The English Benedictine monastery, Ampleforth Abbey, dates back to 1802. A few years earlier, Lady Anne Fairfax from Gilling Castle had built Ampleforth Lodge for her chaplain, Father Anselm Bolton. He later handed this house over to a group of monks, who had been expelled from France and this became their new monastery. One year later, a new school was opened – this was to become Ampleforth College.
In 1900 the monastery became an independent Abbey, with its own elected Abbot. The first Abbot of Ampleforth was Father Oswald Smith, succeeded in 1924 by Father Edmund Matthews. He subsequently appointed Father Paul Nevill as Headmaster of the school and these two transformed the school into the public school that it is today.
Across the valley beyond Ampleforth is the small village of Gilling East, a picturesque location, which includes the aforementioned Gilling Castle. Today, the grade 1 listed castle is home to St Martin’s Ampleforth, the prep school of Ampleforth College. Another site worth visiting in the village is the extensive miniature railway - watch old men playing with their toys!
One famous ex-pupil of Ampleforth College is British sculptor Antony Gormley, possibly best known for his ‘Angel of the North’, a public sculpture near Newcastle upon Tyne. This cache is placed close to a sculpture, very much in the style of Antony Gormley. I wonder …
The cache is located more or less equidistant between Ampleforth College and Gilling East. You can approach from either location. There is a small car park at the Abbey, and a permissive path is waymarked to the right-hand side of the Abbey, looking from the car park. This eventually leads to the public footpath (Trailhead 1). Alternatively, there is roadside parking in the village centre, but please ensure that you do not block local access. From there, walk north along the road to pick up the footpath (Trailhead 2) and look out for the footbridge crossing the stream. Please note, the cache has been moved and is now a short distance from the sculpture.
The cache is a bison container. Please ensure it is replaced as found.