Welcome to the home of the Rievaulx Landscapes project

This is a  long-term multi-agency, multi-disciplinary project. Our aim is to understand the multiple landscapes associated with the Cistercian monastery of Rievaulx Abbey (AD 1132-1538), through time and through multiple perspectives and disciplines.

The physical landscape in which the abbey sits has seen major change through time, with human interaction and modification stretching back into prehistory. Work by the National Mapping Programme identified the considerable research potential of the central monastic site in the Rye Valley. Rievaulx’s connections also link it to landscapes as diverse as early industrial sites in South and West Yorkshire, fisheries in Teesmouth and livestock-rearing sites across North Yorkshire, as well as socio-cultural landscapes with global reach and resonance through to the present day.

Engagement with local knowledge, and collaboration between research institutions and management authorities will be core to development of a synergistic approach, which minimises disruption to local owners and land users.