Ellerton Priory

Ellerton Priory is a former priory church that dates back to the 15th century and possibly earlier. It is constructed of rubble with quoins. The building features a narrow, aisle-less nave and choir, along with a west tower. The north and east walls of the nave and choir are partially standing, reaching about 1 metre in height on the north side and rising to 3 metres at the east end. The south wall is mostly missing, with only the west jamb of the south door remaining. The west tower has an arch that spans three storeys, supported by stepped diagonal buttresses and a stair turret on the south side. The plain tower arch leads to the east. On the west side, there is a 2-light window with a hood-mould at the first storey, and a mullioned and transomed window with a 19th-century traceried head at the third storey.

Inside, on the ground to the north side of the nave, east of the centre next to the wall, there are two pieces of an elaborate grave slab, tapering in shape, likely dating from 1250 to 1300. This slab features a relief of a cross with an interlaced diamond head and trefoil terminals, flanked by leaf scrolls and a marginal chamfer with a running leaf band. To the south, there is another tapering medieval grave stone, with the base broken off, which has a cross with a diamond head and fleur-de-lys terminals.

Ellerton Priory was a small house of Cistercian nuns, founded during the reign of Henry II by Warner, steward of the Earls of Richmond. The site is scheduled as an Ancient Monument.