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.

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.