Thornton Abbey was a medieval abbey located close to the small North Lincolnshire village of Thornton Curtis, near Ulceby, and directly south of Hull on the other side of the Humber estuary. Its ruins are a Grade I listed building, including notably England's largest and most impressive surviving monastic gatehouse. It was founded as a priory in 1139 by William le Gros, the Earl of Yorkshire, and raised to the status of abbey in 1148 by Pope Eugene III. It was a house for Augustinian or black canons, who lived a communal life under the Rule of St Augustine but also undertook pastoral duties outside of the Abbey. Officers within the abbey included a cellarer, bursar, chamberlain, sacrist, kitchener and an infirmer. A medieval hospital also operated near the abbey, founded no later than 1322. Due to its involvement in the area's burgeoning wool trade, Thornton was a wealthy and prestigious house, with a considerable annual income in 1534 of . The abbey was closed in 1539 by Henry VIII as part of the Dissolution of the Monasteries. It managed to survive by becoming a secular college, until it was closed in 1547. Thornton Abbey railway station is nearby. Later history Since the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the site has been owned by: Henry Randes (the Bishop of Lincoln); Sir Robert Tyrwhitt of Kettleby; Sir Vincent Skinner of Westminster (in 1602); Sir Robert Sutton; George Appleby; and in 1816 Charles, 1st Baron Yarborough. In May 1859, members of the Lincoln Diocesan Architectural Society visited the site and were given a guided tour by the Rev. J. Byron of North Killingholme. A report of the tour, published by the Stamford Mercury, records that access to site had been restricted due to damage "by bands of modern Vandals". Brass effigies, some in place, others "strewed amongst the growing grass", and the entrance to a subterranean passageway were also observed. In 1938, Sackville Pelham, 5th Earl of Yarborough handed the care of the abbey remains to HM Office of Works. The site is currently in the care of English Heritage and open to the public. It is necessary to book a visit in advance, and the interior spaces are closed at present. Architecture The founding abbey building from the 12th century was Romanesque in style, but nothing of it remains above ground. The later abbey from the 13th/14th centuries was built in Early