Dunfermline Abbey

An important medieval Benedictine abbey sacked in 1560. Today many tall ruins remain and part of the old church continues to be used.

buttresses

such a nice Romanesque interior!

ceiling painting!!

ruins of the refectory

Worksop Priory

Worksop Priory is a former Romanesque Abbey now made into a priory.

very weathered gatehouse

former abbey gatehouse

truly massive Romanesque scale

a fine Romanesque entrance

Roche Abbey

Founded in 1147, Roche Abbey is the most complete Cistercian abbey floorplan in the UK. Preserved by the 1920s zeal for landscaping, its ruins got buried ready for the partial curtain wall re-erection.

the modern approach

gatehouse

used to lead to the gatekeeper's room

ok, enough atmospheric shots-the gatehouse

standing at the nave's entrance

formerly an interior tombstone

the former rood screen

the later, not-so-Cistercian sedilla cover

you can see the outline of the likely lovely sedilla

view from chancel

transept chapel

view from the cloisters

view down the dining hall

cloister day steps

the dormitory was built over the river

standing in the cloisters

timber

maaaasive fireplace

entrance to a still buried part

Dorchester Abbey

old former monastery guesthouse

gotta love the old lady (American donor)

older gargoyle

oh yeah TIMBERING!

14th century wall painting, built 1340 for use as a parish church, there is a burial vault underneath the altar to house the bodies disturbed during the construction

close up of the 14th century painting

11th century knight

even the metal is painted

altar with one of the excellent 1340s English Decorated windows

rare Tree of Jesse 14th century window combining stained glass and sculpture (see the curved branches of the tree?)

the light streaming in gives the wood an orange glow

Dorchester was once a capital of England-controlling as far north as Northumbria. A cathedral was founded here in the 7th century but when the See left for Westminster, Dorchester became an abbey. I missed out on photographing a lot of the interior due to being in a rush but it's definitely worth a go as the English Decorated windows are beyond gorgeous, and the sedilila holds some of the oldest stained glass in England (reputedly, imported from France in the 13th century)