Guisborough

The only remnants of the Priory now standing are a 12th-century gatehouse and the east end of the 14th century church. Near the Priory is the church of St Nicholas, which contains the Brus Cenotaph, on which are carved ten knights representing members of the family. Robert de Brus died at Guisborough in 1145.
An extract from from"North Yorkshire Photographic Memories".

In Victorian times the priory was often incorrectly referred to as ‘the abbey’, and this led to considerable confusion. Many souvenirs and postcards of the late 19th and early 20th centuries bear the legend ‘the abbey’. This unusual view shows the priory arch from the south; in the foreground are gardens which became a formal rose garden laid out for Margaret, later the first Lady Gisborough (see photograph 54863). The clump of trees to the right of the picture are the Monks’ Walk, and above the paling fence is the wall of the Long Terrace. A flight of steps from this terrace led up to the priory ruins and was flanked by two carved demi-sea wolves, the crest of the Chaloner family. Gisborians mistakenly thought that these creatures were dragons, and hence the steps became known as the Dragon Steps.
An extract from from"Guisborough Photographic Memories".

This oval-shaped double avenue of lime trees was laid out by the Chaloner family in the 18th century. In the centre was a manicured lawn that in latter years was often the venue for musical and theatrical productions. Although now overgrown, the Monks’ Walk still exists, and those of a more superstitious nature perpetuate the legend of the walk being haunted by the ghost of a monk from the days of the nearby priory.
An extract from from"Guisborough Photographic Memories".

In 1887 the Board of Governors of the newly reconstituted Guisborough Grammar School commissioned Alfred Waterhouse, an eminent Victorian architect, most famous for designing the Natural History Museum in London, to design the new Grammar School buildings and the headmaster’s house (right), seen here shortly after their completion. The Chairman of the Board of Governors was Sir Joseph Whitwell Pease; twenty years earlier, he had used Alfred Waterhouse to design his mansion, Hutton Hall, and one assumes this connection influenced the choice of architect for the Grammar School buildings. Built in Waterhouse’s characteristic red brick and terracotta style, the buildings replaced the old almshouses and school buildings that fronted Church Walk. The plaque over the central archway reads: ‘Guisborough Grammar School - founded in the reign of Queen Elizabeth AD 1561, re-erected in the reign of Queen Victoria AD 1887’. The Grammar School
An extract from from"Guisborough Photographic Memories".

Again we still see the old font in front of the priory arch and a gravel path to the right, long since disappeared, which presumably led to the greenhouse shown in the view of 1885. Visible here are the two stone coffins which for many years have stood at the base of the arch, and also the entrances to the two stone spiral staircases which lead up to the window at the very top of the arch, across which many an intrepid Gisborian claims to have walked before the bottoms of the staircases were removed for reasons of safety. The high stone wall to the left has always afforded the priory grounds with privacy and protection; the grounds have a ‘secret garden’ quality, and their tranquillity and peace are in sharp contrast to the hustle and bustle of the nearby town centre. There is a panoramic view from the arch across the adjoining farmland and Applegarth towards Gisborough Hall. This view was enhanced as part of the Chaloners’ landscaping in the 18th century when the tracery of the former east window was removed to afford this fine prospect.
An extract from from"Guisborough Photographic Memories".