Thornton Abbey

[1][2] It was founded as a priory in 1139 by William le Gros, the Earl of Yorkshire, and raised to the status of abbey in 1148 by Pope Eugene III.

[3]: 163  It was a house for Augustinian or black canons, who lived a communal life under the Rule of St Augustine but also undertook pastoral duties outside the Abbey.

[3]: 235 Due to its involvement in the area's burgeoning wool trade, Thornton was a wealthy and prestigious house, with a considerable annual income in 1534 of £591 0s 2¾d.

A report of the tour, published by the Stamford Mercury, records that access to site had been restricted due to damage "by bands of modern Vandals".

In 2013, continuing excavation work uncovered a Black Death plague pit in the cemetery of the abbey's hospital, containing the remains of at least 48 individuals including the skeletons of 27 children.

[8] DNA was successfully extracted and tested positive for Yersinia pestis, the bacterium responsible for the plague, making this the first instance in Britain of a Black Death mass grave found in a rural, rather than urban, area.