Jervaulx Abbey

These small but facinating abbey ruins can be found on the road between Ripon and Layburn.

The abbey is set in rural farmlands and not the more usual sheltered valley settings of most North Yorkshire abbey sites.

Jervaulx is a privately owned attraction whose owners have do a outstanding job of looking after the history in their care.

The Abbey has a dramatic and yet still tranquil ambience that a visitor can explore and savour.

Jervaulx Abbey was founded in 1156 and was once a great Cistercian monastery. Monks of the Cistercian Order set out to establish themselves in wild and inhospitable areas where they could dedicate their lives to prayer, study, meditation and manual labour. At the height of its prosperity the abbey owned half of the valley and was renowned for breeding horses, a tradition that remains in the area to the present day. It was also the original home of Wensleydale cheese. Destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries the Abbey is now an enchanting, charming and atmospheric ruin and is reputedly the second largest privately owned Cistercian abbey in the United Kingdom.
There is a tea room where a visitor can sit and relax.

Admission:
An honesty box system of entry helps to conserve the site for future generations.

Links: http://www.jervaulxabbey.com/home.php

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