The river Skell flows past the south side of the abbey and was probably diverted from its original course by the monks who built substantial walls along the south bank.

These walls have deteriorated to the point where rebuilding was essential to prevent collapse.

The remains of the wall and the core work behind were carefully dismantled and stone reused to rebuild from the original foundations, mostly below water level.

The bank behind was filled with corework, complete with drainage channels.

The scaffolding was based on the rived bed and on two occasions was severely damaged by a dramatic increase in flow following exceptional rainfall.

Client: English Heritage
Contractor: HPR
Cost: £130,000 approx, grant aided by European Funding