Rievaulx is a village in the picturesque valley of Ryedale on the edge of the North York Moors. It is famous for its ruined Cistercian abbey, which became in the 18th century the focal point for a notable landscape garden (Rievaulx Terrace) on the estate of a nearby country house, Duncombe Park. It is also well known to industrial archaeologists as the site of an important 16th-century water-powered iron-smelting furnace. Vernacular houses of the 17th and 18th centuries and a medieval church or capella ante portis, restored by Temple Moore in 1906, add further interest to the small settlement.

Analytical field survey by English Heritage, requested by the North York Moors National Park Authority, produced new understanding, allowing the earthwork site to be managed and presented to visitors under the DEFRA Countryside Stewardship Scheme.