Fountains Abbey
Fountains Abbey is a ruined Cistercian abbey. On the map, it sits 3.1 km southwest of Ripon. The register lists it as a scheduled monument.
Abbey or priory near Ripon
One of the best-known places to visit in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
#68 of the 8,556 museums, castles, gardens and other attractions we list, by how widely it is covered (33 Wikipedias). About ↓
Just outside Ripon
Fountains Abbey is 3.1 km southwest of Ripon. Towns near it ↓
Cared for by English Heritage
One of the places English Heritage looks after; members usually get in free. About ↓
Scheduled monument
On the official list of protected heritage; Ripon has 276 listed buildings in all, on its History page. About ↓
Written from OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, the ONS built-up areas and Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
The weather, month by month
Warm weather in Ripon runs June to September, with highs of 18–21°C.
Fountains Abbey
It is conserved by English Heritage. Its story is told in 33 languages on Wikipedia. Around it, within 15 km, lie 30 more places, Studley Royal Park (900 m) first on our list.
- Type
- Abbey or priory
- Run by
- English Heritage
- Listed
- Scheduled monument
- Wikipedias
- Covered in 33 languages
- Town
- 3.1 km southwest of Ripon
Mapping Fountains Abbey
The places near Fountains Abbey are numbered on the map in the order below.
© OpenStreetMap contributors · ONS built-up area 2022
The nearest towns to Fountains Abbey
In size, Ripon comes first of the 8, with 16,593 people. They run in order of distance, starting where it stands.
Ripon
Bishop Monkton
Sharow
Burton Leonard
Compare the 8 towns
| Town | Where Fountains Abbey is | People | Places to visit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ripon | 3.1 km northeast of it | 16,593 | 15 |
| Bishop Monkton | 5.8 km east of it | 602 | 7 |
| Sharow | 6.4 km northeast of it | 574 | 9 |
| Burton Leonard | 6.8 km southeast of it | 694 | 3 |
| Kirkby Malzeard | 7.3 km northwest of it | 906 | 3 |
| North Stainley | 8.5 km north of it | 390 | 6 |
| Birstwith | 8.9 km south of it | 396 | 1 |
| Grewelthorpe | 9 km northwest of it | 226 | 5 |
Places to add to Fountains Abbey
There are 30 within 15 km, 3 historic houses, 2 gardens and a cathedral among them.
Garden · National TrustStudley Royal Park900 m away2
CathedralRipon Cathedral4.9 km away3
Historic house · National TrustFountains Hall300 m away4
Historic houseMarkenfield Hall2.2 km away5
Historic houseRipley Castle7.8 km away6
CastleKnaresborough Castle14 km away7
Theme parkLightwater Valley7.3 km away8
Garden · RHSRHS Garden Harlow Carr14 km awayWithin 15 km, close and well known first. Numbers match the map.
Fountains Abbey in questions
Where is Fountains Abbey?
Fountains Abbey is 3.1 km southwest of Ripon, North Yorkshire.
What is Fountains Abbey?
Ruined Cistercian abbey in Yorkshire, England, UK.
Who runs Fountains Abbey?
English Heritage, so members usually get in free; check opening times before you go.
When is the best time to visit Fountains Abbey?
June to September are the warmest months in Ripon, with afternoon highs of 18–21°C (Met Office 1991–2020 averages).
Is Fountains Abbey a listed building?
Yes: scheduled monument.
What else is there to see near Fountains Abbey?
Within 15 km: Studley Royal Park (900 m), Ripon Cathedral (4.9 km), Fountains Hall (300 m) and Markenfield Hall (2.2 km).
Places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database Licence) and Wikidata (CC0), placed in the ONS 2022 built-up area (Open Government Licence v3.0). Visitor counts are the latest Wikidata gives, with their year.
Photos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (9)
- Fountains Abbey: User:Klaus with K, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Studley Royal Park: silver_doctor. Iain Gilmour - www.silverexpressions.co.uk, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Ripon Cathedral: Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Fountains Hall: Graham Roberts, the uploader is Gcr22, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Markenfield Hall: Dennis Lovett, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Ripley Castle: Dposte46, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Knaresborough Castle: Redvers, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Lightwater Valley: Stefan Scheer, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- RHS Garden Harlow Carr: DS Pugh, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.