Stocking Abbey

Stocking Abbey was an abbey in the village of Oldstead, North Yorkshire, England. The abbey at Stocking was built in 1147, originally for Savigniac monks, but soon became Cistercian. It was meant to be a temporary establishment as no suitable site for a permanent settlement had been found yet. The monks that worshipped at Stocking moved to Byland Abbey 30 years later in 1177. Excavations and archaeological investigations have offered evidence that the cloister and small stone church may have existed on the site of Oldstead Hall, though the proof is not conclusive.

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Oldstead

Oldstead is a village and a civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, within the North York Moors National Park, off the A170 road between Thirsk and Helmsley, below the Hambleton Hills. Nearby villages include Wass, Kilburn and Coxwold. Oldstead shares a parish council with Byland with Wass. It was part of the Ryedale district between 1974 and 2023. It is now administered by North Yorkshire Council.

The Black Swan, Oldstead

The Black Swan is a restaurant with rooms at Oldstead, in North Yorkshire, England which provides food, drink and accommodation. Its restaurant, run by chef Tommy Banks, has been awarded a Michelin Star and Four AA Rosettes. It was rated the best restaurant in the world in 2017 by TripAdvisor.

Mount Snever Observatory

Mount Snever Observatory is a historic building in Oldstead, a village in North Yorkshire, in England. The observation tower was constructed in 1838, in part to commemorate the Coronation of Queen Victoria. It was commissioned by John Wormald, and built by J. Dodds atop the Snever Point hill. While digging foundations for the building, a human skeleton was discovered. Wormald died in 1848, and later in the century the building was opened to the public, although it fell into decay. It was restored in the late 20th century by Noel Appleby, and again in about 2000, but is disused and kept locked. Gwyn Headley describes the building as "rather austere". The building was grade II listed in 1986. The observatory is housed in a square limestone tower about 35 feet (11 m) in height, with a platform on the front. The doorway has a massive stone lintel, it is flanked by buttresses, and over it is an inscription. Above is a three-light fixed window, a wooden parapet, and coped angle turrets. There is another inscription on the rear. The inscription on the front is adapted from Alexander Pope's poem "Windsor-Forest": "Here hills and waving groves a scene display And part admit and part exclude the day See rich industry smiling on the plains And peace and plenty tell VICTORIA reigns! Happy the MAN who to these shades retires Whom NATURE charms and whom the muse inspires Who wandering thoughtful in this silent wood Attends the duties of the wise and good To observe a mean, be to himself a friend To follow NATURE and regard his end".

St Mary's Church, Kilburn

St Mary's Church is an Anglican church in Kilburn, North Yorkshire, a village in England. The church was originally a chapel of ease to Coxwold, built in the 12th century. It was altered in the 13th century, and the tower was added in 1667. The building was restored in 1818, and by Ewan Christian in 1869. It was given its own parish in 1868. The building was grade II* listed in 1966. The church is built of stone with Welsh slate roofs, and consists of a nave, a north aisle, a south porch, a north vestry, a chancel with a north chapel, and a west tower. The tower has a chamfered plinth, quoins, diagonal buttresses, a west window, two-light bell openings, and an embattled parapet with crocketed corner finials. The porch has a sundial in the gable, and the inner doorway has a round arch with three orders of chevrons on columns with decorated cushion capitals. Inside, there are two 13th-century grave slabs, pews which are probably 17th century, and a bell with the date 1684.