Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for RIVAULX, or Rievaulx

RIVAULX, or Rievaulx, a township in Helmsley parish, N. R. Yorkshire; on the river Rye, 2¾ miles Wby N of Helmsley. Its name is a corruption of Rye-vale. Acres, 5, 290. Real property, £2,034. Pop., 229. Houses, 42. A Cistertian abbey was founded here, in 1131, by Sir Walter D' Espec; was given, at the dissolution, to the Villierses; passed, in 1695, to the Duncombes; and, both for architecture and for situation, is now one of the most beautiful ruins in Yorkshire. The lower portion of the W side of the transept is partly Norman; and all the rest of the pile is very fine early English. The nave was probably all Norman; and it measured 166 feet in length and 59 feet in width: but, together with three sides of the tower, it has been entirely destroyed. The transept is 118 feet long and 33feet wide; the arch of the extant side of the tower is 75feet high; and the choir is 144 feet long and 63 feet high. The refectory is 125 feet long and 37 feet wide; showsindications of great quondam magnificence; and, as toits masonry, is in good preservation. A terrace is on thehill above the abbey; has a Grecian temple and a pavilion, with frescoes by an Italian artist; and commands fineviews of the ruin and of the neighbouring scenery. There are a chapel of ease and a slightly endowed school.


(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))

Linked entities:
Feature Description: "a township"   (ADL Feature Type: "countries, 4th order divisions")
Administrative units: Helmsley AP/CP       Yorkshire AncC
Place names: RIEVAULX     |     RIVAULX     |     RIVAULX OR RIEVAULX
Place: Rievaulx

Go to the linked place page for a location map, and for access to other historical writing about the place. Pages for linked administrative units may contain historical statistics and information on boundaries.