Building an Abbey: Rievaulx

Approaching Technology through an Historic Building

Rievaulx is a twelfth-century Cistercian abbey set in a beautiful and secluded valley in North Yorkshire, England. Children from a local primary school are shown looking for clues to the design and engineering problems faced by the monks who built this large group of buildings. A great deal can be learned from looking carefully at both the buildings and the remains of fallen masonry. For example, it is possible to work out how the monks built such tall columns and high walls. We see how the buttresses and pinnacles, beautiful as they are, have more than a mere decorative function, being an integral part of the engineering. Weight, stresses and load-bearing in a vaulted stone roof are introduced through the medium of an instructive children's game. While the magnificent nave and choir are the central core of Rievaulx, the remains of the extensive monastic buildings are also examined for clues to the way of life of the monks who lived, worked and worshiped here. Evidence of the hearths, the kitchens and refectory all add to our understanding of how they lived. The film is a stepping-off point for a multi-disciplinary study of the history of any abbey or cathedral.

© 1998-2008 The Roland Collection & Pira Intl.