There follow many pages of notes taken from every publication I have been able to find which relates to Dale Abbey (both the abbey, the church, the Hermitage and the village itself), plus notes taken from conversations with elderly people who lived in the village when we came to live here in 1983.  There are also pages relating to the Premonstratensian Order of Canons, and other abbeys of the Order, simply because they shed light on Dale’s buildings and history.

The notes are just that – notes.  They are intended purely and simply to set on record in one place all the facts that are known, for ease of reference and in order to answer questions that arise.  They are totally unselective and not intended to be literature!  In time, I do hope to convert some of this material into a readable history of the village;  this document is a first step towards that aim.

I have tried to give accurate references, but not after every sentence:  if you want to know where I found a fact, just keep reading until you find the next reference (eg C41), and that should enable you to find my source.  In many places, my sources’ opinions differ from one another.  I have indicated this by asterisk.  So, for instance, William de Horsley, ruled 21 years 41 weeks from *10th (PAGE) *14th August 1332 (M) betrays a difference of opinion between Page and the official Premonstratensian records.  Not being a historian, I have made very few judgments as to whose opinions are correct.

I hope you will find these data useful.  If you find any other documents which could helpfully feed into the data, I’d be grateful if you would contact me and tell me about them.  I can be contacted on revrallen@aol.com

Ruth Allen
1 Nov 2012