"Located in a beautiful tree-sided valley in the North York moors, Rievaulx Abbey stands as one of the pre-eminent medieval ruins in Europe. From 1132, for over 400 years, the monastery served Cistercian monks, and in its early decades was home to a community of 650 men. For the next 400 years, following Henry VIII's Suppression, the deserted buildings have continued to haunt the valley in an unforeseen after-life, stimulating memory of the monks and their spiritual endeavours, notably during the Picturesque and Romantic periods.". "This is the first book to study the architecture of Rievaulx viewing the buildings' 800-year history and the varying periods of construction and deconstruction as much in terms of continuity as disruption. In its elucidation of the architecture, extensive reconstruction drawings, and its examination of context, iconography and social and economic factors, this book offers a fuller and more scholarly account of the buildings of a great medieval institution than any currently available."--BOOK JACKET.