Shrine of Our Lady of the Crag

Shrine of Our Lady of the Crag

The Chapel was carved out of the rock in about 1408 by 'John the Mason', and is believed to be the third oldest wayside shrine in Britain. John was a local stonemason who worked in the nearby quarry and one day, his son was playing on the rocky cliff when there was a great downfall of stones and boulders. The father of the boy attributed his son's narrow escape from death as a miraculous intervention by the Virgin Mary and is said to have built the shrine in thanksgiving and dedicated it to the Blessed Virgin. In earlier times it was called "Saint Robert's Chapel", probably inaccurately, since it was constructed almost two centuries after the saint's death and may have been confused with Saint Robert's Cave, tucked away on the same riverbank further down Abbey Road. Today, the Chapel is owned by Ampleforth Abbey. It was given to the Abbey by John Martin, a Roman Catholic from Liverpool, who bought it in 1916. The R.C. parish of St. Mary's Knaresborough looks after it on the Abbey's behalf.

The Shrine Today

Today, the Chapel remains a very special sacred site. The shrine's significance has been recognised by national groups including World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), and has been assisted in the form of grants as part of the Sacred Land 2000 Project (led by The International Consultancy on Religion, Education and Culture -ICOREC). A volunteer group comprising members of the parish of St. Mary's Church and the Knaresborough community was formed in 1997 in order to protect, preserve and improve the Chapel and grounds. Some minor restoration work has been carried out to the Chapel itself and a major project is currently underway to improve the vicinity by creating a Marian garden and provide better pedestrian and wheelchair access. The area is to be properly landscaped into a number of gardens, in keeping with the natural beauty of the place, that tell the life story of the Virgin Mary through the symbolism of plants and flowers. A major fundraising campaign has been launched to make these improvements possible. In 1999, the Shrine was awarded a further grant by the Arts and Sacred Places Project, which is linked to the Millennium Commission. The culmination of this award was the Millennium Festival on 1st July 2000. A new statue of the Madonna and Child has been sculpted by the well-known Yorkshire sculptor, Ian Judd. The project involved the entire community of the town, and local school and community groups took part in art workshops and a poetry competition, inspired by the Shrine. An exhibition of art was mounted as part of the Millennium Festival. Here are some of the pictures from the exhibition and the dedication of the statue.

The Abbott and Father Benedict with the new statue

The Abbott and Father Benedict together with the new statue

The new statue of Our Lady of the Crag

The Mayor of Knaresborough Cllr Julie Watkins opening the exhibition

A view of the exhibition

The sculptor, Ian Judd with the "model" for the Child