Rotherham The Unofficial Website

Roche Abbey

South east of the town of Maltby are the substantial ruins of Roche Abbey. The site of the Abbey is in a deep and narrow valley divided by a stream surrounded by woodland. It is a secluded and quiet place, away from most human habitation, yet only a few minutes walk from the main road between Maltby and Blyth (once a major town on the Great North Road). After the builders had finished quarrying, carting, levelling, erecting and embellishing, and the last hammer had been stowed away the abbey must have been very conducive to contemplation and prayer. Even today this is still a very peaceful situation and on a fortunate day you can find yourself the only visitor.

Roche Abbey is situated on both banks of the stream Maltby Dyke. To the north the site is protected by steep limestone cliffs. To the south a tributary stream joined the main stream and was used to drain the buildings on the south east part of the site. It was dammed into lakes upon the higher ground.

The church, chapterhouse, cloister and the dorters and fraters of both the monks and the lay brothers are on the north side of the main stream with the monks' dorter and frater actually extending over the stream on bridges, The infirmary, abbot's lodgings and kitchens, and other buildings are on the south bank. It was built of local stone quarried in the neighbourhood. At least I always thought so, but an espondent has informed me that the stone quarried that for Roche Abbey was produced Kiveton Park way and carted over.

The Abbey of St Mary of Roche was a Cistercian House founded in 1147 by Richard de Bully, Lord of Tickhill and Richard son of Turgis. It became a place of pilgrimage as one of the rocks at Roche bore a resemblance to the Cross. It was a centre of learning and charity. In time many wealthy and not so wealthy people left gifts, often of land, to the Abbot in return for prayers for their souls. In a time when hardly anybody but the clergy was literate or numerate Roche Abbey and its monks and Abbot exerted a great deal of influence through the surrounding area. They were builders of bridges and roads, drainers of swamps and keen on improving their lands and properties. There are many charters detailing the landed property of the Abbey but no chronicle of the house survives.

At the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1538 the house was valued at £224 2s. 5d. and was surrendered to the Crown. I presume that, as in may similar cases, the Crown purloined anything of value and the rest of the fixtures, fittings, books etc. were auctioned off. As for the abbey, there was wholesale plunder by everybody in the neighbourhood. Much of the stone was carted away and used to rebuilt part of St Bartholomew's Church and erect new cottages and houses in nearby Maltby.

The Crown granted the site and buildings to Thomas Vavasour and William Ramsden in 1554. The site and buildings subsequently passed, together with the manor of Sandbeck, to Robert Saunderson whose son became Viscount Castleton in the peerage of Ireland. The 6th Viscount and 1st Earl died without issue in 1723. His estates passed to a cousin, Thomas Lumley, who became 3rd Earl of Scarborough. The ruins of the abbey formed part of the landscaped estate gardens until 1921 when they passed into the guardianship of the Department of the Environment. The site is now administered by English Heritage.

More Pages:-
Roche Abbey Slide Show or individual photographs
Map of Roche Abbey

More Information about Roche Abbey Woodlands:-
Recreation in Rotherham >> Parks >> SSSIs (Sites of Special Scientific Interest) >> Roche Abbey Woodlands and Maltby Crags.

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