After Ryde Quarr Abbey was a haven of peace and tranquility and very quiet :)
Before visiting the present day Abbey we walked down to see the ancient remains of a Cistercian Abbey. Marbled White, Gatekeeper and Meadow Brown flitted around the hedgerows - yet again too lively to get a photo.
An Abbey by the Sea
In 1132 monks from the Cistercian monastery of Savigny began to build a church at Quarr and Quarr became one of the few coastal abbeys in Britain
Abbey income came from Island wool, a fulling mill at Arreton, a tide mill at Wootton and an oyster bed on the River Medina. The abbey also imported much French wine to sell to the islanders and it flourished for many centuries.
The monastery closed on 22nd July 1536 when commissioners of Henry VIII arrived and seized the building during the Dissolution. Three years later the abbey was demolished by its new owner from Southampton who used the stones to build new forts to guard the mouth of the Medina.
We walked through woodland - on our last visit I saw a Red Squirrel in this area but none were seen today. It was good to see measures taken to enhance wildlife in the woodland (log coins, bug hotels) and there is a hide where we sat for a while looking for birds and squirrels.
Today's abbey is Benedictine and Quarr Abbey House and grounds were bought by monks in 1907 from Lieutenant Cochrane then Deputy Governor of the Isle of Wight. Lieutenant Cochrane's sister Minnie was lady-in-waiting to Princess Beatrice - one of Queen Victoria's daughters. Following her marriage to Prince Henry of Battenberg in 1885 Princess Beatrice spent her honeymoon at Quarr Abbey. Queen Victoria was also a regular visitor as Osborne House is only about 5 miles away.
Monk architect Dom Paul Bellot (1876-1944) designed the new abbey at Quarr. There is a moorish influence on the design from the mosque in Cordoba, Southern Spain. As a student Dom Bellot had spent time touring Spain.
Statue of St Benedict who was born around AD480.
According to the guidebook wildlife in the extensive grounds of the abbey includes Red Squirrels, Dormice, Harvest Mice, Badgers, Foxes, rabbits and seven species of bat. Birds recorded include Robins, Ravens, many species of gull and Egrets nearer the sea.
I really do regret not looking round the interior of the abbey and visiting the pilgrim chapel but we did visit an exhibition in the art gallery and the bookshop.
Time for Pear and Honey Cake - this was really delicious and
I do wish they had had some of these tea cosies for sale!!
The cloister clock chimes every seven and a half minutes. A monk's day commences with prayers at 5.30 a.m. with the Office of Vigils followed by breakfast. At 7.00 Lauds service is held followed by spiritual reading and half an hour of personal prayer. Mass is said at nine o'clock and then the monks work at such projects as book binding, building, admin, painting, writing or tending the livestock and gardens. 1.00 is the Service of Sext and then recreation time followed by the Office of None and a period of relaxation and afternoon tea. 5.00 is the service of Vespers then prayers and reading until supper at 7.00 p.m. 8.00 p.m. brings the last office of the day - Compline. Monks do not talk during meals or after compline until after mass the following day. Quarr Abbey started as a French community but now most of the monks are English. Many of the services are open to the public.
Hare and Hounds Arreton Down
We had a drink at Joe's Bar in the evening.
Goldfinch in the cottage garden.
*D Photos taken by my son with the Canon SX50hs bridge camera
Rest of photos taken by me with the Panasonic Lumix FZ330 bridge camera.
Day 4 which I will probably split into two parts includes a visit to Osborne House (you can now take photos inside - yippee!) and an Evening Ghost Walk in Bonchurch
Reference: Guide Book to Quarr Abbey and an information board by the old abbey
17 comments:
There should be some immutable law of nature that butterflies have to sit still for a photograph!
i'd never heard of that abbey Caroline! looks interesting!
David Gascoigne - Thank you and ha ha! :) Hot weather making them livelier than ever and then when it gets too hot they just hunker down!
Pete Duxon - Thanks Pete. Yes it is good there - on the outskirts of Ryde on the east of the island. I am really angry with myself for not going into the main church (although it looked dark from a quick look) or the pilgrim chapel. Tbh it was just that hot that after the walk I just sat on a bench to cool down and couldn't be bothered to do much else! Hot and humid weather makes me lethargic! Well worth a visit if you go back and the cake is delicious :)
How quiet and peaceful the Abbey looks after your hot time at Ryde. I love the ruins and the fact that so much wildlife can be seen around there. The new Abbey looks beautiful too and the pear and honey cake sounds very tasty:)
Rosie - Thank you and it was good to get some shade in the woodland part of the walk :) The cake was very good!
I am not familiar with the term “log coin.” What is that exactly?
David Gascoigne - I suspect it is just a term they have used for pieces of wood (slightly resembling coins in some cases) left to encourage insects.
Oh my gosh pear and honey cake sounds delicious!! The sky is such a beautiful blue over the fields :)
Pam - Thank you - the cake was very good (I may look for a recipe!) sometimes cake you have when out can be a bit dry and stale tasting but this was lovely and moist.
Yes, I also thought the cake sounded delicious - an unusual combination of flavours. Just wish I was half as good at making a cake as I am at eating one! I love the bee on the tea cosy. I'm sorry (in a way, though always good to leave things for another time) that we didn't see the ruins of the old Quarr Abbey. The coastal setting reminds me (a bit) of Greyfriars, the ruined Franciscan friary in Dunwich here in Suffolk. I had no idea Princess Beatrice spent her honeymoon at Quarr. Thank you, RR, for sharing so much of your holiday with us: I am so enjoying this series.
Caroline Gill - Thank you. I am so glad you are enjoying the posts and they are bringing back happy memories for you.
I can recommend Mary berry's (sorry for lower case but keys on computer keyboard are sticking!) baking bible or indeed any of her cake books - her instructions are really good and her recipes work and are delicious.
It sounds as though you are hoping to return - glad to see someone else loves the island too :) There is so much to see and do there and you learn so much from second visits to places. There is something very special about the place :)
Another stunning building, Isle of Wight is such a lovely place so much to see and do, I can understand why you would love to move here..(GET IT SORTED AND MOVE :)
Lovely post and photos.
Amanda xx
Amanda Peters - Thanks so much - you would just love it there although it would take you a lot longer to get there than id takes us. lol! Still working on thought of a move.
John Scurr - Thanks so much. What a coincidence about the other blog and a mention of coins - thank you for the link will check it out in a minute. I have cropped parts of the photo of the log coins but to be honest can't make any out. Interesting to read of other places where they use a log for people to hammer in coins. Have been to Bolton Abbey but can't remember seeing such a log there - what a shame I missed it but it is a big estate!!
The monk apparently was hoping to marry the sister of a friend of his (before he became a monk obviously!!) but she became a nun and afterwards he took the decision to become a monk. I assume he was already trained as an architect.
John Scurr- Thanks again for the link - really enjoyed reading the tree coin post - an interesting blog :)
The abbey looks fabulous and the cake looks delicious.
CherryPie - Thank you.
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