging to that building. It was excavated in the 19 th century in its entirety, remains in excellent condition and thanks to the heraldry displayed on the finely crafted tiles, can be dated to 1272-1300.
Set in the stunning countryside of the Washford Valley, where Somerset rubs up against Dorset, Cleeve Abbey is a wonderfully evocative gift left to us in the 21 st century by our medieval ancestors. That the abbey buildings are virtually intact allows us the privilege of moving through indoor spaces on several levels that in almost every other abbey were destroyed in the 16 th century. A place to wonder at and explore - a must on anybody's itinerary.