RIEVAULX ABBEY
=How to get there.=—Train from King's Cross. Great Northern Rly.
=Nearest Station.=—Helmsley.
=Distance from London.=—219-1/4 miles.
=Average Time.=—Varies between 3-3/4 to 5 hours.
1st 2nd 3rd
=Fares.=—Single 31s. 3d. … 18s. 3-1/2d.
Return 62s. 6d. … 36s. 7d.
=Accommodation Obtainable.=—"Black Swan" and "Crown" Hotels at Helmsley. There is no inn at Rievaulx. =Alternative Route.=—Train from St. Pancras via Sheffield. Midland.
The little village of Rievaulx—the name is Norman-French, but is pronounced Rivers—is situated close to the river Rye, and 2-1/2 miles from Helmsley, on the Thirsk road. The great point of interest in connection with the village is the fact that close by are the ruins of the once magnificent abbey for monks of the Cistercian order, founded by Sir Walter D'Espec in 1131. The founder eventually became a monk at Rievaulx, and at his death was buried there. After the Dissolution the site was granted to the Villiers family, from whom it came to the Duncombes in 1695.
The most striking view of the abbey is obtained by leaving the main road and taking the footpath across Duncombe Park, where a sudden turn brings one in sight of a bend in the Rye, with the great roofless church rising on the left bank of the river. The principal remains of the fine old abbey, one of the most beautiful ruins in the kingdom, consist of the choir and transept of the church, and the refectory. The hospitium or guest house was formerly on the right of the lane leading to Helmsley. The great nave of the church is now a shapeless ruin, but from certain indications it may be seen that it was Norman, and probably the work of D'Espec. The lower parts of the transept are Norman, and the remainder Early English.
The magnificent tower arch, 75 feet high, is still standing, and one of the most striking views of the ancient fabric is the crumbling nave as it appears framed in this lofty and wonderfully-proportioned opening, with a background of rich English foliage and landscape.
West of the nave were the cloisters, of which only a few arches now remain, and opening from their west wall is the fine Early English refectory, with the reading-desk still existing. Underneath the refectory there are the remains of the Norman dormitory.
Near the bridge, at the lower end of the village of Rievaulx, a place still called the "Forge," was possibly an ironworks under the superintendence of the monks.
[Illustration: Photochrom Co., Ltd.