PLACE NAME
The Abbey of St Agatha, also known as Easby Abbey, was built on the banks of the River Swale on the outskirts of Richmond, North Yorkshire, in 1152. It was founded by Roald, Constable of Richmond Castle and was at the time the third religious house of the Premonstratensian order in England. Agatha of Sicily (about AD231 – about AD251) is a Christian saint, born into a rich and noble family, she was put to death during the persecution of the Roman Emperor, Decius, for refusing to renounce her faith (and having repeatedly spurned the advances of the Roman prefect Quintianus, who tried to force her to marry him. When she rejected him, he reported her to the authorities). Like many of the roads on the St Helier’s estate this is named after British monasteries and abbeys in remembrance of the area’s historic ownership by Westminster Abbey. The road names are in alphabetical order, of which Aberconway Road in the north west of the estate is first.
