Bolton Abbey

Bolton Abbey is a ruined 12th century priory in North Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1151 by the Augustinian order, on the banks of the River Wharfe. The nave of the abbey church was in use as a parish church from about 1170 onwards, and survived the Dissolution of the Monasteries.

Building work was still going on at the abbey was when the Dissolution of the Monasteries resulted in the termination of the priory in 1539. The east end remains in ruins. A tower, begun in 1520, was left half-standing, and its base was later given a bell-turret and converted into an entrance porch. Most of the remaining church is in the Gothic style of architecture, but more work was done in the Victorian era, including windows by Pugin.

The remains of the priory can still be seen, and the setting is immortalised in a painting by Edwin Landseer. The Bolton Abbey Estate belongs to the Dukes of Devonshire, and the heir to the present Duke, the Marquess of Hartington, resides on the Estate.

The Embsay & Bolton Abbey Steam Railway terminates at Bolton Abbey.