The best-preserved Carthusian monastery in England—one of only nine, also known as charterhouses—is situated at the foot of the Cleveland Hills on the edge of the North York Moors, now overlooking the A19 dual carriageway.
Founded in 1398 by Richard II’s nephew Thomas de Holland, Mount Grace Priory was established by the order of St Bruno, who founded the Carthusian movement in the 11th century. The priory was one of the later foundations of this order in England and played a significant role in the monastic landscape of the region. The Carthusian order, known for its strict asceticism, emphasised a life of solitude, silence, and prayer. This monastic ideal profoundly influenced the design and layout of Mount Grace.
The monks lived hermitic lives in one of twenty-five individual self-contained cells, each with its own small courtyard and private garden which allowed the monks to maintain some self-sufficiency. These cells were connected to a central chapel and common areas, ensuring the monks could uphold seclusion while still participating in communal religious activities.
The central church within the monastery initially comprised four bays, with a cross-passage at its centre. A specific area reserved for the lay brothers—who ran the domestic life of the priory—was sited to the west. In the 1420s, a tower was added above the cross-passage, whilst the main portion of the church for the monks was extended to the east.
As one of the last monasteries in Yorkshire to be suppressed in December 1539, its lands were seized by the crown, with the leasehold then purchased by Sir James Strangeways of East Harlsey Castle before it was inherited by the Conyers Darcy family line. It was then tenanted until 1898 when the estate was sold to the industrialist Sir (Isaac) Lowthian Bell. He began the repair and extension of the house and ruins in 1900. For fifty years it remained in the Bell family until death duties forced it into the hands of the National Trust, who placed the priory ruins in the guardianship of the state in 1955.
Today, the ruins of Mount Grace Priory are managed by English Heritage and the gardens by the National Trust, with both open to the public.
Address: Mount Grace Priory, Staddlebridge House, Mount Bank, Northallerton DL6 3JG, United Kingdom
Books by Dr Emma Wells
