What follows is an attempt to convert the notes of www.daleabbey.org.uk into something a little more readable. It carries the warning, though, that I am neither a historian nor a geologist nor an anthropologist nor a sociologist by training; the information you will find here and in the notes has been gleaned from many sources, and I have rarely made judgments as to what is likely to be accurate. I should greatly value corrections or additions to the text by people better qualified than me:  please contact me on RevRAllen@aol.com.

I have also refrained from copious footnotes and references. If you wish to follow something up, go to the notes version, with its large bibliography, and a little detective work should reveal where I have obtained my information.