A corner of yorkshire

BYLAND ABBEY

Byland Abbey stands between the North York Moors and Howardian Hills, and is seen by historians as probably the most ambitious Cistercian monastery built in England during the 12th century. It was designed to accommodate about 100 monks and 200 lay brothers.

After being founded in France in 1135, the monastic community had moved to the Cumbrian coast, but because of raiders and disputes with other abbeys, it relocated five times before settling at New Byland, near Coxwold, in 1177.

By the 14th century it was described as “one of the three shining lights of the North”. Like other abbeys it was reduced to ruins after Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries in 1538.

Now cared for by English Heritage, fascinating remnants include tiled floors and a chapter house. Its most famous feature is the rose window in the church’s west front, said to have inspired a similar window at York Minster.