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The Church (continued) (2/8)
Like all Cistercian churches, the abbey church
at Rievaulx was dedicated to the Virgin
Mary. Unlike most other
Cistercian abbeys the church at Rievaulx was not built on a north
/ south axis and because of the terraced landscape, ran instead
from east to west. The church was at first built from simple rubble
which was then lime-washed white with mock masonry lines traced
on the surface, to give the impression of stonework. Dressed stone
was used for the doors, piers and arches. The architecture reflected
the Cistercians’ commitment to simplicity and austerity.
The décor was also plain and those who visited the church
would have been struck by the stark interior with its white walls
and lack of adornment.
A unique find
A red stained glass cockerel, some ten centimetres wide, has recently been
discovered at Rievaulx. This would have been inserted in one of the
abbey’s main windows, making a rather ‘satirical addition.’ to
the abbey’s main windows. The Rievaulx cockerel is a unique find
and is, in fact, the only complete image of an animal known to have
survived the destruction at the Dissolution.
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To reduce unnecessary expense, artificial lighting
was kept to a minimum within the church, but natural light was
exploited and
during the day it would have been quite brightly lit. Coloured
glass was prohibited by the General
Chapter and, at least in
the early days, the monks would have either used clear glass or
a grisaille
glass, which had a greenish tint; indeed, the agreement for the
proposed transfer of the Augustinian priory at Kirkham to Rievaulx
in the mid-twelfth century, stated that the canons might take
any coloured window glass to their new site. At Rievaulx, as elsewhere,
coloured glass was later introduced and pieces of blue, green
and
ruby fourteenth-century figural glass were found when the site
was excavated. However, the fact that white glass dating from
this time was also recovered suggests that plainer glass was still
used.(2) The floor of the twelfth-century church may have been cobbled,
slabbed or simply beaten bare earth, covered with earth and rushes.
By the thirteenth century there was a yellow and green mosaic
tiled floor, remains of which survive in the south transept. Additional
embellishments included a sixteenth-century painted ceiling and
the use of finer stone. <back> <next> |