A FORMER prime minister took his title from it, pilgrims flock from all parts of Europe to admire its ruined abbey - and it's a place where love blossoms.

That's the tiny village of Rievaulx which, despite its size - it has only 15 homes yet five councillors for the 36 homes and farms in the scattered parish - is one of the best known in Yorkshire and is where community life and long marriages thrive.

Its longest married couple are Lawrie and Freda Milburn, who walked down the aisle 67 years ago. Mr Milburn, now 90, was christened in the same church as Captain Cook at Marton, and farmed on Lord Gisborough's estate for 27 years. When the land was sold, he moved to Tylas Farm at Rievaulx, a farm cultivated by the abbey's monks in the Middle Ages.

He and his wife, 92, were caretakers at the Methodist church for 21 years and did the same job at the village hall for a number of years. Their home, Spring Cottage, boasts enviable views of the valley in which the abbey stands and of the idyllic village scene of quaint old cottages. But it was as the home of the family of the late premier, Harold Wilson, that it became famous.

Mr Wilson stayed there on holidays as a youngster and used to escape to Rievaulx for short breaks in later life. It was when he was ennobled after leaving 10 Downing Street that he sprung a surprise on the village by taking the title Lord Wilson of Rievaulx, recalling the happy times of his youth.

"We meet many people who come to see the abbey. It's lovely to chat to them and we some have even become our friends over the years," said Mr Milburn. The couple have a son, Barry, who farms at nearby Barns Close and a daughter, Jill, but lost another daughter, Heather, through cancer.

In addition, their family includes five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Estate agents would go wild with superlatives to describe the cottage which is the home of 87-year-old Frank Flintoft and his wife, Joan 78, who have just celebrated their diamond wedding. Mr Flintoft, who spent a lifetime in dairy and general farming, has been a stalwart of farming life in the area for many years. He founded the Helmsley and District Calf Club - forerunner of the Young Farmers' Club of which he became leader and president - and for 20 years was president of Ryedale District YFCs as well as vice-president of the movement's North Yorkshire organisation. He is also a past president of Ryedale Show and is now a life member, after many years acting as a judge and steward.

Sport, too, has played a key part in his life; he was captain of Rievaulx's cricket team and groundsman, and although there is still a village team it has to play all its games away from home because there is no ground.

"That is very sad," he said.

A long-serving member of the parochial church council, he was also secretary of the village hall and has been on its committee for more than 50 years.

Mrs Flintoft is well known for her voluntary work with the WRVS and as a prominent member of Rievaulx's thriving Women's Institute.

"I've worked outdoors all my life - farming is the nearest thing to God," added Mr Flintoft.

Just over the road at the seventeenth century Swiss Cottage, much photographed for its thatched roof and picturesque garden, live Geoff and Joan Kent, who have been married 53 years.

Mrs Kent is the last surviving original Rievaulx resident still living there and recalls how she attended the tiny village school which closed in 1962.

"We always called it the high school," she joked.

During the war, it had no fewer than 26 teachers, despite having only a handful of pupils.

Mr Kent, now 80, was a joiner, decorator and undertaker, while his wife worked in service for the Beckett family for a long time. Both have been heavily involved in Rievaulx's life, especially helping to run the village hall and working for the church.

"We have had to make our own entertainment over the years because Rievaulx is quite isolated," said Mr Kent, a parish councillor and past chairman.

Dr John Warrack, a retired Oxford don, and his authoress wife, Lucy, have lived in Rievaulx for 32 years. He is an acclaimed author of biographies of composers and has just started revising his Oxford Dictionary of Opera, and is the president of Ryedale Festival.

Mrs Warrack was a teacher at Ampleforth for 23 years, where she was head of English and the sixth form, has enjoyed success as an author, writing under her maiden name of Lucy Beckett. She has written a novel about Rievaulx and the Reformation, a book of poetry, and works on York Minster and the Cistercian abbeys, and the Christian literary tradition.

She is shortly to publish another novel, based on life in twentieth century Germany.

"You couldn't find a nicer place to live than Rievaulx," said Mrs Warrack, who, as president of the village hall, is a keen helper in raising funds by making and serving teas in the hall to visitors to the abbey.

Dr Warrack was for 29 years clerk of the parish council and he instigated its foundation.

"I realised back in 1972 that Rievaulx was under considerable influence of English Heritage, the National Trust, the national park and Ryedale District Council and it was important it had its own voice," he said.

The man who is responsible for the care of the abbey and its 70,000 visitors a year is John Lax, whose post as English Heritage's manager also includes overseeing Helmsley Castle and Byland Abbey.

"I have to ensure the sites are always looking their best," he said.

Rievaulx's peace and tranquillity, he believes, is in increasing demand.

"People are living life at a faster pace than ever and they need to come to places such as Rievaulx to relax, and enjoy its peaceful ambience."

Mr Lax has spent 15 years with English Heritage, joining it on leaving sixth form college.

When architect David Johnson and his wife, Wyn, spotted the derelict old corn mill on a visit to Rievaulx they immediately realised its potential despite its condition.

"It was a ruin," said Mr Johnson, who moved to Rievaulx in 1988 after a career working in Newcastle, Teesside, Birmingham and Warwickshire.

His interest in water mills began as a boy in Sheffield and his dream of living in one came true after he seized the opportunity to bring the centuries-old mill in Rievaulx back to life after wrestling with planners and conservation organisations.

The result is a home oozing with character which has seen the mill's ancient features restored and enhanced while at the same time creating a splendid place to live. He, too, is involved in village life as the chairman of the parish council, and as the provider of music for the hymns at services in the St Mary's Church.

When its ageing harmonium became something of an embarrassment - "Three or four of the critical notes are missing" - and mice found it was an ideal nesting place, Mr Johnson switched from playing it to using his brass band skills and now the hymns are sung to the accompaniment of his cornet. He is also a member of the popular local Bilsdale Silver Band.

A word of warning. If you visit the church beware of its roof - part of the building has been roped off outside because the roof slab fixing have become unstable resulting in some slates falling.

The church has the distinction of having no graveyard because of the rocky nature of the ground and the hillside springs which provided all the water for the abbey, the corn mill and until relatively recently, the village itself