We value Rievaulx Abbey because it was a major element of the medieval monastic Church from the 12th to the 16th centuries and from the mid 18th century a major element in a designed landscape.
Its long history, surviving buildings, frequent change and adaptation, and its intensive study make it a critical site for understanding both the Cistercian reform and the treatment of major ruins from the 18th century to the present day.
The monastic structures
The early monastery retains some of the earliest surviving buildings of any Cistercian monastery in Europe. They help us understand the earliest years of the order’s development, which is only partly understood internationally.
The first great Cistercian church to be built in England on the model of the new church at Clairvaux and with significant evidence of its elevations, the church at Rievaulx is of international importance because of what it tells us of the form of Cistercian churches at a critical time in the order’s development.
The chapter house, east range and infirmary also indicate an important stage in Cistercian development and mark the thoughts of St Aelred and his personal view of the reform, which can also be seen in the context of his surviving spiritual writings. The completion of the rebuilding under Silvanus demonstrates how the planning of Cistercian cloister ranges continued to develop into the third quarter of the 12th century.
The early 13th century rebuilt presbytery and remodelled transepts is one of the iconic buildings of the Early English style of building. Its significance is on several levels. First it tells us a great deal about changes in the Cistercian order and its liturgy. Secondly, it is a major staging point in English architecture. Thirdly, it represents the high point of the monastic church in England.
The later monastic buildings
The study of later monastic buildings was not a priority in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. At the time, emphasis was placed on the earlier, ‘purer’ phases of development; and later works were seen as damaging.
Rievaulx has exceptionally good evidence for its planning from the late 14th century to the suppression, not only in its surviving ruins but also in documents and the archaeological and architectural collections from the site.
The precinct and home granges
The precinct at Rievaulx, built up in sections throughout the 12th century, survives as earthworks in pasture land around the ruins. It contains some 20 buildings not yet excavated and almost 80 acres of water meadows. It also contains the watercourses by which the river Rye was moved to the side of the valley to allow the monastery to grow.
It is an area of untouched archaeology which contains evidence for the economy of the monastery and the post-suppression ironworks. Its significance is substantial but barely explored.
Above the abbey are the granges of Griff and Newlathes, again with good earthworks that can be tied to suppression period documents, with the precinct and the abbey ruins they are of international significance.
The architectural and archaeological collections
The clearance excavations of the 1920s recovered a vast amount of architectural and archaeological material that has yet to be studied in detail. Most of it can be related to particular buildings, even though it has lost its archaeological context.
It provides the clearest evidence for the appearance of the buildings, especially those reduced to low walling, and is exceptionally important for the future study of the site. Critically it is stored at Helmsley only three miles from the site and is accessible for study.
