"
The ruins of Whalley Abbey are situated in a beautifully-sequestered
spot on the banks of the Calder, presenting some of the most extensive
and picturesque remains of antiquity in the county; and the site
sufficiently exemplifies that peculiar instinct, if it may be so called,
which guided the monks in their choice of situations. "Though the
Cistercians affected to plant themselves in the solitude of woods, which
were to be gradually essarted by the labour of their own hands, and
though they obtained an exemption from the payment of tithes on that
specific plea, yet they were excellent judges of the quality of land,
however concealed, and never set about their laborious task without the
assurance of an ample recompense."
The following minute account of these ruins is from the pen of the
historian of Whalley:--"A copious stream to the south, a moderate
expanse of rich meadow and pasture around, and an amphitheatre of
sheltering hills, clad in the verdant covering of their native woods,
beyond; these were features in the face of Nature which the earlier
Cistercians courted with instinctive fondness. Where these combined, it
does not appear that they ever abandoned a situation which they had once
chosen; and where these were wanting, it is certain they never long or
willingly remained.
Pages:
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265