Gilbertines are the only native British Monastic Order, established in 1131 by St. Gilbert of Sempringham in Lincolnshire. Malton is the best of only two surviving Yorkshire houses of this order and its Priory Church is still used for parish worship today.

The building consists mostly of the old church nave, though stripped of its two eastern bays and its north-west tower. The west front, however, still makes a fine vista of transitional architecture and the medieval quire stalls are retained within. There are a few ruinous fragments at the east end, including a good processional door to the missing cloister, but the central tower and presbytery are completely gone. Of the associated living quarters, only a vaulted undercroft remains below an outbuilding at Abbey House. Finds from the Priory can be seen in the Malton Museum.