Photos of the Beautiful Medieval Gothic Rievaulx Abbey Ruins

Home  /  Medieval Middle Ages Index / Gothic – Northern Europe

Photos of the Beautiful Medieval Gothic Rievaulx Abbey Ruins, North Yorkshire, England. Photos by photographer Paul E Williams.    (TIP – use the icons below the slideshow for thumbnail photos and info)

How To Download These Photos ?

Photos of the Medieval Gothic Rievaulx Abbey Ruins, North Yorkshire

---

Photos of the Medieval Gothic Rievaulx Abbey Ruins, North Yorkshire England.

Rievaulx Cistercian abbey

Rievaulx Abbey was a Cistercian abbey situated near Helmsley in the North York Moors National Park. Rievaulx Abbey was the first Cistercian monastery in the north of England, founded in 1132 by twelve monks from Clairvaux Abbey.

Rievaulx Abbey’s Strict Order

In the Early days the remote location of Rievaulx Abbey was well suited to the order’s ideal of a strict life of prayer and self-sufficiency with little contact with the outside world. The abbey lies in a wooded dale of the River Rye, sheltered by hills.

Rievaulx Abbey Becomes Big Business

The monks of Rievaulx Abbey, ingenuity allowed them to build up a profitable mining lead and iron ore business. They rearing sheep and sold wool to buyers from all over Europe. Rievaulx Abbey became one of the greatest and wealthiest in England, with 140 monks and many more lay brothers. It received grants of land totalling 6,000 acres (24 km²) and established daughter houses in England and Scotland.

Rievaulx Abbey & The Good Life

By the 15th century the Cistercian practices of strict observance according to the Rule of Saint Benedict had been abandoned in favour of a more comfortable lifestyle. The monks were permitted to eat meat, and more private living accommodation was created for them. The abbot had a substantial private household in what had once been the infirmary.

The Dissolution of Rievaulx Abbey

At the time of its dissolution in 1538, the abbey was said to consist of 72 buildings occupied by the abbot and 21 monks, with 102 lay employees, and an income of £351 a year. The abbey owned a prototype blast furnace at Laskill, producing cast iron as efficiently as a modern blast furnace.