St Mary's Abbey

The red sandstone ruins of Saint Mary's Abbey rise from the grass in a series of jagged, windowed walls. Once the wealthiest Benedictine monastery in northern England, the abbey held enough power to rival the Archbishop of York himself. During the riots of eleven thirty-two, a group of monks who favored a stricter lifestyle fled the abbey, eventually forming the famous Cistercian house at Fountains. The remaining monks stayed, maintaining their vast estate until King Henry the Eighth ordered its total suppression.