Rievaulx ( ) is a small village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

Rye Dale Rye (''Secale cereale'') is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is a member of the wheat tribe (Triticeae) and is closely related to both wheat (''Triticum'') and barley (genus ''Hordeum''). Rye grain is u ...

within the

North York Moors National Park North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

near

Helmsley Helmsley is a market town and civil parish in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the North Riding of Yorkshire, the town is located at the point where Ryedale leaves the moorland and joins the flat Vale of ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

, England and is located in what was the inner court of

Rievaulx Abbey Rievaulx Abbey was a Cistercian abbey in Rievaulx, near Helmsley, in the North York Moors National Park, North Yorkshire, England. It was one of the great abbeys in England until it was seized in 1538 under Henry VIII during the Dissolutio ...

, close to the River Rye. The population of the civil parish as taken at the 2011 Census was less than 100. Details are included in the civil parish of Sproxton, North Yorkshire. The inner court of the monastery contained buildings such as the brewhouse, bakehouse and guesthouse. Its name originated as ''Rye'' (the river) +

Norman-French Norman or Norman French (, french: Normand, Guernésiais: , Jèrriais: ) is a Romance language which can be classified as one of the Oïl languages along with French, Picard and Walloon. The name "Norman French" is sometimes used to descri ...

''val'' or ''valle'' = "valley". Its old local pronunciation was as "Rivers", and changed to "Reevo" when education brought a general familiarity with the French language. St Mary the Virgin Rievaulx 1(Nigel Coates)

St Mary the Virgin Rievaulx 1(Nigel Coates)

Aelred of Rievaulx, the English Cistercian

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

, was abbot of Rievaulx from 1147 until his death in 1167. He is regarded by Anglicans and Roman Catholics as a saint, and is buried in the Abbey. The

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The con ...

was closed as part of the Dissolution of the Monasteries by Henry VIII in 1538 and the grounds were bought by the

Earl of Rutland Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...

. He was keen to continue the iron-smelting industry which had been conducted by the monks. He therefore established a charcoal-fired blast furnace and the associated structures and workings in what became Rievaulx village. This continued until its disruption during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, with production ceasing in 1647. The village then became agricultural in nature and remains as a small settlement, situated below the Abbey and the Rievaulx Terrace & Temples. The old

watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production of ...

has been converted into a house around the workings, many of which are still extant, including the mill wheel, though the mill has been out of operation for a long time. The miller's cottage also still stands and is a separate abode. Almost all of the other buildings in the village are built with stones from the ruins of the Abbey. The only buildings built with materials from other sources are the buildings constructed after 1917, following the conservation of the Abbey. When he was raised to the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

in 1983, former prime minister Harold Wilson took the title Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, but chose to pronounce it Rivers (see above).

References

External links

Information on the origin of the village
Villages in North Yorkshire Civil parishes in North Yorkshire {{Ryedale-geo-stub

See also

References

External links