Easby Abbey is one of the most picturesque monastic sites in Yorkshire. It is also one of the best-preserved examples in the British Isles of a monastery belonging to the Premonstratensian order, founded in France by St Norbert in 1120. Superficially, Easby abbey's architecture resembles Cistercian models, as was often the case with Premonstratensian monasteries. On closer examination, though, Easby departs from monastic norms of planning in several ways, and presents interesting problems of interpretation.
