Priory Remains

SE 7295 16/51 10.11.53

ROSEDALE EAST SIDE ROSEDALE ABBEY Priory remains (formerly listed as the remains of Rosedale Abbey)

GV II

Priory remains, consisting of a buttressed pier containing a staircase. C13. Sandstone ashlar. Pier approximately 4 metres high. Rebated doorway, beneath flat lintel and semicircular retaining arch, to the north-east: shouldered, square-headed light over. To the right, on the north face of the pier, is a massive corbel, possibly the springing point of chamfered vaulting, traces of which are visible above. Chamfered and roll-moulded plinth to buttresses on the south and west. There are angle lights to the north-west, and slits, deeply splayed inside, to the south-west and south- east. Interior: stone spiral stair constructed of separate, individually shaped blocks. The Priory, a Nunnery, was founded by the Cistercians under the patronage of William of Rosedale, sometime before 1158. It was dissolved by Henry VIII in 1536, when there were 8 nuns and the Prioress. The Priory Chapel survived the dissolution. 3 centuries later it had fallen into disrepair, and with the increased population in the dale, associated with the new development of local ironstone, was found to be too small. It was rebuilt in 1839 as the Church of St Mary and St Laurence (qv). Rev E H Mowforth, Rosedale Priory and the Church of St Mary and St Laurence (qv).

Listing NGR: SE7236995920