Bolton Priory

Bolton Priory, whose full title is The Priory Church of St Mary and St Cuthbert, Bolton Abbey, is a Grade I listed parish church of the Church of England in the village of Bolton Abbey, within the Yorkshire Dales National Park in North Yorkshire, England. There has been continuous worship on the site since 1154, when a group of Augustinian canons moved from their original community in nearby village of Embsay and started construction of the present building, which is now situated within a scheduled monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. Despite the loss of most of the Priory buildings during the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the western half of the original nave was preserved so that the local parish could continue its worship there. There is today a full liturgical calendar, together with the Bolton Priory Concert Series and the annual St Cuthbert lecture. The Priory is a member of the Greater Churches Network, and welcomes more than 100,000 visitors a year.