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Selby Abbey

Dedicated to St. Mary the Virgin and St. Germain, Selby Abbey is one of a few surviving medieval abbey churches, one of the largest parish churches in Britain and a determined survivor though 900 years of adversity. The Abbey was founded by Benedict (or Benoit) of Auxerre in 1069 following a vision where St. Germain instructed him to build an Abbey at Selby with a dried finger of the Saint for a shrine. Much of the Norman church we see today was the work of his successor, Abbot Hugh, who reputedly did manual labour himself for wages he gave to the poor. Work continued in the 13th century in an Early English style and in the early 14th century with a Decorated chancel. In 1340 a disastrous fire destroyed the Chapter House, Treasury, Dormitory and other buildings and the church became partly in ruins.
The Abbey was dissolved in 1539 and many of the buildings were pulled down in the following years, though a gatehouse survived until 1806 and the abbey church continued in use as a parish church. The Battle of Selby in 1644 and the iconoclasm of the Commonwealth saw further damage to the Abbey, then, at around 6.00am on March 30th 1690, the upper part of the tower collapsed destroying the south transept and part of the choir as it fell. A bell tower replaced the upper part of the tower in 1702, though repairs to the rest of the damaged building were slow. In 1871 Sir George Gilbert Scott was appointed to restore the nave and in 1890 John Oldrid Scott restored the choir.
On the night of October 19th/20th 1906 another disastrous fire gutted the abbey and almost destroyed the building, but once again John Oldrid Scott restored the damage, including the south transept damaged in 1690. Further work in 1935 completed the restoration to the church we see today LinkExternal link
by Richard Croft

Created: Wed, 10 Nov 2010, Updated: Tue, 3 Aug 2021


87 images use this description. Preview sample shown below:

SE6132 : Selby Abbey nave by J.Hannan
SE6132 : Window n.13, Selby Abbey by Julian P Guffogg
SE6132 : Selby Abbey, Organ Console by Julian P Guffogg
SE6132 : Window n.3 Selby Abbey by Julian P Guffogg
SE6132 : Selby Abbey - pulpit by Stephen Craven
SE6132 : Selby Abbey - Resurrection chapel by Stephen Craven
SE6132 : Market cross in Selby by DS Pugh
SE6132 : Window n.11, Selby Abbey by Julian P Guffogg
SE6132 : Selby Abbey choir and organ by Julian P Guffogg
SE6132 : Washington Window, Selby Abbey by Julian P Guffogg
SE6132 : Selby Abbey - high altar by Stephen Craven
SE6132 : Stained glass window n.15, Selby Abbey by Julian P Guffogg
SE6132 : Selby Abbey, North transept Window by Julian P Guffogg
SE6132 : Nave Organ Console, Selby Abbey by Julian P Guffogg
SE6132 : East window of Selby Abbey by Stephen Craven
SE6132 : Selby Abbey through the trees by Alan Murray-Rust
SE6132 : Selby Abbey by J. Hannan
SE6132 : Selby Abbey - west tower pinnacles by Alan Murray-Rust
SE6132 : South Transept window, Selby Abbey by Julian P Guffogg
SE6132 : Selby Abbey nave by Richard Croft
SE6132 : Window n.6 (Mariners Window) Selby Abbey by Julian P Guffogg
SE6132 : Selby abbey, East Window by J.Hannan
SE6132 : Selby Abbey - chancel with Christmas tree by Stephen Craven
SE6132 : Selby Abbey - art installation by Stephen Craven
SE6132 : Selby Abbey nave by Richard Croft

... and 62 more images.

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