The Grey Abbey is a Cistercian foundation situated in the village of the same name, it is located on the eastern shore of Strangford Lough in the Ards Peninsula in County Down. The Abbey was founded in 1193 by the Anglo-Norman Knight John de Courcy’s wife Affreca as a daughter house of Holme Cultram Abbey in Cumbria and was colonised with monks from Holme Cultram. Affreca herself was from a powerful family was the daughter of Godred II Olafsson, King of the Isles, who paid homage to the King of Norway. There are several ‘Grey’ Abbeys around Ireland and England and this name is usually attested to the unbleached habits of the monks which would in time turn grey. The close relationship with the daughter house in England continued over the years with abbots from Grey Abbey become abbots in Holmcultram in 1222 and again in 1237.
Little is known about the next 80 or so years until the it was completely destroyed during the invasion of Edward Bruce (1315-18). There are no reliable sources that show the value of the Abbey’s holdings or wealth at this time so it is quite likely it was not very prosperous. The abbey fell further into decline and was dissolved in 1541 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries and granted to Gerald Fitzgerald, 11th Earl of Kildare, also known as the ‘Wizard Earl’. In the winter of 1572 it was burned by Brian O’Neill, Lord of Lower Clandeboye as he and his ally Turlough Luineach O’Neill went on a rampage destroying the settlements of colonists throughout the Ards. The abbey was burnt as he feared it being used as a refuge for the settlers. The Grey Abbey was subsequently granted to Sir Hugh Montgomery who re-roofed and refurbished it in 1626 so it could be used as a parish church, it remained in use until 1778.
I had wanted to visit Grey Abbey for some time and it really did not disappoint. It’s a nice touch that when one approaches the Abbey you walk through the ‘Physic Garden’ where beautiful fragrances abound, it contains around 40 herbs and plants that were believed to be grown by the Cistercians.
GPS: 54.53694, -5.55515