A hauntingly beautiful set of photos, appearing on DailyMail, shows two Cistercian monks, Father Joseph and Brother Bernard, visting the ruins of a former Cistercian Abbey in England that had been destroyed during Henry VIII’s reign.

Rievaulx Abbey was Founded in 1132 by twelve monks from Clairvaux Abbey and It quickly became one of the most powerful and spiritually renowned centres of monasticism in Britain, housing a 650-strong community at its peak.

The abbey was dissolved by King Henry VIII on December 3, 1538. At that time there were reported to be 72 buildings occupied by an abbot and 21 monks, attended by 102 servants, with an income of £351 a year. Henry ordered the buildings to be rendered uninhabitable and stripped of valuables such as lead.

Ruins of Rievaulx Abbey 1 of 6

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A new museum has been built on the site that displays artifacts and chronicles the rise and fall of the Cistercian Monastery.

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