Grey Abbey, Down
| An Mhainistir Liath | |
Interactive map of Grey Abbey
| |
| Monastery information | |
|---|---|
| Order | Cistercian |
| Established | 1193 |
| People | |
| Founder | Affreca de Courcy |
| Architecture | |
| Status | Inactive |
| Site | |
| Public access | Yes |
Grey Abbey (Irish: An Mhainistir Liath)[1] is a ruined Cistercian priory in Greyabbey, County Down, Northern Ireland. Currently maintained by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency, it is a monument in state care in the townland of Rosemount, on the eastern edge of the village of Greyabbey in the Ards and North Down local government district.[2][3]
History
Grey Abbey was founded in 1193[4] by John de Courcy's wife, Affreca.[5]
Grey Abbey is unique among Cistercian sites in that it had a female patron.[6]
The pointed arches on the lancet windows and elsewhere in the abbey are one of the earliest examples of Early Gothic architecture in the island of Ireland, and the earliest example in what is now Northern Ireland.[7]
References
- Back to citation "An Mhainistir Liath/Grey Abbey". logainm.ie. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
- Back to citation "Grey Abbey" (PDF). Environment and Heritage Service NI – State Care Historic Monuments. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 July 2012. Retrieved 4 December 2007.
- Back to citation Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland (1983). Historic Monuments of Northern Ireland. Belfast: HMSO. p. 102.
- Back to citation Illustrated Dictionary of Irish History. Mac Annaidh, S (ed). Gill and Macmillan, Dublin. 2001
- Back to citation Sandford, Ernest (1976). Discover Northern Ireland. Belfast: NI Tourist Board. p. 197. ISBN 0-9500222-7-6.
- Back to citation Meehan, Cary (2004). Sacred Ireland. Somerset: Gothic Image Publications. p. 202. ISBN 0 906362 43 1.
- Back to citation Villages by the Sea, BBC TV, series 4:9, Greyabbey, 4 March 2025.