---
title: "Selby Abbey"
description: "Located in Selby, Yorkshire. Built Founded 1069; stone church begun under Abbot Hugh de Lacy (1097–1123); later medieval chancel; restorations 1871–1935. Diocese of York. Grade I. Romanesque, Decorated Gothic and Gothic Revival style."
category: "Church"
tags: ["Church","Church of England","Yorkshire","Selby","Grade I","Romanesque","Abbey","George Gilbert Scott","York"]
canonical: "https://thebritishgazette.com/post/selby-abbey"
pubDate: "2026-09-06T02:38:21.868Z"
dateModified: "2026-09-08T16:00:36.094Z"
location: "Selby, Yorkshire"
country: "England"
county: "Yorkshire"
town: "Selby"
address: "The Crescent, Selby, Yorkshire, YO8 4PU"
postcode: "YO8 4PU"
built: "Founded 1069; stone church begun under Abbot Hugh de Lacy (1097–1123); later medieval chancel; restorations 1871–1935"
architect: "Sir George Gilbert Scott (1871–73); J Oldrid Scott (1889–90 and after the 1906 fire)"
denomination: "Church of England"
dedications: ["Mary","Germain"]
diocese: "York"
grade: "I"
style: "Romanesque, Decorated Gothic and Gothic Revival"
website: "https://www.selbyabbey.org.uk/"
openingHours: "Open 10am to 4pm Monday to Saturday and 12noon to 4pm on Sunday. Plus services and events at other times."
parish: "Selby"
listEntryUrl: "https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1132591"
gridReference: "SE 615 323"
accessNotes: "Accessible toilets in church. Level access throughout"
---

# Selby Abbey

Selby Abbey, dedicated to St Mary and St Germain, is a Grade I former Benedictine abbey church on The Crescent, Selby, in the Diocese of York: one of the few surviving great abbey churches of medieval England, now the parish church of Selby.

## Overview

Historic England records that the abbey was founded about 1070 on the site of a hermitage of Benedict of Auxerre, who was living here in 1069 with a relic of St Germanus. The present stone church was begun by Abbot Hugh de Lacy (1097–1123). Further work followed in the late twelfth, mid-thirteenth and late fourteenth centuries. The monastic buildings were demolished after the Dissolution in 1539, but the church became the parish church. A tower collapse of 1690 was repaired about 1701–02. Sir George Gilbert Scott restored the church in 1871–73, and J. Oldrid Scott in 1889–90. A serious fire in 1906 prompted the most drastic restoration, also by J. Oldrid Scott: a new crossing tower (1908), south transept (about 1912) and west towers (1935). The listing highlights medieval tombs, including the D’Arcy tomb, abbot slabs, and later monuments.

The cruciform church has a twelfth-century aisled nave of eight bays and a later medieval aisled chancel. It is open Monday to Saturday 10am to 4pm and Sunday from noon, with level access throughout.

## Further Information

- [Historic England list entry 1132591](https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1132591)
- [Selby Abbey](https://www.selbyabbey.org.uk/)
- [Wikipedia: Selby Abbey](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selby_Abbey)