Rievaulx Abbey

One of England’s great Cistercian monasteries, influential in medieval spirituality under Abbot Aelred of Rievaulx. The site is in Rievaulx, North Yorkshire, England. Founded in 1132, Rievaulx expanded into one of the most powerful English Cistercian houses before its dissolution in 1538.

Founded in 1132, Rievaulx was the first Cistercian abbey in northern England and became a major centre of monastic life. Under Abbot Aelred in the twelfth century, the community gained a particular reputation for spirituality and writing. Later rebuilding enlarged the church, including work connected with Aelred’s shrine.

The abbey was suppressed in 1538. Its extensive ruins now allow visitors to read Cistercian ideals of worship, community and landscape in physical form. Architecturally, the site is associated with Cistercian Romanesque and Gothic.

Its sacred history is now read largely through ruins, archaeology and landscape rather than through a resident religious community. Current access arrangements should be checked with the body responsible for the site.