FIND OUT HOW CISTERCIAN MONKS REBUILT YORKSHIRE A THOUSAND YEARS AGO USINGWOOL, METAL AND CHEESE

An illustrated talk by a National Trust expert about the rebuilding of Yorkshire by Cistercianmonks a thousand years ago will kick off the Autumn programme of Bishop Monkton Local History Group.

Peter Lewis will explain how the monks of Yorkshire’s eight Cistercian abbeys, including Fountains, rebuilt the county in the years that followed the devastation, known as the ‘Harrying of the North’. This was a ruthless military campaign, described by some historians as a genocide, which was meted out in the North of England by William the Conqueror’s army in 1069 and 1070 in response to rebellions against Norman rule. The monks of Yorkshire’s eight Cistercian abbeys were instrumental in rebuilding the county after the devastation.

Sixteen years after the “Harrying of the North’, the Domesday Book revealed the long-term effect of that devastation. Hence, when the Cistercians arrived, they were granted vast tracts of marginal and unprofitable land, which they developed using their advanced farming methods, their metalworking expertise, and by introducing cheesemaking to Wensleydale.

The talk takes place on Wednesday 16th September at 7 pm in the Methodist Schoolroom.

It is free to Bishop Monkton Local History Group members and costs £5 for non-members.

Annual membership, which entitles free entry to most BMLHG talks, costs just £15 a year.

To book a place at the talk, email Chris Shaw http://[email protected].

There’s more about the History Group, including details of future talks later in the Autumn, at http://ttps://bmlhg.chessck.co.uk.