Grey Abbey, Down
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Grey Abbey () is a ruined
Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...
priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. They were created by the Catholic Church. Priories may be monastic houses of monks or nuns (such as the Benedictines, the Cistercians, or t ...
in
Greyabbey Greyabbey or Grey Abbey is a small village, townland (of 208 acres) and civil parish located on the eastern shores of Strangford Lough, on the Ards Peninsula in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies south of Newtownards. Both townland and ...
,
County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 552,261. It borders County Antrim to the ...
,
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
. Currently maintained by the
Northern Ireland Environment Agency The Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) is an executive agency within the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA). It is responsible for conservation of Northern Ireland's environment and natural heritage. Ori ...
, it is a monument in state care in the
townland A townland (; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of medieval Gaelic origin, predating the Norman invasion, and mo ...
of Rosemount, on the eastern edge of the village of Greyabbey in the
Ards and North Down Ards and North Down is a local government district in Northern Ireland. It was created on 1 April 2015 by merging the Borough of Ards and the Borough of North Down. The local authority is Ards and North Down Borough Council. Geography The ne ...
local government district Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...
.


History

Grey Abbey was founded in 1193 by
John de Courcy Sir John de Courcy (c. 1150–1219) was an Anglo-Norman knight who lived in Ireland from 1176 until his expulsion in 1204. He conquered a considerable territory, endowed religious establishments, built abbeys for both the Benedictines and the ...
's wife, Affreca. Grey Abbey is unique among Cistercian sites in that it had a female patron. The pointed arches on the lancet windows and elsewhere in the abbey are one of the earliest examples of
Early Gothic Early Gothic is the term for the first period of Gothic architecture which lasted from about 1120 until about 1200. The early Gothic builders used innovative technologies to resolve the problem of masonry ceilings which were too heavy for the t ...
architecture in the island of Ireland, and the earliest example in what is now Northern Ireland.''Villages by the Sea'', BBC TV, series 4:9, Greyabbey, 4 March 2025.


Gallery

File:Grey Abbey 1.jpg, View of Grey Abbey, County Down, Northern Ireland File:Detail at Grey Abbey.jpg, Detail of Memorial Plaque, Grey Abbey, County Down, Northern Ireland File:Nave, Grey Abbey.jpg, Nave, Grey Abbey, County Down, Northern Ireland


References

{{Authority control 1193 establishments in Europe Archaeological sites in County Down Buildings and structures in County Down Burial sites of the Crovan dynasty Christian monasteries established in the 1190s Monasteries dissolved under the Irish Reformation Cistercian monasteries in Northern Ireland Civil parish of Greyabbey Northern Ireland Environment Agency properties Religion in County Down Ruins in Northern Ireland Tourist attractions in County Down 12th-century establishments in Ireland State Care Monuments of Northern Ireland