The spot was by a powerful stream called
the Rye in a broad valley
stretching on either side. The name of their little settlement and
of the
place where it lies was derived from the name of the stream and
the
valley, Rievaulx. High hills surround the valley, encircling it
like a crown.
These are clothed by trees of various sorts and maintain in pleasant
retreats
the privacy of the vale, providing for the monks a kind of second
paradise of
wooded delight.
[A contemporary account of Rievaulx Abbey, Yorkshire]
Water was an important source of fish, which
formed a significant part of the monastic diet. It was therefore
vital that Cistercian communities secured rights to fish and to
fisheries, and to build fish ponds, known as stews, both within
and outside of the monastic precinct. In fact, Fountains has been
described as a pioneer in the development of fish farming and the
.
Water management was vital to the survival and
self-sufficiency of the monastic community, and the Cistercians
invariably settled on sites where they had access to a natural
source
of water. For example, Rievaulx,
in N. Yorkshire, was built by the River Rye, from which the community
took its name; Roche, in
S. Yorkshire, was situated in the valley of the Maltby Beck. Kirkstall Abbey,
on the outskirts of Leeds, was bounded to the south by the River
Aire; Fountains was
located in the valley of the River Skell, and surrounded by springs.
Each of these communities could channel this
water to supply the monastery with water for drinking, cooking
and washing, for
liturgical purposes, to power mills and also, of course, to remove
waste from the site. Whilst an inadequate water supply might
cause a community to disband or relocate, and was a main factor
affecting
the removal of the Fors community to Jervaulx in
1156, dampness and flooding could be equally problematic, and
caused considerable difficulties for the monks of Meaux
and Sawley. Water management
was as much about removing water where it was not required
and preventing
excess.