NORTH LINCOLNSHIRE, UK.- A 600-year-old gatehouse, one of the most important of its kind in the country and all that remains of a medieval abbey, has been officially reopened by English Heritage after an ambitious conservation project.

For centuries Thornton Abbey, in North Lincolnshire, was a centre of spiritual and economic influence. It was founded in 1139 by Augustinian canons from Kirkham priory, near Malton in North Yorkshire, and became one of England’s wealthiest abbeys. The gatehouse was built in the 1360s complete with barbican and battlements, as these were the nervous years after the Peasants’ Revolt.

Work to return the gatehouse to its former glory has been backed by the regional development agency Yorkshire Forward as part of a £4.5m scheme by the South Humber Bank Heritage Tourism Initiative, bidding to promote the natural and heritage assets of North Lincolnshire.

Keith Miller, English Heritage Inspector of Ancient Monuments said: “The huge multi-storied gatehouse is the finest and best preserved of its kind surviving in England. It has been described as a ‘medieval skyscraper’ and was the gateway to the abbey complex. While most of those buildings were plundered for stone centuries ago, the gatehouse stands almost intact as an astonishing survivor. It has been a major challenge to undertake the restoration, access and interpretation works in such a sensitive setting, but the result is simply stunning.”

The gatehouse will now be opened to the public as a fully fledged attraction and houses an exciting new exhibition on the site’s history. The project has cost £620,000 and has involved extensive repairs to crumbling masonry and the creation of state-of-the-art visitor facilities, along with a reception point, colourful displays and facilities for disabled visitors. A spectacular new exterior oak staircase also grants unprecedented access to the building’s upper floors and atmospheric interior, with its warren of narrow corridors.

Historic accounts reveal that the abbey earned £800 from its wool trade in 1313, which today translates into many millions of pounds. Thornton’s canons built the gatehouse on the orders of Abbot Thomas Gresham, who was a shadowy figure. Pages relating to him in a 16th century history of the abbey were torn out 200 years later – a scribbled note saying it “was to protect the abbey’s reputation”. The monastery was suppressed by Henry VIII in 1539, but he was so enraptured by the buildings that he issued a warrant for a short-lived college to be established on the site rather than see it reduced to rack and ruin.

The project is the latest achievement by the South Humber Bank Heritage Tourism Initiative.

Members of this multi-agency partnership include English Heritage, North Lincolnshire Council, Natural England, the Environment Agency, Queen Street Preservation Trust and Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust. Support has also come from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

So far this year, partners have launched the Anglo-Saxon Church of St Peter’s at Barton, which is also cared for by English Heritage, the Far Ings Education Centre and Julian’s Bower medieval turf maze at Alkborough.

Don Stewart, Executive Director for Strategy at Yorkshire Forward, comments: “The project is transforming the visitor potential of the South Bank of the Humber and the wider region. We want to help create a vibrant network of tourism and environmental attractions to strengthen the local economy. The work of the South Humber Bank Heritage Tourism Initiative will have a strong and positive impact on the development of a genuinely sustainable approach to tourism. It also supports the strategy led by Yorkshire Forward for developing the visitor economy across the Yorkshire and Humber region. Much has already been achieved and there are other exciting schemes on the horizon.”

Maddy Jago, English Heritage Regional Director for Planning and Development, added: “The South Humber Bank Initiative has shown itself to be a partnership that delivers its goals. Not only is North Lincolnshire blessed with magnificent heritage sites, but many like Thornton Abbey and St Peter’s Church, are nationally significant and merit wider recognition. Creating world-class visitor facilities will ensure the area emerges from the shadows as a top tourist destination.”

Councillor Mark Kirk, Leader of North Lincolnshire Council, said: "This exciting project brings together the work of the South Humber Bank Heritage Tourism project, created by the South Humber Bank Partnership. It recognises the importance of Thornton Abbey as a key heritage site of national significance. Bringing it back to its former glory to create a stunning building will entice people far and wide to visit this historical monument. The improvements are fantastic and must be seen to be appreciated.

"We are grateful to the South Humber Bank Partnership, of which we are a part, for its continued success and dedication to restoring some of our most important heritage buildings. Without funding from Yorkshire Forward, this project would not be possible."

Other collaborative projects undertaken by the partnership in recent years include North Lincolnshire Council’s Waters’ Edge Country Park and Visitor Centre and the Environment Agency’s shoreline management scheme at Alkborough Flats.

To pave the way for the latest project, archaeologists surveyed the abbey grounds, while historians re-examined scores of original documents. They unearthed an astonishing wealth of new information, which has been used in the new exhibition and to create a series of vivid new illustrations of the abbey, which are displayed in the gatehouse.

The exhibition also reveals that this corner of Lincolnshire could have become a mini-Versailles. Earthworks long believed to be monastic have been discovered to be the remains of an extensive 17th century formal garden, with flower beds, thoroughfares and fountains. It was laid out around a grand house built in the abbey grounds, which mysteriously collapsed, spelling the end for the garden.

Kevin Booth, English Heritage Conservator for the North, said: “Time doesn’t stand still and the displays also describe how the site became a centre of the Victorian temperance movement, when up to 18,000 people descended on Thornton by train to rail against the evils of drink. The local landowner was sympathetic to the cause, but it probably also helped that there wasn’t a pub for miles around.”

Thornton Abbey is open daily from 10am to 5pm. Winter opening times (October until March) are Saturday to Monday, 10am to 4pm. Admission is £4 adults, £3 concessions and £2 children. English Heritage members are admitted free. Visitor information on 01652 632516 or visit www.english-heritage.org.uk/thorntonabbey.