Come and join the 15th-century fun at Rievaulx

ACCORDING to English Heritage, this is what a farmworkers’ fair 600 years ago might have looked like.

There will be more re-enactments like it over this weekend, as Rievaulx Abbey opens a series of Mediaeval Year events with a 15th-century-style Pentecostal Festival.

In the agricultural calendar, Whitsun marked the beginning of summer and the day after was a traditional holiday. Rievaulx Abbey was a hub of farming and there would have been a fair on its estate which even the monks probably joined in, according to English Heritage.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The event runs 11-5 today (Saturday, May 26) and tomorrow (Sunday, May 27), with the abbey itself open 10-6. Admission is £6.50 for adults, £6 for concessions and £4.50 for children. Free for English Heritage members.

Related topics: