Kirkham Priory
Nestled over on the banks of the River Derwent in North Yorkshire is the rather romantic ruins of Kirkham Priory. Now this site was a big one during WWII, but we'll get into that in a mo, otherwise it was quite a stunning structure and still brings great peace to this day.
This was once an Augustinian Priory. Founded in the 1120s by Walter l'Espec, yes the lord of Helmsley who also built Rievaulx Abbey that we have covered before. Of course it was another one that fell thanks to the Big Bully King and thus it is in ruins today, but the site also has its own folklore attached.
According to legend, so likely untrue but you never know (we're still sore about the 'legend' surrounding Glastonbury Abbey so we take the word of Monks with a pinch of salt), Kirkham Priory was founded in remembrance to l'Espec's only son who died when a boar startled his horse. He died near what became Kirkham Priory.
Now if we look at the remaining ruins, the gatehouse which is one of the only structures which remains fairly intact on the site, is a brilliant and well recognised example of English Gothic architecture from the medieval era. It seems quite the rarity to have such a gatehouse remain in such good nick so this one is often examined and we must admit it is quite the site to behold.
Winston Churchill must have thought the same, although we don't think that the welfare of such a historical site was thought of when they set up military training here during WWII. We appreciate our country was at war, but it makes us grit our teeth when we learn how such important historical sites were forced to play their part while also being prone to destruction. But Kirkham Priory certainly played its part and Churchill himself visited in secret along with King George VI to monitor how troops were getting on.
The reason Kirkham was so important during WWII is that it was decided that the site would train our troops to prepare for the D-Day Landings which took place in 1944. Troops were brought to Kirkham to gain experience in manoeuvring, plus testing equipment as well as waterproofing compounds. The site saw many tanks, jeeps, trucks, and other military vehicles during this time and even the high cloister wall was put to use as scrambling nets were set up over it so the troops could practice making their way from transport ships to smaller landing crafts during the invasion. We doubt there was much respect for l'Espec or any Augustinian Monks during this time, but the Priory ruins survive on luckily.
Speaking of respect, the dead who rest here probably weren't too keen on all the noise either! There's quite a few nobles buried within the ruins of Kirkham, those we know of are listed below:
Sir William de Ros
Robert de Ros
William de Ros, 1st Baron de Ros
William de Ros, 2nd Baron de Ros
Ralph Greystoke, 5th Baron Greystoke
Now the site is very romantic. We had a lovely calm walk through the slightly muddy ruins next to the river. It was quiet, the scenery was lovely, and it just reminded us of our walk around Byland Abbey earlier that year. No one else was there and it is so rare now that we get a historic site to ourselves. We loved it. However, rumour has it that the site is haunted, because of course it is, so you wouldn't catch us there after dark!
However, we are pleased to see such a well maintained free to enter English Heritage site for once. The grass is maintained, the site isn't crumbling, and it just feels looked after, unlike some of the others we have been to which are fenced off or used as public drug dens! So if you're in the area and fancy a picnic, Kirkham Priory is your place.
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