architecture, Folly, garden, landscape, North Yorkshire, Summerhouse, Temple

Rievaulx Terrace: A Tale of Two Sketchbooks

The Ionic Temple with Winged Mule by Fiona Bowley.

Not far from Helmsley, in North Yorkshire, are the dramatic ruins of a Cistercian abbey. Named after the valley of the river Rye in which is sits, Rievaulx Abbey is backed by a huge wooded cliff which rises high above the stonework. Look up and you can just see a glimpse of a classical temple, one of two which ornament the curving grassed terrace which overlooks the abbey.