UNLIMITED ACCESS TO OVER 400 HISTORIC PLACES
Live and breathe the story of England at royal castles, historic gardens, forts & defences, world-famous prehistoric sites and many others.
We have changed the opening arrangements of our sites to play our part in stopping the spread of COVID-19. Rievaulx Abbey is currently closed and any tickets pre-booked for the closed period will be cancelled and refunds automatically made as needed, so there is no need to contact us. We are keeping a selection of sites open for local people to use for exercise during the lockdown period. These are a mixture of free-to-enter and paid sites, and all have plenty of outdoor space for safe social distancing. Visits to paid sites must be booked in advance. We hope to be able to reopen all our sites in the near future, and we are taking bookings for February half-term and beyond. Thank you for your understanding, patience and support during this difficult time.
Walter Espec, lord of Helmsley, builds temporary timber structures for the first monks sent from Clairvaux in France.
Find out more about the history of Rievaulx Abbey
William, the first abbot, begins work on the first stone buildings.