Rievaulx Abbey, c.1867

Photo ref: 3867

More about this scene

Lying in the tranquil Rye valley two miles west of Helmsley, Rievaulx was the first Cistercian monastery in the North of England. It was built in 1131 by French monks. As well as leading their spiritual life, they were also shrewd businessmen, managing huge sheep flocks for the wool trade, and involving themselves in iron smelting, glass production and leather tanning. After the Dissolution in 1538, the land and the buildings were given to the Duncombe Estate in Hemsley. Much of the village was built from the stone of the old abbey.