Rievaulx Abbey was established on 5 March 1132. The mission from the mother house of Clairvaux in France was led by a group of monks headed by William, a Yorkshireman and former secretary to St Bernard of Clairvaux. The foundation grant was made by Walter Espec in two stages. The first was a grant of nine carucates of land, four in Griff and five in “Tilleston.” The second grant was of Bilsdale, in the uplands to the north of the monastic centre.

Reading:

Burton 1998

English Heritage History of Rievaulx Abbey

http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/rievaulx-abbey/history/