1263 AD - Brother Peter de Scheldon, Lord Abbot of Vale Royal Abbey, Cheshire

I entered the monastery as a novice aged about 12 and have spent my whole life here beside the River Weaver. Although it is a quiet spot the monks are always busy. Cistercian monks have always been farmers, but we also educate, tend the sick, copy the Gospels as well as advising the local lords on political matters.

Last year I made the long journey to London to meet the other abbots after the Murder of the Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas … Becket at the order of King Henry II. Thomas had been Lord Chancellor of England (Prime Minister) and had run the government well but the King wanted to command the Church as well and so forced an unwilling Thomas to become Archbishop. His plan back-fired when Thomas refused to change things to suit the King and was killed by three knights in the centre of his Cathedral on the orders of Henry.

In my abbey we have a very busy life, going to church at least 7 times every day. We start with the Service of Lauds followed by Matins at 2 a.m., then back to bed for a few more hours. At dawn we say Prime and hear Mass before our breakfast. After that meal we go to the Chapter House for a community meeting at which jobs and duties are allocated for the next few days. The service of Terce comes before the main mid-day meal. Sext, Nones, Vespers and Compline are afternoon and evening services before we go to bed at about 9 p.m. All brothers attend the services unless involved in life-saving duties. Around the Church services we do all the jobs which a large community must do to feed and clothe itself and be self-sufficient. We produce almost everything we need on our farms, doing our own building and making our own clothes. Praying to God is the most important thing of all but we also believe in working hard - even the old and sick do what they can.

My abbey is a large land-owner and I send lay servants out with my brothers to collect rents, arrange repairs and sort out any disagreements between tenants. We own farms, salt works, fish ponds, boats and tanneries - and they all pay rents. As abbot of such an important place I have regular contact with all the big abbeys in England as well as others in France and Italy. People on a journey often stop overnight with us as there is nowhere else to stay. Important lords can be housed in my part of the Abbey called the Abbot's Lodging, or in the Guest House, but if they have ladies with them they must stay outside our walls as we do not allow women inside at all. The King always stays with me when visiting or passing through the district - it is a great honour, though it is expensive as his party always eat lots of the best foods.

One of our greatest products is Illuminated documents; Gospels and Mass Books are the best. One brother may spend several days or even weeks in the scriptorium working on one individual letter of the alphabet or a picture, and to copy the whole book may take many months.

We have had requests to copy documents for all the local lords and they all pay us very generously because they know that the money will be used by the Church to glorify God and help the sick and needy.