Ellerton Priory

Ellerton Priory is a ruined convent in Swaledale featuring remnants of a 15th-century church with a stone tower that still stands. The site sits in open countryside along the road corridor linking Richmond and Reeth.

Founded in the late 12th century as a Cistercian nunnery, the site endured Scottish raids in 1342. It closed permanently during the 1536 Dissolution of Monasteries.

The grounds show traces of how nuns organized their daily work through water systems and ponds that still mark the landscape. These features reveal the practical skills and routines that shaped monastic life here.

The ruins cannot be visited from inside, though they can be viewed from the nearby roadside. Spring and summer offer the best conditions for seeing the remains clearly against the green landscape.

The church tower was substantially rebuilt in the 1800s, giving its upper sections a distinctly different character from the original medieval work. This later modification is still visible in how the stonework changes at a certain height.

Location: Ellerton Abbey

GPS coordinates: 54.37189,-1.87919

Latest update: December 14, 2025 12:24