Priory Remains

The remains of a priory, originally a nunnery founded by the Cistercians under the patronage of William of Rosedale before 1158, are located in Rosedale Abbey. This structure dates back to the 13th century and is built from sandstone ashlar. The remains consist of a buttressed pier that stands approximately 4 metres high and features a rebated doorway with a flat lintel and a semicircular retaining arch on the north-east side. Above the doorway is a shouldered, square-headed light. On the north face of the pier, there is a massive corbel, which may have been the starting point for chamfered vaulting, with traces of this vaulting still visible above. The buttresses on the south and west sides have a chamfered and roll-moulded plinth. There are angle lights on the north-west side and deeply splayed slits on the south-west and south-east sides. Inside, there is a stone spiral staircase made of separate, individually shaped blocks. The priory was dissolved by Henry VIII in 1536, at which time there were eight nuns and the Prioress. The Priory Chapel survived the dissolution but fell into disrepair three centuries later. Due to a growing population and the development of local ironstone, it was deemed too small and was rebuilt in 1839 as the Church of St Mary and St Laurence.