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Photo: Antony McCallum, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Handsome substantial ruins of a grand Cistercian abbey in the dale of the River Rye. It grew fat (and so did the monks) on wool and other enterprise, but was laid low by a mix of sheep scab, raiding Scots then the Black Death. It was dissolved in 1538.
Rievaulx Abbey was a Cistercian abbey in Rievaulx, near Helmsley, in the North York Moors National Park, North Yorkshire, England. It was one of the great monasteries in England until it was seized in 1538 under Henry VIII during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The wider site was awarded Scheduled Ancient Monument status in 1915 and the abbey was brought into the care of the then Ministry of Works in 1917. The ruins of its main buildings are today a tourist attraction, owned and maintained by English Heritage. The Cleveland Way long distance footpath passes just to the south of the abbey.
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Parkland and gardens around a country house built in 1713, which is not open. The park is often used for antiques fairs, steam rallies and the like.
Built in the 12th century: the monks of Rievaulx used to scuttle here for refuge from attack. In Tudor times it was converted into a mansion, and later held out for the Royalists, so Cromwell had it partly demolished. It passed into the hands of the Duncombe family, who built a grand residence nearby at Duncombe Park and left the ruin as a picturesque garden ornament.
In a landscape studded with ruined medieval abbeys, this one is a 19th century foundation. It's run by Benedictine monks and has a school and college. You can visit the abbey church and stroll the peaceful grounds.
Mansion house built in the 1680s on the site of a nunnery. It passed to the National Trust in 1952 and now displays a sumptuous series of rooms in 17th-century style, plus extensive gardens. It suffered flood damage in 2025 and is closed for repairs.