The origins of the Lady Chapel are nor known. However a licence for Mass to be celebrated regularly in the chapel was granted in 1397. This implies that it existed before that date. Squire John Ingleby of the manor of Bordelby, on whose land the chapel stood, gave it along with Bordelby Manor to the monks of the Carthusian Order in 1398. It is possible the monks lived at the chapel while their monastery of Mount Grace Priory was being built at the foot of the hill on the site of the manor. The Priory was dedicated to the Assumption of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas.
After the monks came the chapel was also used as a hermitage. The last hermit, Thomas Parkinson, had been a Franciscan for a time before adopting the solitary life while living at nearby Thirsk. He then moved to the Lady Chapel, living there with money provided by Queen Katharine of Aragon.
At the Reformation Mount Grace Priory was dissolved and the monks dispersed in 1539. The last Prior, Wilson, forseeing the dissolution had leased the Lady Chapel to his relatives and so it remained untouched. For a while he lived in the hermitage and, when the Carthusians were re-established during the reign of Queen Mary, he joined the community at Sheen.
The chapel gradually became a popular pilgrimage centre. In 1614 a commission was set up by the Archbishop of York, Toby Matthew, to find out why so many pilgrims were visiting the chapel, especially on the eve’s of Marian feasts. On the 7th September 1614, the eve of the Feast of Our Lady’s Birthday, a group of 17 Catholics were arrested for praying in the chapel.
By 1642 the chapel had fallen into a state of disrepair. In that year a group of religious sisters belonging to the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary arrived on pilgrimage to pray for their foundress, Mary Ward, who was gravely ill. One of the sisters wrote:
“The chapel is to this day a place of great devotion, where many graces are granted, though so destroyed as only the four walls remain without roof or cover; and in regard to the height of the mountain on which it stands, exposed to great winds.”
Mary Ward recovered from her illness and made a pilgrimage to the chapel herself in thanksgiving.
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In 1665 Lady Juliana Walmesley arranged for the foundation of a Franciscan Friary in the nearby village of Osmotherley. It’s purpose was ‘for performing duty there for the benefit, devotion and comfort of pilgrims.’ The Friars remained there for 167 years despite the persecution and harrasment of Catholics. Unfortunately, due to lack of vocations, the Friars had to withdraw in 1832 and the house was handed over to the Vicar Apostolic of the area.
Some time after this the chapel was lost to Catholic hands by default; but local people still visited it, especially on Our Lady’s Feasts. In the summer of 1942, two priests, Fr Peter Storey and Fr Michael O’Sullivan cycled from Middlesbrough to visit Mount Grace Priory. There they rested in the overgrown ruins. Looking at a map they spotted the site of the ruins of a Lady Chapel. They climbed up the hill and found the ruins beside an abandoned cottage. No wall of the chapel was over seven feet high. Both priests were fascinated by the place and on their return home began to research the chapel’s history.
On the death of Sir Hugh Bell the ruins of Mount Grace Priory and the Lady Chapel were put up for sale to pay death duties. Through Fr Storey, Lord Eldon and Mr Ralph Scrope, the chapel was bought with the attached cottage and the surrounding field. A trust was formed for the rebuilding of the chapel on its old foundations. In 1961 the rebuilt chapel was completed and opened on the Feast of Our Lady’s Birthday by Cardinal Godfrey.
In 1969 Bishop McClean of Middlesbrough invited the Franciscans to return to the house in Osmotherley with the same commission – to look after the pilgrims once again. Under Fr Dunstan Baker OFM, pilgrimages increased and additional facilities at the chapel were built. The Blessed Sacrament Chapel was built on the foundations of the old hermitage in 1985 and a toilet block constructed in 1990. By the end of 1993 the Franciscans had to withdraw due to a shortage of Friars. Bishop John Crowley invited the Benedictine community at Ampleforth Abbey to replace them and the Monastery of Our Lady of Mount Grace was established in Osmotherley. Once again there is a monastic house to care for pilgrims to the Lady Chapel.
Today monks from the monastery, assisted by lay volunteers, look after the buildings and minister to pilgrims. Since 1956, the Lady Chapel has been the venue for the annual pilgrimage for the Diocese of Middlesbrough to celebrate the Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady. The chapel is used by a variety of groups, drawn from all Christian denominations, throughout the year.
Mary, Mother of Divine Grace, pray for us!
Click here to View "Mount Grace Lady Chapel" By Fr Anthony Storey