{"id":950,"date":"2025-10-05T16:26:31","date_gmt":"2025-10-05T15:26:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.jadownes.com\/?p=950"},"modified":"2026-05-20T15:09:40","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T14:09:40","slug":"roche-abbey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jadownes.com\/blog\/roche-abbey\/","title":{"rendered":"Roche Abbey & 3D Model"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\"Roche<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Beautiful summer day<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Roche abbey is a lovely little ruin in a shallow valley near Rotherham, in South Yorkshire. It is managed by English Heritage<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ruins<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

No surprise for Tudor history-lovers, the abbey is a ruin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are impressive north and south transept walls and an interesting ground plan of foundations can be seen. A small beck (stream) runs through the valley, and it is criss-crossed by paths with tiny stone bridges in numerous spots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On a sunny summer’s day it is really quite beautiful and serene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why did I visit?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Well it’s lovely and I’m an English Heritage member, so why not?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More particularly I wanted to visit a small Cistercian abbey as part of my research for Speculation: Undercurrents of Treachery<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The climax of the novella is set in an abbey in Suffolk (not Roche Abbey) and I wanted to soak up the atmosphere and check the layout before completing the novel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Roche
Roche Abbey site<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Gatehouse
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The abbey’s gatehouse is almost as impressive as the transepts (although not as tall).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Roche
Roche Abbey Gatehouse<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Dissolution
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The abbey was founded in 1147 and at its height supported a community of around 175 men (about a third being ‘choir monks’ and the rest lay brothers) however there were only 14 monks and an unknown number of novices at the time of the dissolution by King Henry VIII on 23 June 1538.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Countryside walk
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There is a short countryside walk around the site, leading to some pretty vantage points; for the abbey itself (see the main picture) and for a waterfall on the nearby stream.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Roche
Roche Abbey from walk<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

3D Model<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I created a 3D model of the south transept.<\/p>\n\n\n\n