Grey Abbey, Down

Grey Abbey (Irish: An Mhainistir Liath)^[1] is a ruined Cistercian priory in Greyabbey, County Down, Northern Ireland. Currently maintained by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency, it is a monument in state care in the townland of Rosemount, on the eastern edge of the village of Greyabbey in the Ards and North Down local government district.^[2][3]

Grey Abbey

An Mhainistir Liath
Monastery information
Order	Cistercian
Established	1193
People
Founder(s)	Affreca de Courcy
Architecture
Status	Inactive
Site
Public access	Yes

History

Grey Abbey was founded in 1193^[4] by John de Courcy's wife, Affreca.^[5]

Plan of the abbey, drawn in 1874.

Grey Abbey is unique among Cistercian sites in that it had a female patron.^[6]

The pointed arches on the lancet windows and elsewhere in the abbey are one of the earliest examples of Early Gothic architecture in the island of Ireland, and the earliest example in what is now Northern Ireland.^[7]

Gallery

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  View of Grey Abbey, County Down, Northern Ireland
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  Detail of Memorial Plaque, Grey Abbey, County Down, Northern Ireland
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  Nave, Grey Abbey, County Down, Northern Ireland