Dore Abbey

It was a dull, grey day, with more than a hint of rain in the air as we set off to spend the day exploring the Golden Valley in Herefordshire. However, the BBC weather forecast assured us that the day would be bright, warm and sunny, and happily they were right.

Our first port of call was Dore Abbey, a place that we were keen to visit having caught a glimpse of it as we drove past years ago. The abbey was founded in 1147 by Cistercian Monks who came over from Morimond Abbey in the Champagne-Ardenne region of France. They seeked seclusion, and founded their houses in wild and remote areas. Dore Abbey's position in the Golden Valley reflects their ideology and aspirations. Now, however, due to the building being almost 900 years old, it requires huge sums of investment in order to keep it maintained. Some young stone masons were carrying out various tasks on the tower when we arrived. They appeared to be checking all of the stonework and mortar then dealing with any problems discovered as they swung to and fro all across the tower.   

The battlement tower that they were repairing was raised after the reformation, giving the building "a touch of England" to an otherwise French exterior.

The pink Herefordshire sandstone edifice seen today is a mere fragment of what the abbey would have originally looked like. After the Reformation the nave was demolished and now just the transepts and the chancel remain. Judging from the scale of the transepts, the nave would appear to have been truly magnificent. The building continues to be used as the local parish church.

I particularly like this eliptical window

Surprisingly the walls inside are all a soft grey limestone, and most of the fittings seen today were added during the first half of the 17th century. The building was rescued by John, Viscount Scudamore, who chose a very talented carpenter, John Abel (1577-1664) to make this wonderful screen. It encloses the congregational area, and is a splendid example of 17th century classicism, heavy, richly Baroque, and dated 1633.

Two contrasting faces seen on the screen - one sad and one happy.

These striking stained glass lancet windows form an attractive backing to the altar. Their delicately coloured glass is particularly pleasing. At the very bottom of the window a date reveals that they were made in 1634.

A post Reformation wall painting portraying a winged "Father Time" carrying his scythe and an hour-glass, representing the passage of time.

In the Ambulatory, a covered passageway around the cloisters at the east end of the church, there is a huge collection of statuary and stonework. This all dates back to the original building having been rediscovered across the years by restorers and archaeologists.

An Abbot with the Virgin and child - this boss has been exhibited in London and Paris. The Abbot is thought to have been Richard Straddell, Dore's most famous abbot. 

A boss representing the Green Man,

and this one a medieval lady.

Having found a shady bench beneath a large tree in the churchyard to have our picnic, it is now time for us to move on to our next two destinations, where we hope to find more treasures. One of which is over 400 years old, very rare, with royal connections. The other is even older - 5,000 years old, but these will have to await the next post.