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Rievaulx Abbey is a Cistercian monastery founded in 1132 in the North York Moors, Yorkshire, which became one of the wealthiest and most influential Benedictine houses in medieval England by the twelfth century. The site comprises extensive monastic precinct remains including the inner claustral buildings, outer court with ancillary structures, and demarcation of the monastic boundary, reflecting the hierarchical spatial organisation typical of Cistercian houses. Elaborate water management systems, including artificial channels, fishponds, and mill races, demonstrate the community's sophisticated engineering and their exploitation of the River Rye for power and sustenance. The surviving ruins encompass the church, domestic buildings, agricultural enclosures, and associated features that together illustrate the self-sufficient economy and architectural ambitions of one of Yorkshire's most significant medieval religious communities until its suppression during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1538.
Rievaulx Abbey Cistercian monastery: inner and outer precinct, water-management works, agricultural features, enclosures and ancillary buildings is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1012065. View the official record →
Rievaulx Abbey is a Cistercian monastery founded in 1132 in the North York Moors, Yorkshire, which became one of the wealthiest and most influential Benedictine houses in medieval England by the twelfth century. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1012065.
Rievaulx Abbey Cistercian monastery: inner and outer precinct, water-management works, agricultural features, enclosures and ancillary buildings is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic England (NHLE) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in England. The official designation reference is 1012065.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Dropping Gill round cairns (5.3 km), Byland Abbey Cistercian monastery: monastic precinct, water-management earthworks, enclosures, ancillary buildings and quarries (6.6 km), Cross in churchyard of the Church of the Holy Cross (8.8 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Rievaulx Abbey Cistercian monastery: inner and outer precinct, water-management works, agricultural features, enclosures and ancillary buildings's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Rievaulx Abbey Cistercian monastery: inner and outer precinct, water-management works, agricultural features, enclosures and ancillary buildings stands on Kellaways Formation And Oxford Clay Formation (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Oxfordian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.