Knaresborough certainly doesn’t suffer from a lack of historical buildings. According to the website British Listed Buildings, there are over 200 listed structures in the town.

While they’ve all got a story to tell, this week the spotlight is on one of the more unusual entries on the register – a place with an extraordinary tale of hardship, religious pilgrimage and near-mystical powers.

St Robert's Cave has the double accolade of being both a Grade II listed building and a Scheduled Ancient Monument. This classification refers to the limestone cave and the ruins of Holy Cross Chapel that are respectively the former dwelling and then burial site of St Robert of Knaresborough.

While never canonised, Robert was famed for his piety, and his supposed healing abilities which attracted pilgrims from all different social classes.

He also lived in a cave for 30 years, was driven out of his home in Knaresborough twice and even found favour with a notoriously ill-tempered royal – quite the life for a 12th-century hermit.

Early history

Robert’s upbringing did not give any indication of the legacy he was to leave; born in 1160 to a wealthy family, his formative years must have been spent in a luxury relative to the times.

The patriarch of the family was Touk Flower, a successful merchant and mayor of York for a time. However, Robert was drawn away from the family business by the call of the church and decided to follow his faith instead.

He spent time as a lay brother at the Cistercian abbey of Newminster in Northumberland and was ordained to the sub-diaconate, but he only stayed for a few months.

Disillusioned with priesthood and seeking a life of quiet religious contemplation, he travelled to Knaresborough and took up residence in a cave alongside the River Nidd.

Surprisingly he wasn’t the sole occupant of this unusual home; a knight, hiding from King Richard I (Richard the Lionheart) was his companion until 1199, when he returned to his wife upon the death of the king. 

Robert continued to live in the cave for the next two years, until a wealthy widow in the area offered him the dubious upgrade of a cell at the nearby St Hilda's Chapel at Rudfarlington, located in the historic Knaresborough Forest.

He was only a year into living at his home when marauding bandits destroyed the hermitage. He fled to Spofforth and took to outdoor living once more, staying for a brief time under the church wall, before moving in with monks in Hedley, near Tadcaster.

A king’s patronage

Robert eventually was able to move back to Rudfarlington, where he quickly built his reputation for being charitable to those in need, offering them food and shelter.

The hermitage prospered for a time, but William de Stuteville, the constable of Knaresborough Castle, grew suspicious of Robert’s outreach, accusing him of harbouring thieves and outlaws.

De Stuteville destroyed the chapel for a second time, which drove Robert out of Rudfarlington and back to the cave by the River Nidd, where he remained for the rest of his life. 

Word soon spread that the holy man had relocated, and faithful followers made the pilgrimage to visit him, seeking spiritual guidance and healing.

Many local benefactors gifted Robert livestock and land around the cave, but the most generous of them all was King John, who had had a hunting lodge in Knaresborough, and frequently visited the hermit when he was staying there.

Their relationship could have taken an entirely different turn; it is said that when the king paid Robert a visit, he was in the middle of silent prayer and would not receive the king until he had finished – a bold move, considering the legendary temper the monarch had.

Towards the end of his life, Robert’s brother Walter came to visit. He had followed in their father’s footsteps and was the then mayor of York, with plenty of income to spare.

While he couldn’t persuade Robert to leave his cave, despite what must have been tempting offers of a less drafty and damp home, he managed to convince him to let him pay for building the Chapel of the Holy Cross on the site.

Legacy

Before his death, Robert founded Knaresborough Friary for the Trinitarian order. He told his peers that the Cistercian monks of Fountains Abbey would want to claim his body, but his wishes were to be buried simply, by the Chapel of the Holy Cross.

He passed away on September 24, 1218, and pilgrims still flocked to the cave, to pay their respects and to benefit from the ‘healing oils’ that were rumoured to flow from his grave.

His body was later transferred to the Trinitarian church belonging to the order that he founded, but this no longer exists.

In the 18th century, the cave – once a place of holiness – became known for a different reason entirely; In February 1758 a skeleton was discovered buried inside the cave.

It was believed at the time to be the remains of Knaresborough resident Daniel Clark, and suspicion fell upon another well-known local figure, Eugene Aram, who was eventually executed for the crime.

The cave and ruins of the chapel can still be visited today, accessible by the river path or by Abbey Road. An information panel and blue plaque marks the route down to the cave and chapel.

Sources for this article include an article on the Our Lady of The Crag website, an article on the Journal of Antiquities website, a blog entry posted to www.halikeld.f9.co.uk, information taken from the Ripon Civic Society website, an article posted on the Yorkshire Guides website and an article on the Britain Express website.