Stonemason David Patterson at work at Rievaulx Abbey Picture by Richard Doughty

The scaffolding is finally coming down at Rievaulx Abbey following one of the biggest conservation projects in the history of the 850-year-old monument.

Over the past four years, English Heritage has employed a combination of medieval masonry skills and stainless steel pins up to three metres long to beat the ravages of time at the North's pre-eminent Cistercian relic.

The £500,000 project concentrated on the Abbey's choir section and transepts.Identifying the type of stone used by the Cistercian builders proved a major problem.

John Simons, English Heritage project co-ordinator, said: "The last time repairs were undertaken was after the First World War.

"It's a tribute to the masons who built Rievaulx that the quality of the original work has deeply impressed their modern-day counterparts."

Although the Abbey's sandstone is particularly vulnerable to weathering, an additional problem was rain seeping through fissures and freezing during winter.

To pave the way for the work, professional abseilers armed with video cameras were recruited to inspect the 80-foot walls.

About 130 new blocks of stone were "dressed" using medieval techniques to produce an authentic, rather than machine-tooled finish.

Meanwhile, loose stonework was anchored to the ancient walls with 520 steel pins. Rievaulx Abbey is open daily to visitors from 10am to 6pm.

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