The Abbey Today
The site is now in the care of English Heritage. The cliff path walk provides access to a view across the abbey grounds where its layout can be appreciated. Many of the buildings are low-standing but the walls of the church still stand to full height and the gothic French idealism thrust into its design and architecture is visible. Later additions to the buildings included a kitchen area and abbot's quarters, that were built on the other side of the beck. These quarters were accessed by a bridge which still stands. The monks had latrines which were over Maltby Beck so the running water took away the waste. They dammed the stream higher up to ensure fast flowing water: quite a modern facility for the 13th century. There are several local legends concerning ghosts, tunnels to other buildings, and even a lost wishing well.
Read more about this topic: Roche Abbey
Famous quotes containing the words abbey and/or today:
“The Abbey always reminds me of that old toast, “Above lofty timbers, the walls around are bare, echoing to our laughter, as though the dead were there.””
—Garrett Fort (1900–1945)
“The East is the hearthside of America. Like any home, therefore, it has the defects of its virtues. Because it is a long-lived-in house, it bursts its seams, is inconvenient, needs constant refurbishing. And some of the family resources have been spent. To attain the privacy that grown-up people find so desirable, Easterners live a harder life than people elsewhere. Today it is we and not the frontiersman who must be rugged to survive.”
—Phyllis McGinley (1905–1978)