Rievaulx Terrace is a site located in the North York Moors National Park, in North Yorkshire, England, overlooking Rievaulx Abbey and owned by the National Trust.
The site is a grass-covered terrace following a serpentine course across the side of a wooded escarpment overlooking the ruins of the abbey. At either end of the terrace stand two mid-18th century follies: small Palladian temples.
History
The Terrace is on land that was, until the Dissolution of the Monasteries, owned by Rievaulx Abbey. It was then granted to Thomas Manners, 1st Earl of Rutland and it passed from him to the George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham. On the death of his son, George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, it was sold to Sir Charles Duncombe in 1687 and inherited by his nephew Thomas Duncombe in 1711.
Ionic Temple
thumb|right|The Ionic Temple at the northern end of Rievaulx Terrace
At the opposite end stands the Ionic Temple, inspired by the Temple of Fortuna Virilis in Rome. It was intended as a banqueting house and the central table is still set as if for a meal. It is decorated with elaborate ceiling paintings and is furnished in the period style. The basement housed the kitchen and living quarters and nowadays it holds an exhibition on English landscape design in the 18th century.
The grade I-listed temple is built of limestone with a lead roof. It has a rectangular plan and a tetrastyle Ionic portico with a dentiled pediment. Twelve steps lead up the podium, and a doorway with a moulded surround.