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Tours > Robin Hood's Yorkshire > St. Mary's Abbey
 St. Mary's Abbey
Museum Gardens, York
St. Mary's Abbey in York was the home of the infamous abbot and cellarer from whom Robin Hood's ally, Sir Richard of the Lee, borrowed the large sum of £400. The poor knight was enable to repay the debt and the uncharitable couple were about to foreclose on him and seize his lands. However, Robin stepped in and lent him the money and Sir Richard travelled to York, with Little John acting as his squire, to repay the loan in full - much to the surprise of the greedy Abbot.
The ruins of St. Mary's, probably the most important and influential monastery in the North of England, stand serenely amongst the brightly coloured flowers and neatly cut lawns of the Museum Gardens. This Bendictine house was but a short walk from the, now, dominant Minster but, at the height of its power, would have easily held its own.
As well as the picturesque ruins of the 13th century Abbey Church, there are several monastic buildings scattered around the park. Could Sir Richard & Little John have stayed in the timber-framed guest-house? It dates from around 1300, but they probably didn't stay in the city that long. The pair would almost certainly have presented the loan repayment to the Abbot, not at his private lodgings now called the 'King's Manor,' but in the Chapter House - the vestibule of which is superbly reconstructed in situ at the adjoining Yorkshire Museum.
Next Stop: Fountains Abbey
Click to review The History of Robin Hood
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