JERVAULX, ABBEY OF

Former cistercian monastery near East Witton, York, England, Diocese of York (Latin, Jorevallis, from Jore or Eure Valley). Founded in 1150 from Byland Abbey in North Yorkshire, a daughterhouse of savigny, it was originally located at Fors but moved 16 miles east to Jervaulx in 1156. John de Kinstun was the first abbot; Akarius Fitzbardolph and Alan, Earl of Richmond, were the original patrons. Since the records have perished, little is known of its internal history. It made no foundations but was economically powerful, being specially noted for horses and sheep. Yet it was reduced to 16 monks and two lay brothers in 1381. It incorporated two churches, Aysgarth and Anderby, and got the privilege of miter in 1409. In 1535 one of the monks, George Lazenby, refused to take the Oath of Supremacy under King henry viii and was executed. Two others, R. Hartlepoole and J. Stainton, were active in the pilgrimage of grace (1537), in which the last abbot, Adam Sedbergh, was unwillingly involved and was executed May 20, 1537; another monk died in prison. The abbey was declared forfeit (its revenue was £234), and none of the 26 monks received a pension. The buildings were dismantled in 1538. Today the ruins are scheduled for protection as an ancient monument although they are owned privately.

Bibliography: j. m. canivez, ed., Statuta capitulorum generalium ordinis cisterciensis, 8 v. (Louvain 1933–41) v.1–5. Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, of the Reign of Henry VIII …, 21 v. (London 1862–1907) v.12–13, ed. j. gairdner, under Jervaulx, Sedbergh. w. dugdale, Monasticon Anglicanum (London 1655–73); best ed. by j. caley et al. (1817–30) 5:567–582, gives sources now lost. l. janauschek, Origines Cistercienses, v.1 (Vienna 1877) 119–120. j. r. walbran and j. t. fowler, eds., Memorials of the Abbey of St. Mary of Fountains, 3 v. (Surtees Society 42, 67, 130; Newcastle 1863–78) 1:268–274. l. h. cottineau, Répertoire topobibliographique des abbayes et prieurés, 2 v. (Mâcon 1935–39) 1:1483. The Victoria History of the County of York, ed. w. page, 4 v. and index (London 1907–13) 3:138–142, best modern account. l. e. whatmore, "George Lazenby, Monk of Jervaulx: A Forgotten Martyr?," Downside Review 60 (1942) 325–328. d. knowles and r. n. hadcock, Medieval Religious Houses: England and Wales (New York 1953) 110.

[j. o'dea]