I'm guessing we all know the old Irish tree fellers joke... not that the joke has any relevance here...

It would be a sacrilege to fell this tree

At least in my opinion it would be a sacrilege to fell this tree...

Just a few more images from Hailes Abbey...

View through an arched doorway

A couple of examples of masonry bosses

The year is 1246 and Richard, Earl of Cornwall (brother of Henry III) is suffering as his ship is tossed in one the worst storms ever recorded at sea.

Richard is so frightened by the tempest he makes a vow to God, swearing if his ship is saved he will found a magnificent religious house. Richard survived and kept his vow.

Henry III granted him the manor of Hailes, and there Richard established an abbey with the help of Cistercian monks from the abbey of Beaulieu in Hampshire.

Construction of Hailes Abbey was completed in just five years, and the abbey was consecrated in 1251. A celebration feast was held attended by Henry III, Queen Eleanor of Provence, and 13 bishops.

A vial said to contain the blood of Christ arrived at the abbey in 1270, authenticated by the patriarch of Jerusalem.

The east end of the abbey church was extended, and there the vial was kept in a special shrine.

With the holy blood in its possession, Hailes became one of the most popular pilgrimage destinations in medieval England.

During the Dissolution of the Monasteries the validity of the holy blood was questioned; it was said at the time the blood was actually that of a duck and renewed by the monks on a weekly basis.

After the Dissolution of the Monasteries destroyed the Abbey in 1539, the enshrined liquid was examined in London and announced to be a mixture of saffron and honey.

After the Dissolution, Hailes Abbey was granted to Katherine Parr (sixth wife of Henry VIII), remaining in family. The abbey church was demolished during this period and some of the monastic buildings were converted for use as a family home.

By the end of the 18th century the site had suffered extensive destruction and was left in an overgrown and decaying state until excavation began some 100 years later.

Managed to escape for a couple of hours on Thursday afternoon with the apprentice photographer, otherwise known as the daughter. We'd talked a couple of times about visiting some old ruins, so hatched a plan to visit the 13th-century Cistercian abbey at Hailes in Gloucestershire... the trip also provided the opportunity to say "Hello" to a fellow blogger and put another face to a name.

Hailes Abbey was founded in 1246 and once a celebrated site of pilgrimage. Today the building stands in ruins, but has some interesting points. I'll be sharing a few of my images from the trip with you today.