July 2019 Picture of the Month

The patterns and textures of stone and wood at the top of the staircase to the monks' dormitory at Cleeve Abbey in Somerset reminded me of one of the classic images from photographic history – 'Sea of Steps' by Frederick H. Evans. Cleeve Abbey was founded by William de Roumare, Earl of Lincoln in 1196, initially for twelve Cistercian monks from Revesby Abbey in Lincolnshire. Although the church is long gone, the monastic buildings are surprisingly intact, and one of Cleeve's crowning glories is the 13th century tiled floor of the refectory. The ruins are just a short walk from Washford Station on the West Somerset Railway.