Rievaulx is a small village and civil parish in Rye Dale within the North York Moors National Park near Helmsley in North Yorkshire, England and is located in what was the inner court of Rievaulx Abbey, close to the River Rye. The population of the civil parish as taken at the 2011 Census was less than 100. Details are included in the civil parish of Sproxton, North Yorkshire. The inner court of the monastery contained buildings such as the brewhouse, bakehouse and guesthouse. Its name originated as Rye + Norman-French val or valle = "valley". Its old local pronunciation was as "Rivers", and changed to "Reevo" when education brought a general familiarity with the French language.
Aelred of Rievaulx, the English Cistercian monk, was abbot of Rievaulx from 1147 until his death in 1167. He is regarded by Anglicans and Catholics as a saint, and is buried in the Abbey.
The abbey was closed as part of the Dissolution of the Monasteries by Henry VIII in 1538 and the grounds were bought by the Earl of Rutland. He was keen to continue the iron-smelting industry which had been conducted by the monks.