Ripon as the Liberty of Ripon and it was during this time that a grand Collegiate Church was built on top of the ruins of Wilfrid's building. Eventually developed in the Gothic style, the project owed much to the work of Roger de Pont L'Evêque and Walter de Gray, two Archbishops of York during the Plantagenet era. During the 12th century Ripon built up a booming wool trade, attracting Italian trade merchants, especially Florentines, who bought and exported large quantities. Ripon's proximity to Fountains Abbey, where the Cistercians had a long tradition of sheep farming and owned much grazing land, was
Escaladieu Abbey Escaladieu Abbey Escaladieu Abbey (French: "l'Abbaye de l'Escaladieu") was a Cistercian abbey located in the French "commune" of Bonnemazon in the Hautes-Pyrénées. Its name derives from the Latin "Scala Dei" ("ladder of God"). The abbey was founded in 1142 and became an important pilgrimage stop on the Way of St. James en route to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. The abbey is situated at the confluence of the Luz and the Arros rivers near the Château de Mauvezin. In the middle of the 12th century, a group of monks under the protection of the count of Bigorre who lived