Editing Gisborough Priory (section)

===Older buildings on the site===

Gisborough Priory was rebuilt three times; the ruins visible today are principally those of the third rebuild. The site was occupied in Anglo-Saxon times by at least one structure, possibly a timber-framed church<ref name="Greene229">{{harvnb|Greene|2005|page=229}}</ref> or boundary wall, indicated by a number of postholes.<ref name="NHL" /> It is believed there was a Saxon settlement in the vicinity as late-Saxon [[potsherds]] and an 8th-century coin have been found buried under the remains of the priory's west nave. The site was abandoned at some point and by the time the priory was built the land on which it stood was mostly under cultivation. Part of it was used as a graveyard in the early 12th century and an early Norman building was erected in the vicinity, possibly a temporary church.<ref name="NHL" />

The Norman priory, completed around 1180, was relatively short and narrow. It was constructed in the [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]] style with twin aisles either side of the nave and a single tower at the west end, aligned with the main axis of the church. It could be entered from the north, via an external door, and the south via the cloister. The existence of the northward door suggests it was used by a secular congregation, possibly the local nobility and patrons. A number of graves associated with the first priory have been found in the south aisle's floor and against the north wall.<ref name="NHL" />

The priory was rebuilt around 1200 on a larger scale with the Romanesque church demolished to its first course of [[ashlar]]. The construction of the new church continued through much of the 13th century. The enlarged priory had twin towers at the west end flanking a large double doorway above which was a central [[rose window]]; piped water was provided using lead pipes from the cloister, under the church to buildings or standpipes to the north or west of the priory.<ref name="NHL" /> The main body of the church comprised a nave with two aisles, transepts and a choir. The aisles were laid with geometric coloured tiles adjoining the sandstone columns of the nave. The north aisle was divided into alcoves or private chapels where a number of people – probably local nobles and gentry – were buried. An unusual feature of the church was a well, sunk into the nave, possibly built in an effort to safeguard its water supplies.<ref name="CCAS">{{harvnb|Cleveland County Archaeology Section|1993|page=x}}</ref>

The effects of the fire that destroyed the priory in 1289 can be seen in scorched paving between the surviving pillars. It was thought the church had been completely rebuilt, but excavations in the 1980s show that a substantial amount of the less damaged west end was reused which resulted in a distinct inconsistency between the two ends, which were constructed in different architectural styles. Rebuilding was a major task that took several generations and was probably not completed until the end of the 14th century.<ref name="CCAS" /> It is unclear how much of the second priory survived the fire.<ref name="Coppack7" /> Where the priory was rebuilt, its builders reused as much as possible; the core of the surviving eastern gable wall is full of fragments from the destroyed second priory.<ref name="Coppack9-11" />