Shrine and Chapel of Our Lady of the Crag, St Robert’s Hermitage, Knaresborough

‍A two-day pilgrim route between Leeds and Ripon passes Knaresborough’s intriguing wayside shrine, which is carved into a cliff

Highlights

• Wayside shrine in cliff face
• Saint’s former shrine and chapel

It seems unlikely that a single road could have two entirely unrelated chapels cut into cliffs. But the evidence at Knaresborough is there to see. One is an active place of worship, and the other an abandoned saint’s hermitage. They date from different times and different traditions.

The caves are more than a mile apart along Abbey Road, which runs beside the River Nidd. The active chapel is at the western end of the road, nearest the town centre. It is usually locked, but open on Sundays in the summer and has occasional services conducted by the Catholic church, as well as ecumenical worship. Ampleforth Abbey, 20 miles to the north, owns the chapel and uses it in conjunction with the local Catholic Church of St Mary. The St Wilfrid’s Way pilgrimage between Leeds and Ripon passes this chapel (listed on the British Pilgrimage Trust website).

It was carved out of the cliff face in 1408 as a wayside shrine, one of the oldest surviving in England. Pilgrims and travellers would call in to pay their respects and say their prayers. Its blue plaque recounts the tradition that a mason called John built the chapel after his son was saved from a falling rock, a miracle he attributed to the Blessed Virgin.

A modern sculpture of the Virgin and Child was installed in the original statue niche above the small altar in 2000, during restoration work. The chapel is a tiny space but carved with a vaulted ceiling, decorative work around the altar, and a small carving of a face near the door. An outdoor altar is used to celebrate Mass four times a year on the Saturdays nearest the main Marian festivals: the Annunciation, the Visitation, Our Lady’s birthday, and the Immaculate Conception.

The dramatic carving of a knight outside the entrance looks more recent than the chapel itself, undated as far as I can gather.

St Robert’s Cave

This hermitage cave is a gloomy and damp place in an altogether more secluded setting, though it is blessed by the presence of a saint. It is 200 years older than the crag chapel, and served St Robert of Knaresborough as both his home and then his shrine.

A small cave with two rough-cut chambers probably served as his original chapel. Little daylight penetrates the riverbank trees, and even less makes its way into the cave. By the light of a mobile phone, it is possible to make out what must have been his altar at the end of the far chamber.

Outside this chapel is a flat area of rock, with foundations cut into it. A coffin-shaped recess lies at the bottom of the stairs, at the centre of what became his shrine chapel. The high altar stood immediately behind this grave, according to a site plan displayed next to the entrance. The chapel was probably built towards the end of the saint’s life and then converted into his shrine. The furthest section of rock, in front of the cave entrance, served as his living quarters.

The saint’s body was kept here for around 30 years before being moved into a nearby priory beside the River Nidd. The priory was run by the Trinitarian order and destroyed at the Dissolution. Its precise site is currently unknown, although houses near St Robert’s Cave contain fragments of recycled stonework from the medieval buildings.

St Robert lived here from 1180 until his death in 1218. Despite seeking a hermit’s solitude, he became famous for healing miracles and wise spiritual advice, to such an extent that King John visited him in 1216. After his death on 24 September, the cave became an important site of pilgrimage as the saint’s fame spread, his tomb said to flow with miraculous oil.

Directions

Our Lady of the Crag, Abbey Road, Knaresborough HG5 8HY (area postcode)

www.chapelofourladyofthecrag.btck.co.uk

W3W: clicker.recoup.hillside GPS: 54.0029N 1.4656W

St Robert’s Cave, Abbey Road, Knaresborough HG5 8HX

W3W: such.nosedive.leaky GPS: 53.9994N 1.4509W

The Shrine of Our Lady of the Crag is at the western end of Abbey Road; the postcode also relates to a housing estate above the chapel, which has no access, so check satnav routes carefully. Turn into Abbey Road from Briggate (B6163), by the Half Moon pub, and the chapel is 130m along here on the left, visible above the roadway. The chapel is open on Sundays from Easter to the end of September, 2 pm–4 pm.

To reach St Robert’s Cave, turn into the eastern end of Abbey Road from Wetherby Road (B6164), just before the narrow bridge controlled by traffic lights. After 160m, stop in the first pull-in parking area on the left. Steps lead down to the cave from here. Abbey Road is closed in the middle by a metal barrier, requiring a long detour between these two sites if you are driving, a pleasant riverside walk/cycle otherwise.