THE story of the ruined Rievaulx Abbey in the North York Moors is to be told in a completely new way, following the completion last week of a transformed museum, new information panels and audio tour at the site.

The abbey attracts about 45,000 visitors a year, who will also get a new perspective on the abbey from an expanded visitor centre and tearoom.

The museum is one of the key new parts of the £1.8m investment, with a new design and new exhibits.

"The museum now has objects that have never been seen before," said Liz Page, historic properties director at English Heritage. She says that the museum now feels almost gallery-like. "It's quite minimalist, with beautiful lighting," she added.

Among the objects in the gallery will be a lead fother stamped with the seal of King Henry VIII. This would have been created from the lead on the abbey roof, melted down into an ingot as part of the Dissolution.

Elaborate medieval stone carvings, chess pieces and gold coins tell the story of the rise and dramatic fall of this, the first Cistercian abbey in the North of England.

There are also stone corbels from the abbey walls and Christ in Majesty, a sandstone statue of Christ enthroned - which at some point has lost its head.

"We don't actually know how," said Susan Harrison, collection curator at English Heritage. "It was found in the Abbot's lodgings in the 1950s."

Susan says the museum is now "object-rich and object-led", part of a complete visitor experience from when they enter the abbey grounds.

Liz said: "There are lots of objects that have been in storage for many years. They'll give people a flavour of what it was like in the abbey in its heyday."

The work, which became possible after capital investment funds were made available to the team, has been nearly two years in the making. Planning and consultation started in the autumn of 2014, with work beginning late summer last year. Liz said: "Rievaulx is one of our most significant sites. We felt we could tell its story in a better way.

"A lot of people have been working very hard indeed - we wanted to get it finished for the main summer season."

Susan added: "It looks massively different. It's stunning."

The museum is just part of the raft of new features. There is a new audio tour, cast iron information panels with illustrations of how the abbey would have looked, and a visitor centre.

Liz said: "We've extended the visitor centre for a warm welcome, and we've extended the tea room which now has glorious views out up to the Abbey. It's beautiful and atmospheric.

"As the first major capital investment project in the North delivered under our new charity status it was paramount that we delivered what we’d set out to achieve in improving the visitor experience and giving Rievaulx the limelight it deserves.

"We’re thrilled with the results and proud of all those involved.

"I'm looking forward to seeing visitors enjoy it."