If you miss the turning, I urge you to turn back, for missing this place all together would be criminal. It can be a tiny bit treacherous if you are not careful. The turning for Beauvale (poorly signposted) is almost immediately before (or after, depending on which way you are coming) the pub. When you are travelling down the B600 towards (or away from I suppose) Underwood, you will eventually hit upon a pub named the Horse & Groom. One thing to be aware of is how difficult it can be to find if you are unfamiliar with the area. The food here is very nice, with cream teas offering plenty of everything, sandwiches made up well, cakes that should please just about everyone and pots of tea big enough to satiate just about any group of tired walkers. There is additional seating outside though, and this is beautiful in the summer. It can get quite busy in here (as it is quite popular) and this can make finding somewhere to sit difficult. It is an odd location building, almost like a scaled down great hall, with its echoing stone walls and high ceiling. There is also a field of sheep behind the ruins that offer glimpses of adorable lambs in the spring.Īnyway, the café is the reason I suppose most people read about this, so I will say that it is very good.
There are lots of birds to see here too, as there are lots of hens, the odd duck, a peacock and multiple peahens to wandering around the property at any given time. They have since been given the title of Martyrs and there is a large stone erected bythe Priory ruins commemorating them.ĭ.H.Lawrence (presumably no relation of Robert Lawrence) based his short story "A Fragment of Stained Glass" at Beauvale and the site also features in another of his works (Country of my Heart) in which he refers to it simply as "The Abbey." It is a very evocative area and you can imagine why he chose this place. For their disobedience these men not only say the Priory dissolved, but were also two of the first men to be hung, drawn and quartered at Tyburn. The Priory was dissolved some 200 odd years later when Joh Houghton and Roert Lawrence (themselves past and present priors of Beauvale) flatly refused to sign an oath of supremacy recognising King Henry VIII as head the church. Artefacts can be seen in the building next door to the café which give you even more of a glimpse into the former use of this site. The Priory was built in 1343 and was dedicated to the Carthusian order of Monks who were the type that lived by a vow of silence. There are still large fragments to see, which give you an idea as to the former priory's scale and importance. The remains of Beauvale Priory lie behind the tearoom and can be visited without hindrance.
This is part working farm, part café/tearoom and part historical landmark, and it is the latter that always attracts me back. You feel a million miles away from anywhere, even though in reality Moorgreen, Greasly and Underwood are relatively close by. The first thing to mention is the sheer seclusion this place affords you, tucked away as it is in the rolling fields of Moorgreen. We have been coming here on and off for about 4 years now and it has become one of our favourite weekend stop-offs.
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