The Flickr Stmary’S Image Generatr

St Mary’s, Ross-on-Wye

Remains of the Abbots House

Abbey Church, with precinct buildings, river walling and 2 bridges. Founded 1132, main building phases 1170-1247 and late C15 - early C16, by monks of the Cistercian Order. Freestone, with a dark fossiliferous limestone known as Nidderdale marble, and magnesian limestone. Abbey Church: west Galilee Chapel, nave with north and south aisles, choir, transepts, north tower, presbytery and Chapel of the Nine Altars to east. Cloister south of nave: has on east side Chapter House, with monks dormitory to first floor; west side - a storehouse and lay brothers refectory, their dormitory above; south side - monks refectory flanked by warming house and kitchen. Buildings to south-east of the cloister include the Abbots house and the monks infirmary with its service buildings. To south-west, the lay brothers' reredorter and infirmary. The 2 infirmaries stand over tunnels carrying the canalised River Skell. The infirmary bridge crosses the river between the lay brothers' infirmary and the East and West Guest-houses. The mill bridge is further upstream linking the outer court with the Abbey Mill (qv). Built in Romanesque and Early English style, Fountains is the best preserved of English abbeys and is the finest picturesque ruin. Among the architectural splendours are: the deeply-recessed elaborately-moulded, round-arched west door to the church and other late C12 doorways; the trefoil-headed recesses, now without attached columns, which line the nave and the chapel of the Nine Altars; Bishop Huby's Tower (1526), 55 metres high, of 5 stages with deeply-moulded plinth, massive angle buttresses, windows with varied heads, embattled parapet and decorated with inscriptions and statues in niches; the 3 elaborately-moulded arches of the Chapter House, which was one of the largest in the country; the central line of piers in the west cloister range from which ribs spring without capitals and which, with 22 double bays,is the largest building of its kind in Europe; the 2 warming house fireplaces with flat joggled arches; the guest houses, each with 2 floors of hall, chamber and privy and with early circular chimney stacks; and finally the late C12 bridge with 3 ribbed arches and triangular cutwaters, another rare survival. Fountains Abbey developed. as one of the most powerful religious houses in Yorkshire and the richest of its order in England. In November 1539 it surrendered to the King and eventually, in 1597 it passed to Stephen Proctor who built Fountains Hall (qv) c1611, probably using the stone from the monks infirmary for the purpose. The ruins passed through several hands until 1768 when they were sold to William Aislabie of Studley Royal, uniting the most ambitious garden scheme in the north of England with the most decorative of ruins. William Aislabie was responsible for 'tidying' the east end of the church, and building structures among the ruins, including a viewing platform in the east window (Walker). Ownership has since passed through the West Riding and North Yorkshire County Councils to the National Trust.
[Historic England]

The abbey was founded in 1132 by 13 Benedictine monks from St Mary’s in York. They'd grown tired of the extravagant and rowdy way that the monks lived in York and so they escaped, seeking to live a devout and simple lifestyle elsewhere. This was how they came to Fountains.
By the time three years had passed the monks had become settled into their new way of life and had been admitted to the austere Cistercian Order. With that came an important development – the introduction of the Cistercian system of lay brothers.
The lay brothers (what we would now call labourers) relieved the monks from routine jobs, giving them more time to dedicate to God rather than farming the land to get by. It was because of the help of the lay brothers that Fountains became wealthy through wool production, lead mining, cattle rearing, horse breeding and stone quarrying.
‘Idleness is the enemy of the soul. For this reason the brethren should be occupied at certain times in manual labour and at other times in sacred reading.’
– From St Benedict’s Rule
Bad harvests hit the monks hard and combined with raids from the Scots throughout the 14th century, they experienced economic collapse. This was worsened by the Black Death which struck the country in 1348.
Despite its financial problems, the abbey remained important. The abbacy of Marmaduke Huby (1495–1526) marked a period of revival, and the great tower built by Huby symbolised his hope for the abbey’s future.
The abbey was abruptly closed in 1539 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries ordered by Henry VIII. The abbot, prior and monks were sent away with pensions.
The estate was sold by the Crown to a merchant, Sir Richard Gresham. It remained in private hands until the 1960s. The National Trust bought the estate from the West Riding County Council in 1983.
[National Trust]

Taken in Fountains Abbey

Abbey Church, with precinct buildings, river walling and 2 bridges. Founded 1132, main building phases 1170-1247 and late C15 - early C16, by monks of the Cistercian Order. Freestone, with a dark fossiliferous limestone known as Nidderdale marble, and magnesian limestone. Abbey Church: west Galilee Chapel, nave with north and south aisles, choir, transepts, north tower, presbytery and Chapel of the Nine Altars to east. Cloister south of nave: has on east side Chapter House, with monks dormitory to first floor; west side - a storehouse and lay brothers refectory, their dormitory above; south side - monks refectory flanked by warming house and kitchen. Buildings to south-east of the cloister include the Abbots house and the monks infirmary with its service buildings. To south-west, the lay brothers' reredorter and infirmary. The 2 infirmaries stand over tunnels carrying the canalised River Skell. The infirmary bridge crosses the river between the lay brothers' infirmary and the East and West Guest-houses. The mill bridge is further upstream linking the outer court with the Abbey Mill (qv). Built in Romanesque and Early English style, Fountains is the best preserved of English abbeys and is the finest picturesque ruin. Among the architectural splendours are: the deeply-recessed elaborately-moulded, round-arched west door to the church and other late C12 doorways; the trefoil-headed recesses, now without attached columns, which line the nave and the chapel of the Nine Altars; Bishop Huby's Tower (1526), 55 metres high, of 5 stages with deeply-moulded plinth, massive angle buttresses, windows with varied heads, embattled parapet and decorated with inscriptions and statues in niches; the 3 elaborately-moulded arches of the Chapter House, which was one of the largest in the country; the central line of piers in the west cloister range from which ribs spring without capitals and which, with 22 double bays,is the largest building of its kind in Europe; the 2 warming house fireplaces with flat joggled arches; the guest houses, each with 2 floors of hall, chamber and privy and with early circular chimney stacks; and finally the late C12 bridge with 3 ribbed arches and triangular cutwaters, another rare survival. Fountains Abbey developed. as one of the most powerful religious houses in Yorkshire and the richest of its order in England. In November 1539 it surrendered to the King and eventually, in 1597 it passed to Stephen Proctor who built Fountains Hall (qv) c1611, probably using the stone from the monks infirmary for the purpose. The ruins passed through several hands until 1768 when they were sold to William Aislabie of Studley Royal, uniting the most ambitious garden scheme in the north of England with the most decorative of ruins. William Aislabie was responsible for 'tidying' the east end of the church, and building structures among the ruins, including a viewing platform in the east window (Walker). Ownership has since passed through the West Riding and North Yorkshire County Councils to the National Trust.
[Historic England]

The abbey was founded in 1132 by 13 Benedictine monks from St Mary’s in York. They'd grown tired of the extravagant and rowdy way that the monks lived in York and so they escaped, seeking to live a devout and simple lifestyle elsewhere. This was how they came to Fountains.
By the time three years had passed the monks had become settled into their new way of life and had been admitted to the austere Cistercian Order. With that came an important development – the introduction of the Cistercian system of lay brothers.
The lay brothers (what we would now call labourers) relieved the monks from routine jobs, giving them more time to dedicate to God rather than farming the land to get by. It was because of the help of the lay brothers that Fountains became wealthy through wool production, lead mining, cattle rearing, horse breeding and stone quarrying.
‘Idleness is the enemy of the soul. For this reason the brethren should be occupied at certain times in manual labour and at other times in sacred reading.’
– From St Benedict’s Rule
Bad harvests hit the monks hard and combined with raids from the Scots throughout the 14th century, they experienced economic collapse. This was worsened by the Black Death which struck the country in 1348.
Despite its financial problems, the abbey remained important. The abbacy of Marmaduke Huby (1495–1526) marked a period of revival, and the great tower built by Huby symbolised his hope for the abbey’s future.
The abbey was abruptly closed in 1539 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries ordered by Henry VIII. The abbot, prior and monks were sent away with pensions.
The estate was sold by the Crown to a merchant, Sir Richard Gresham. It remained in private hands until the 1960s. The National Trust bought the estate from the West Riding County Council in 1983.
[National Trust]

Taken in Fountains Abbey

Abbey Church, with precinct buildings, river walling and 2 bridges. Founded 1132, main building phases 1170-1247 and late C15 - early C16, by monks of the Cistercian Order. Freestone, with a dark fossiliferous limestone known as Nidderdale marble, and magnesian limestone. Abbey Church: west Galilee Chapel, nave with north and south aisles, choir, transepts, north tower, presbytery and Chapel of the Nine Altars to east. Cloister south of nave: has on east side Chapter House, with monks dormitory to first floor; west side - a storehouse and lay brothers refectory, their dormitory above; south side - monks refectory flanked by warming house and kitchen. Buildings to south-east of the cloister include the Abbots house and the monks infirmary with its service buildings. To south-west, the lay brothers' reredorter and infirmary. The 2 infirmaries stand over tunnels carrying the canalised River Skell. The infirmary bridge crosses the river between the lay brothers' infirmary and the East and West Guest-houses. The mill bridge is further upstream linking the outer court with the Abbey Mill (qv). Built in Romanesque and Early English style, Fountains is the best preserved of English abbeys and is the finest picturesque ruin. Among the architectural splendours are: the deeply-recessed elaborately-moulded, round-arched west door to the church and other late C12 doorways; the trefoil-headed recesses, now without attached columns, which line the nave and the chapel of the Nine Altars; Bishop Huby's Tower (1526), 55 metres high, of 5 stages with deeply-moulded plinth, massive angle buttresses, windows with varied heads, embattled parapet and decorated with inscriptions and statues in niches; the 3 elaborately-moulded arches of the Chapter House, which was one of the largest in the country; the central line of piers in the west cloister range from which ribs spring without capitals and which, with 22 double bays,is the largest building of its kind in Europe; the 2 warming house fireplaces with flat joggled arches; the guest houses, each with 2 floors of hall, chamber and privy and with early circular chimney stacks; and finally the late C12 bridge with 3 ribbed arches and triangular cutwaters, another rare survival. Fountains Abbey developed. as one of the most powerful religious houses in Yorkshire and the richest of its order in England. In November 1539 it surrendered to the King and eventually, in 1597 it passed to Stephen Proctor who built Fountains Hall (qv) c1611, probably using the stone from the monks infirmary for the purpose. The ruins passed through several hands until 1768 when they were sold to William Aislabie of Studley Royal, uniting the most ambitious garden scheme in the north of England with the most decorative of ruins. William Aislabie was responsible for 'tidying' the east end of the church, and building structures among the ruins, including a viewing platform in the east window (Walker). Ownership has since passed through the West Riding and North Yorkshire County Councils to the National Trust.
[Historic England]

The abbey was founded in 1132 by 13 Benedictine monks from St Mary’s in York. They'd grown tired of the extravagant and rowdy way that the monks lived in York and so they escaped, seeking to live a devout and simple lifestyle elsewhere. This was how they came to Fountains.
By the time three years had passed the monks had become settled into their new way of life and had been admitted to the austere Cistercian Order. With that came an important development – the introduction of the Cistercian system of lay brothers.
The lay brothers (what we would now call labourers) relieved the monks from routine jobs, giving them more time to dedicate to God rather than farming the land to get by. It was because of the help of the lay brothers that Fountains became wealthy through wool production, lead mining, cattle rearing, horse breeding and stone quarrying.
‘Idleness is the enemy of the soul. For this reason the brethren should be occupied at certain times in manual labour and at other times in sacred reading.’
– From St Benedict’s Rule
Bad harvests hit the monks hard and combined with raids from the Scots throughout the 14th century, they experienced economic collapse. This was worsened by the Black Death which struck the country in 1348.
Despite its financial problems, the abbey remained important. The abbacy of Marmaduke Huby (1495–1526) marked a period of revival, and the great tower built by Huby symbolised his hope for the abbey’s future.
The abbey was abruptly closed in 1539 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries ordered by Henry VIII. The abbot, prior and monks were sent away with pensions.
The estate was sold by the Crown to a merchant, Sir Richard Gresham. It remained in private hands until the 1960s. The National Trust bought the estate from the West Riding County Council in 1983.
[National Trust]

Taken in Fountains Abbey

Abbey Church, with precinct buildings, river walling and 2 bridges. Founded 1132, main building phases 1170-1247 and late C15 - early C16, by monks of the Cistercian Order. Freestone, with a dark fossiliferous limestone known as Nidderdale marble, and magnesian limestone. Abbey Church: west Galilee Chapel, nave with north and south aisles, choir, transepts, north tower, presbytery and Chapel of the Nine Altars to east. Cloister south of nave: has on east side Chapter House, with monks dormitory to first floor; west side - a storehouse and lay brothers refectory, their dormitory above; south side - monks refectory flanked by warming house and kitchen. Buildings to south-east of the cloister include the Abbots house and the monks infirmary with its service buildings. To south-west, the lay brothers' reredorter and infirmary. The 2 infirmaries stand over tunnels carrying the canalised River Skell. The infirmary bridge crosses the river between the lay brothers' infirmary and the East and West Guest-houses. The mill bridge is further upstream linking the outer court with the Abbey Mill (qv). Built in Romanesque and Early English style, Fountains is the best preserved of English abbeys and is the finest picturesque ruin. Among the architectural splendours are: the deeply-recessed elaborately-moulded, round-arched west door to the church and other late C12 doorways; the trefoil-headed recesses, now without attached columns, which line the nave and the chapel of the Nine Altars; Bishop Huby's Tower (1526), 55 metres high, of 5 stages with deeply-moulded plinth, massive angle buttresses, windows with varied heads, embattled parapet and decorated with inscriptions and statues in niches; the 3 elaborately-moulded arches of the Chapter House, which was one of the largest in the country; the central line of piers in the west cloister range from which ribs spring without capitals and which, with 22 double bays,is the largest building of its kind in Europe; the 2 warming house fireplaces with flat joggled arches; the guest houses, each with 2 floors of hall, chamber and privy and with early circular chimney stacks; and finally the late C12 bridge with 3 ribbed arches and triangular cutwaters, another rare survival. Fountains Abbey developed. as one of the most powerful religious houses in Yorkshire and the richest of its order in England. In November 1539 it surrendered to the King and eventually, in 1597 it passed to Stephen Proctor who built Fountains Hall (qv) c1611, probably using the stone from the monks infirmary for the purpose. The ruins passed through several hands until 1768 when they were sold to William Aislabie of Studley Royal, uniting the most ambitious garden scheme in the north of England with the most decorative of ruins. William Aislabie was responsible for 'tidying' the east end of the church, and building structures among the ruins, including a viewing platform in the east window (Walker). Ownership has since passed through the West Riding and North Yorkshire County Councils to the National Trust.
[Historic England]

The abbey was founded in 1132 by 13 Benedictine monks from St Mary’s in York. They'd grown tired of the extravagant and rowdy way that the monks lived in York and so they escaped, seeking to live a devout and simple lifestyle elsewhere. This was how they came to Fountains.
By the time three years had passed the monks had become settled into their new way of life and had been admitted to the austere Cistercian Order. With that came an important development – the introduction of the Cistercian system of lay brothers.
The lay brothers (what we would now call labourers) relieved the monks from routine jobs, giving them more time to dedicate to God rather than farming the land to get by. It was because of the help of the lay brothers that Fountains became wealthy through wool production, lead mining, cattle rearing, horse breeding and stone quarrying.
‘Idleness is the enemy of the soul. For this reason the brethren should be occupied at certain times in manual labour and at other times in sacred reading.’
– From St Benedict’s Rule
Bad harvests hit the monks hard and combined with raids from the Scots throughout the 14th century, they experienced economic collapse. This was worsened by the Black Death which struck the country in 1348.
Despite its financial problems, the abbey remained important. The abbacy of Marmaduke Huby (1495–1526) marked a period of revival, and the great tower built by Huby symbolised his hope for the abbey’s future.
The abbey was abruptly closed in 1539 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries ordered by Henry VIII. The abbot, prior and monks were sent away with pensions.
The estate was sold by the Crown to a merchant, Sir Richard Gresham. It remained in private hands until the 1960s. The National Trust bought the estate from the West Riding County Council in 1983.
[National Trust]

Taken in Fountains Abbey

Abbey Church, with precinct buildings, river walling and 2 bridges. Founded 1132, main building phases 1170-1247 and late C15 - early C16, by monks of the Cistercian Order. Freestone, with a dark fossiliferous limestone known as Nidderdale marble, and magnesian limestone. Abbey Church: west Galilee Chapel, nave with north and south aisles, choir, transepts, north tower, presbytery and Chapel of the Nine Altars to east. Cloister south of nave: has on east side Chapter House, with monks dormitory to first floor; west side - a storehouse and lay brothers refectory, their dormitory above; south side - monks refectory flanked by warming house and kitchen. Buildings to south-east of the cloister include the Abbots house and the monks infirmary with its service buildings. To south-west, the lay brothers' reredorter and infirmary. The 2 infirmaries stand over tunnels carrying the canalised River Skell. The infirmary bridge crosses the river between the lay brothers' infirmary and the East and West Guest-houses. The mill bridge is further upstream linking the outer court with the Abbey Mill (qv). Built in Romanesque and Early English style, Fountains is the best preserved of English abbeys and is the finest picturesque ruin. Among the architectural splendours are: the deeply-recessed elaborately-moulded, round-arched west door to the church and other late C12 doorways; the trefoil-headed recesses, now without attached columns, which line the nave and the chapel of the Nine Altars; Bishop Huby's Tower (1526), 55 metres high, of 5 stages with deeply-moulded plinth, massive angle buttresses, windows with varied heads, embattled parapet and decorated with inscriptions and statues in niches; the 3 elaborately-moulded arches of the Chapter House, which was one of the largest in the country; the central line of piers in the west cloister range from which ribs spring without capitals and which, with 22 double bays,is the largest building of its kind in Europe; the 2 warming house fireplaces with flat joggled arches; the guest houses, each with 2 floors of hall, chamber and privy and with early circular chimney stacks; and finally the late C12 bridge with 3 ribbed arches and triangular cutwaters, another rare survival. Fountains Abbey developed. as one of the most powerful religious houses in Yorkshire and the richest of its order in England. In November 1539 it surrendered to the King and eventually, in 1597 it passed to Stephen Proctor who built Fountains Hall (qv) c1611, probably using the stone from the monks infirmary for the purpose. The ruins passed through several hands until 1768 when they were sold to William Aislabie of Studley Royal, uniting the most ambitious garden scheme in the north of England with the most decorative of ruins. William Aislabie was responsible for 'tidying' the east end of the church, and building structures among the ruins, including a viewing platform in the east window (Walker). Ownership has since passed through the West Riding and North Yorkshire County Councils to the National Trust.
[Historic England]

The abbey was founded in 1132 by 13 Benedictine monks from St Mary’s in York. They'd grown tired of the extravagant and rowdy way that the monks lived in York and so they escaped, seeking to live a devout and simple lifestyle elsewhere. This was how they came to Fountains.
By the time three years had passed the monks had become settled into their new way of life and had been admitted to the austere Cistercian Order. With that came an important development – the introduction of the Cistercian system of lay brothers.
The lay brothers (what we would now call labourers) relieved the monks from routine jobs, giving them more time to dedicate to God rather than farming the land to get by. It was because of the help of the lay brothers that Fountains became wealthy through wool production, lead mining, cattle rearing, horse breeding and stone quarrying.
‘Idleness is the enemy of the soul. For this reason the brethren should be occupied at certain times in manual labour and at other times in sacred reading.’
– From St Benedict’s Rule
Bad harvests hit the monks hard and combined with raids from the Scots throughout the 14th century, they experienced economic collapse. This was worsened by the Black Death which struck the country in 1348.
Despite its financial problems, the abbey remained important. The abbacy of Marmaduke Huby (1495–1526) marked a period of revival, and the great tower built by Huby symbolised his hope for the abbey’s future.
The abbey was abruptly closed in 1539 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries ordered by Henry VIII. The abbot, prior and monks were sent away with pensions.
The estate was sold by the Crown to a merchant, Sir Richard Gresham. It remained in private hands until the 1960s. The National Trust bought the estate from the West Riding County Council in 1983.
[National Trust]

Taken in Fountains Abbey

Abbey Church, with precinct buildings, river walling and 2 bridges. Founded 1132, main building phases 1170-1247 and late C15 - early C16, by monks of the Cistercian Order. Freestone, with a dark fossiliferous limestone known as Nidderdale marble, and magnesian limestone. Abbey Church: west Galilee Chapel, nave with north and south aisles, choir, transepts, north tower, presbytery and Chapel of the Nine Altars to east. Cloister south of nave: has on east side Chapter House, with monks dormitory to first floor; west side - a storehouse and lay brothers refectory, their dormitory above; south side - monks refectory flanked by warming house and kitchen. Buildings to south-east of the cloister include the Abbots house and the monks infirmary with its service buildings. To south-west, the lay brothers' reredorter and infirmary. The 2 infirmaries stand over tunnels carrying the canalised River Skell. The infirmary bridge crosses the river between the lay brothers' infirmary and the East and West Guest-houses. The mill bridge is further upstream linking the outer court with the Abbey Mill (qv). Built in Romanesque and Early English style, Fountains is the best preserved of English abbeys and is the finest picturesque ruin. Among the architectural splendours are: the deeply-recessed elaborately-moulded, round-arched west door to the church and other late C12 doorways; the trefoil-headed recesses, now without attached columns, which line the nave and the chapel of the Nine Altars; Bishop Huby's Tower (1526), 55 metres high, of 5 stages with deeply-moulded plinth, massive angle buttresses, windows with varied heads, embattled parapet and decorated with inscriptions and statues in niches; the 3 elaborately-moulded arches of the Chapter House, which was one of the largest in the country; the central line of piers in the west cloister range from which ribs spring without capitals and which, with 22 double bays,is the largest building of its kind in Europe; the 2 warming house fireplaces with flat joggled arches; the guest houses, each with 2 floors of hall, chamber and privy and with early circular chimney stacks; and finally the late C12 bridge with 3 ribbed arches and triangular cutwaters, another rare survival. Fountains Abbey developed. as one of the most powerful religious houses in Yorkshire and the richest of its order in England. In November 1539 it surrendered to the King and eventually, in 1597 it passed to Stephen Proctor who built Fountains Hall (qv) c1611, probably using the stone from the monks infirmary for the purpose. The ruins passed through several hands until 1768 when they were sold to William Aislabie of Studley Royal, uniting the most ambitious garden scheme in the north of England with the most decorative of ruins. William Aislabie was responsible for 'tidying' the east end of the church, and building structures among the ruins, including a viewing platform in the east window (Walker). Ownership has since passed through the West Riding and North Yorkshire County Councils to the National Trust.
[Historic England]

The abbey was founded in 1132 by 13 Benedictine monks from St Mary’s in York. They'd grown tired of the extravagant and rowdy way that the monks lived in York and so they escaped, seeking to live a devout and simple lifestyle elsewhere. This was how they came to Fountains.
By the time three years had passed the monks had become settled into their new way of life and had been admitted to the austere Cistercian Order. With that came an important development – the introduction of the Cistercian system of lay brothers.
The lay brothers (what we would now call labourers) relieved the monks from routine jobs, giving them more time to dedicate to God rather than farming the land to get by. It was because of the help of the lay brothers that Fountains became wealthy through wool production, lead mining, cattle rearing, horse breeding and stone quarrying.
‘Idleness is the enemy of the soul. For this reason the brethren should be occupied at certain times in manual labour and at other times in sacred reading.’
– From St Benedict’s Rule
Bad harvests hit the monks hard and combined with raids from the Scots throughout the 14th century, they experienced economic collapse. This was worsened by the Black Death which struck the country in 1348.
Despite its financial problems, the abbey remained important. The abbacy of Marmaduke Huby (1495–1526) marked a period of revival, and the great tower built by Huby symbolised his hope for the abbey’s future.
The abbey was abruptly closed in 1539 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries ordered by Henry VIII. The abbot, prior and monks were sent away with pensions.
The estate was sold by the Crown to a merchant, Sir Richard Gresham. It remained in private hands until the 1960s. The National Trust bought the estate from the West Riding County Council in 1983.
[National Trust]

Taken in Fountains Abbey

Abbey Church, with precinct buildings, river walling and 2 bridges. Founded 1132, main building phases 1170-1247 and late C15 - early C16, by monks of the Cistercian Order. Freestone, with a dark fossiliferous limestone known as Nidderdale marble, and magnesian limestone. Abbey Church: west Galilee Chapel, nave with north and south aisles, choir, transepts, north tower, presbytery and Chapel of the Nine Altars to east. Cloister south of nave: has on east side Chapter House, with monks dormitory to first floor; west side - a storehouse and lay brothers refectory, their dormitory above; south side - monks refectory flanked by warming house and kitchen. Buildings to south-east of the cloister include the Abbots house and the monks infirmary with its service buildings. To south-west, the lay brothers' reredorter and infirmary. The 2 infirmaries stand over tunnels carrying the canalised River Skell. The infirmary bridge crosses the river between the lay brothers' infirmary and the East and West Guest-houses. The mill bridge is further upstream linking the outer court with the Abbey Mill (qv). Built in Romanesque and Early English style, Fountains is the best preserved of English abbeys and is the finest picturesque ruin. Among the architectural splendours are: the deeply-recessed elaborately-moulded, round-arched west door to the church and other late C12 doorways; the trefoil-headed recesses, now without attached columns, which line the nave and the chapel of the Nine Altars; Bishop Huby's Tower (1526), 55 metres high, of 5 stages with deeply-moulded plinth, massive angle buttresses, windows with varied heads, embattled parapet and decorated with inscriptions and statues in niches; the 3 elaborately-moulded arches of the Chapter House, which was one of the largest in the country; the central line of piers in the west cloister range from which ribs spring without capitals and which, with 22 double bays,is the largest building of its kind in Europe; the 2 warming house fireplaces with flat joggled arches; the guest houses, each with 2 floors of hall, chamber and privy and with early circular chimney stacks; and finally the late C12 bridge with 3 ribbed arches and triangular cutwaters, another rare survival. Fountains Abbey developed. as one of the most powerful religious houses in Yorkshire and the richest of its order in England. In November 1539 it surrendered to the King and eventually, in 1597 it passed to Stephen Proctor who built Fountains Hall (qv) c1611, probably using the stone from the monks infirmary for the purpose. The ruins passed through several hands until 1768 when they were sold to William Aislabie of Studley Royal, uniting the most ambitious garden scheme in the north of England with the most decorative of ruins. William Aislabie was responsible for 'tidying' the east end of the church, and building structures among the ruins, including a viewing platform in the east window (Walker). Ownership has since passed through the West Riding and North Yorkshire County Councils to the National Trust.
[Historic England]

The abbey was founded in 1132 by 13 Benedictine monks from St Mary’s in York. They'd grown tired of the extravagant and rowdy way that the monks lived in York and so they escaped, seeking to live a devout and simple lifestyle elsewhere. This was how they came to Fountains.
By the time three years had passed the monks had become settled into their new way of life and had been admitted to the austere Cistercian Order. With that came an important development – the introduction of the Cistercian system of lay brothers.
The lay brothers (what we would now call labourers) relieved the monks from routine jobs, giving them more time to dedicate to God rather than farming the land to get by. It was because of the help of the lay brothers that Fountains became wealthy through wool production, lead mining, cattle rearing, horse breeding and stone quarrying.
‘Idleness is the enemy of the soul. For this reason the brethren should be occupied at certain times in manual labour and at other times in sacred reading.’
– From St Benedict’s Rule
Bad harvests hit the monks hard and combined with raids from the Scots throughout the 14th century, they experienced economic collapse. This was worsened by the Black Death which struck the country in 1348.
Despite its financial problems, the abbey remained important. The abbacy of Marmaduke Huby (1495–1526) marked a period of revival, and the great tower built by Huby symbolised his hope for the abbey’s future.
The abbey was abruptly closed in 1539 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries ordered by Henry VIII. The abbot, prior and monks were sent away with pensions.
The estate was sold by the Crown to a merchant, Sir Richard Gresham. It remained in private hands until the 1960s. The National Trust bought the estate from the West Riding County Council in 1983.
[National Trust]

Taken in Fountains Abbey

Abbey Church, with precinct buildings, river walling and 2 bridges. Founded 1132, main building phases 1170-1247 and late C15 - early C16, by monks of the Cistercian Order. Freestone, with a dark fossiliferous limestone known as Nidderdale marble, and magnesian limestone. Abbey Church: west Galilee Chapel, nave with north and south aisles, choir, transepts, north tower, presbytery and Chapel of the Nine Altars to east. Cloister south of nave: has on east side Chapter House, with monks dormitory to first floor; west side - a storehouse and lay brothers refectory, their dormitory above; south side - monks refectory flanked by warming house and kitchen. Buildings to south-east of the cloister include the Abbots house and the monks infirmary with its service buildings. To south-west, the lay brothers' reredorter and infirmary. The 2 infirmaries stand over tunnels carrying the canalised River Skell. The infirmary bridge crosses the river between the lay brothers' infirmary and the East and West Guest-houses. The mill bridge is further upstream linking the outer court with the Abbey Mill (qv). Built in Romanesque and Early English style, Fountains is the best preserved of English abbeys and is the finest picturesque ruin. Among the architectural splendours are: the deeply-recessed elaborately-moulded, round-arched west door to the church and other late C12 doorways; the trefoil-headed recesses, now without attached columns, which line the nave and the chapel of the Nine Altars; Bishop Huby's Tower (1526), 55 metres high, of 5 stages with deeply-moulded plinth, massive angle buttresses, windows with varied heads, embattled parapet and decorated with inscriptions and statues in niches; the 3 elaborately-moulded arches of the Chapter House, which was one of the largest in the country; the central line of piers in the west cloister range from which ribs spring without capitals and which, with 22 double bays,is the largest building of its kind in Europe; the 2 warming house fireplaces with flat joggled arches; the guest houses, each with 2 floors of hall, chamber and privy and with early circular chimney stacks; and finally the late C12 bridge with 3 ribbed arches and triangular cutwaters, another rare survival. Fountains Abbey developed. as one of the most powerful religious houses in Yorkshire and the richest of its order in England. In November 1539 it surrendered to the King and eventually, in 1597 it passed to Stephen Proctor who built Fountains Hall (qv) c1611, probably using the stone from the monks infirmary for the purpose. The ruins passed through several hands until 1768 when they were sold to William Aislabie of Studley Royal, uniting the most ambitious garden scheme in the north of England with the most decorative of ruins. William Aislabie was responsible for 'tidying' the east end of the church, and building structures among the ruins, including a viewing platform in the east window (Walker). Ownership has since passed through the West Riding and North Yorkshire County Councils to the National Trust.
[Historic England]

The abbey was founded in 1132 by 13 Benedictine monks from St Mary’s in York. They'd grown tired of the extravagant and rowdy way that the monks lived in York and so they escaped, seeking to live a devout and simple lifestyle elsewhere. This was how they came to Fountains.
By the time three years had passed the monks had become settled into their new way of life and had been admitted to the austere Cistercian Order. With that came an important development – the introduction of the Cistercian system of lay brothers.
The lay brothers (what we would now call labourers) relieved the monks from routine jobs, giving them more time to dedicate to God rather than farming the land to get by. It was because of the help of the lay brothers that Fountains became wealthy through wool production, lead mining, cattle rearing, horse breeding and stone quarrying.
‘Idleness is the enemy of the soul. For this reason the brethren should be occupied at certain times in manual labour and at other times in sacred reading.’
– From St Benedict’s Rule
Bad harvests hit the monks hard and combined with raids from the Scots throughout the 14th century, they experienced economic collapse. This was worsened by the Black Death which struck the country in 1348.
Despite its financial problems, the abbey remained important. The abbacy of Marmaduke Huby (1495–1526) marked a period of revival, and the great tower built by Huby symbolised his hope for the abbey’s future.
The abbey was abruptly closed in 1539 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries ordered by Henry VIII. The abbot, prior and monks were sent away with pensions.
The estate was sold by the Crown to a merchant, Sir Richard Gresham. It remained in private hands until the 1960s. The National Trust bought the estate from the West Riding County Council in 1983.
[National Trust]

Taken in Fountains Abbey

Abbey Church, with precinct buildings, river walling and 2 bridges. Founded 1132, main building phases 1170-1247 and late C15 - early C16, by monks of the Cistercian Order. Freestone, with a dark fossiliferous limestone known as Nidderdale marble, and magnesian limestone. Abbey Church: west Galilee Chapel, nave with north and south aisles, choir, transepts, north tower, presbytery and Chapel of the Nine Altars to east. Cloister south of nave: has on east side Chapter House, with monks dormitory to first floor; west side - a storehouse and lay brothers refectory, their dormitory above; south side - monks refectory flanked by warming house and kitchen. Buildings to south-east of the cloister include the Abbots house and the monks infirmary with its service buildings. To south-west, the lay brothers' reredorter and infirmary. The 2 infirmaries stand over tunnels carrying the canalised River Skell. The infirmary bridge crosses the river between the lay brothers' infirmary and the East and West Guest-houses. The mill bridge is further upstream linking the outer court with the Abbey Mill (qv). Built in Romanesque and Early English style, Fountains is the best preserved of English abbeys and is the finest picturesque ruin. Among the architectural splendours are: the deeply-recessed elaborately-moulded, round-arched west door to the church and other late C12 doorways; the trefoil-headed recesses, now without attached columns, which line the nave and the chapel of the Nine Altars; Bishop Huby's Tower (1526), 55 metres high, of 5 stages with deeply-moulded plinth, massive angle buttresses, windows with varied heads, embattled parapet and decorated with inscriptions and statues in niches; the 3 elaborately-moulded arches of the Chapter House, which was one of the largest in the country; the central line of piers in the west cloister range from which ribs spring without capitals and which, with 22 double bays,is the largest building of its kind in Europe; the 2 warming house fireplaces with flat joggled arches; the guest houses, each with 2 floors of hall, chamber and privy and with early circular chimney stacks; and finally the late C12 bridge with 3 ribbed arches and triangular cutwaters, another rare survival. Fountains Abbey developed. as one of the most powerful religious houses in Yorkshire and the richest of its order in England. In November 1539 it surrendered to the King and eventually, in 1597 it passed to Stephen Proctor who built Fountains Hall (qv) c1611, probably using the stone from the monks infirmary for the purpose. The ruins passed through several hands until 1768 when they were sold to William Aislabie of Studley Royal, uniting the most ambitious garden scheme in the north of England with the most decorative of ruins. William Aislabie was responsible for 'tidying' the east end of the church, and building structures among the ruins, including a viewing platform in the east window (Walker). Ownership has since passed through the West Riding and North Yorkshire County Councils to the National Trust.
[Historic England]

The abbey was founded in 1132 by 13 Benedictine monks from St Mary’s in York. They'd grown tired of the extravagant and rowdy way that the monks lived in York and so they escaped, seeking to live a devout and simple lifestyle elsewhere. This was how they came to Fountains.
By the time three years had passed the monks had become settled into their new way of life and had been admitted to the austere Cistercian Order. With that came an important development – the introduction of the Cistercian system of lay brothers.
The lay brothers (what we would now call labourers) relieved the monks from routine jobs, giving them more time to dedicate to God rather than farming the land to get by. It was because of the help of the lay brothers that Fountains became wealthy through wool production, lead mining, cattle rearing, horse breeding and stone quarrying.
‘Idleness is the enemy of the soul. For this reason the brethren should be occupied at certain times in manual labour and at other times in sacred reading.’
– From St Benedict’s Rule
Bad harvests hit the monks hard and combined with raids from the Scots throughout the 14th century, they experienced economic collapse. This was worsened by the Black Death which struck the country in 1348.
Despite its financial problems, the abbey remained important. The abbacy of Marmaduke Huby (1495–1526) marked a period of revival, and the great tower built by Huby symbolised his hope for the abbey’s future.
The abbey was abruptly closed in 1539 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries ordered by Henry VIII. The abbot, prior and monks were sent away with pensions.
The estate was sold by the Crown to a merchant, Sir Richard Gresham. It remained in private hands until the 1960s. The National Trust bought the estate from the West Riding County Council in 1983.
[National Trust]

Taken in Fountains Abbey

Abbey Church, with precinct buildings, river walling and 2 bridges. Founded 1132, main building phases 1170-1247 and late C15 - early C16, by monks of the Cistercian Order. Freestone, with a dark fossiliferous limestone known as Nidderdale marble, and magnesian limestone. Abbey Church: west Galilee Chapel, nave with north and south aisles, choir, transepts, north tower, presbytery and Chapel of the Nine Altars to east. Cloister south of nave: has on east side Chapter House, with monks dormitory to first floor; west side - a storehouse and lay brothers refectory, their dormitory above; south side - monks refectory flanked by warming house and kitchen. Buildings to south-east of the cloister include the Abbots house and the monks infirmary with its service buildings. To south-west, the lay brothers' reredorter and infirmary. The 2 infirmaries stand over tunnels carrying the canalised River Skell. The infirmary bridge crosses the river between the lay brothers' infirmary and the East and West Guest-houses. The mill bridge is further upstream linking the outer court with the Abbey Mill (qv). Built in Romanesque and Early English style, Fountains is the best preserved of English abbeys and is the finest picturesque ruin. Among the architectural splendours are: the deeply-recessed elaborately-moulded, round-arched west door to the church and other late C12 doorways; the trefoil-headed recesses, now without attached columns, which line the nave and the chapel of the Nine Altars; Bishop Huby's Tower (1526), 55 metres high, of 5 stages with deeply-moulded plinth, massive angle buttresses, windows with varied heads, embattled parapet and decorated with inscriptions and statues in niches; the 3 elaborately-moulded arches of the Chapter House, which was one of the largest in the country; the central line of piers in the west cloister range from which ribs spring without capitals and which, with 22 double bays,is the largest building of its kind in Europe; the 2 warming house fireplaces with flat joggled arches; the guest houses, each with 2 floors of hall, chamber and privy and with early circular chimney stacks; and finally the late C12 bridge with 3 ribbed arches and triangular cutwaters, another rare survival. Fountains Abbey developed. as one of the most powerful religious houses in Yorkshire and the richest of its order in England. In November 1539 it surrendered to the King and eventually, in 1597 it passed to Stephen Proctor who built Fountains Hall (qv) c1611, probably using the stone from the monks infirmary for the purpose. The ruins passed through several hands until 1768 when they were sold to William Aislabie of Studley Royal, uniting the most ambitious garden scheme in the north of England with the most decorative of ruins. William Aislabie was responsible for 'tidying' the east end of the church, and building structures among the ruins, including a viewing platform in the east window (Walker). Ownership has since passed through the West Riding and North Yorkshire County Councils to the National Trust.
[Historic England]

The abbey was founded in 1132 by 13 Benedictine monks from St Mary’s in York. They'd grown tired of the extravagant and rowdy way that the monks lived in York and so they escaped, seeking to live a devout and simple lifestyle elsewhere. This was how they came to Fountains.
By the time three years had passed the monks had become settled into their new way of life and had been admitted to the austere Cistercian Order. With that came an important development – the introduction of the Cistercian system of lay brothers.
The lay brothers (what we would now call labourers) relieved the monks from routine jobs, giving them more time to dedicate to God rather than farming the land to get by. It was because of the help of the lay brothers that Fountains became wealthy through wool production, lead mining, cattle rearing, horse breeding and stone quarrying.
‘Idleness is the enemy of the soul. For this reason the brethren should be occupied at certain times in manual labour and at other times in sacred reading.’
– From St Benedict’s Rule
Bad harvests hit the monks hard and combined with raids from the Scots throughout the 14th century, they experienced economic collapse. This was worsened by the Black Death which struck the country in 1348.
Despite its financial problems, the abbey remained important. The abbacy of Marmaduke Huby (1495–1526) marked a period of revival, and the great tower built by Huby symbolised his hope for the abbey’s future.
The abbey was abruptly closed in 1539 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries ordered by Henry VIII. The abbot, prior and monks were sent away with pensions.
The estate was sold by the Crown to a merchant, Sir Richard Gresham. It remained in private hands until the 1960s. The National Trust bought the estate from the West Riding County Council in 1983.
[National Trust]

Taken in Fountains Abbey

Abbey Church, with precinct buildings, river walling and 2 bridges. Founded 1132, main building phases 1170-1247 and late C15 - early C16, by monks of the Cistercian Order. Freestone, with a dark fossiliferous limestone known as Nidderdale marble, and magnesian limestone. Abbey Church: west Galilee Chapel, nave with north and south aisles, choir, transepts, north tower, presbytery and Chapel of the Nine Altars to east. Cloister south of nave: has on east side Chapter House, with monks dormitory to first floor; west side - a storehouse and lay brothers refectory, their dormitory above; south side - monks refectory flanked by warming house and kitchen. Buildings to south-east of the cloister include the Abbots house and the monks infirmary with its service buildings. To south-west, the lay brothers' reredorter and infirmary. The 2 infirmaries stand over tunnels carrying the canalised River Skell. The infirmary bridge crosses the river between the lay brothers' infirmary and the East and West Guest-houses. The mill bridge is further upstream linking the outer court with the Abbey Mill (qv). Built in Romanesque and Early English style, Fountains is the best preserved of English abbeys and is the finest picturesque ruin. Among the architectural splendours are: the deeply-recessed elaborately-moulded, round-arched west door to the church and other late C12 doorways; the trefoil-headed recesses, now without attached columns, which line the nave and the chapel of the Nine Altars; Bishop Huby's Tower (1526), 55 metres high, of 5 stages with deeply-moulded plinth, massive angle buttresses, windows with varied heads, embattled parapet and decorated with inscriptions and statues in niches; the 3 elaborately-moulded arches of the Chapter House, which was one of the largest in the country; the central line of piers in the west cloister range from which ribs spring without capitals and which, with 22 double bays,is the largest building of its kind in Europe; the 2 warming house fireplaces with flat joggled arches; the guest houses, each with 2 floors of hall, chamber and privy and with early circular chimney stacks; and finally the late C12 bridge with 3 ribbed arches and triangular cutwaters, another rare survival. Fountains Abbey developed. as one of the most powerful religious houses in Yorkshire and the richest of its order in England. In November 1539 it surrendered to the King and eventually, in 1597 it passed to Stephen Proctor who built Fountains Hall (qv) c1611, probably using the stone from the monks infirmary for the purpose. The ruins passed through several hands until 1768 when they were sold to William Aislabie of Studley Royal, uniting the most ambitious garden scheme in the north of England with the most decorative of ruins. William Aislabie was responsible for 'tidying' the east end of the church, and building structures among the ruins, including a viewing platform in the east window (Walker). Ownership has since passed through the West Riding and North Yorkshire County Councils to the National Trust.
[Historic England]

The abbey was founded in 1132 by 13 Benedictine monks from St Mary’s in York. They'd grown tired of the extravagant and rowdy way that the monks lived in York and so they escaped, seeking to live a devout and simple lifestyle elsewhere. This was how they came to Fountains.
By the time three years had passed the monks had become settled into their new way of life and had been admitted to the austere Cistercian Order. With that came an important development – the introduction of the Cistercian system of lay brothers.
The lay brothers (what we would now call labourers) relieved the monks from routine jobs, giving them more time to dedicate to God rather than farming the land to get by. It was because of the help of the lay brothers that Fountains became wealthy through wool production, lead mining, cattle rearing, horse breeding and stone quarrying.
‘Idleness is the enemy of the soul. For this reason the brethren should be occupied at certain times in manual labour and at other times in sacred reading.’
– From St Benedict’s Rule
Bad harvests hit the monks hard and combined with raids from the Scots throughout the 14th century, they experienced economic collapse. This was worsened by the Black Death which struck the country in 1348.
Despite its financial problems, the abbey remained important. The abbacy of Marmaduke Huby (1495–1526) marked a period of revival, and the great tower built by Huby symbolised his hope for the abbey’s future.
The abbey was abruptly closed in 1539 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries ordered by Henry VIII. The abbot, prior and monks were sent away with pensions.
The estate was sold by the Crown to a merchant, Sir Richard Gresham. It remained in private hands until the 1960s. The National Trust bought the estate from the West Riding County Council in 1983.
[National Trust]

Taken in Fountains Abbey

Decoration on one of the abbey windows

Abbey Church, with precinct buildings, river walling and 2 bridges. Founded 1132, main building phases 1170-1247 and late C15 - early C16, by monks of the Cistercian Order. Freestone, with a dark fossiliferous limestone known as Nidderdale marble, and magnesian limestone. Abbey Church: west Galilee Chapel, nave with north and south aisles, choir, transepts, north tower, presbytery and Chapel of the Nine Altars to east. Cloister south of nave: has on east side Chapter House, with monks dormitory to first floor; west side - a storehouse and lay brothers refectory, their dormitory above; south side - monks refectory flanked by warming house and kitchen. Buildings to south-east of the cloister include the Abbots house and the monks infirmary with its service buildings. To south-west, the lay brothers' reredorter and infirmary. The 2 infirmaries stand over tunnels carrying the canalised River Skell. The infirmary bridge crosses the river between the lay brothers' infirmary and the East and West Guest-houses. The mill bridge is further upstream linking the outer court with the Abbey Mill (qv). Built in Romanesque and Early English style, Fountains is the best preserved of English abbeys and is the finest picturesque ruin. Among the architectural splendours are: the deeply-recessed elaborately-moulded, round-arched west door to the church and other late C12 doorways; the trefoil-headed recesses, now without attached columns, which line the nave and the chapel of the Nine Altars; Bishop Huby's Tower (1526), 55 metres high, of 5 stages with deeply-moulded plinth, massive angle buttresses, windows with varied heads, embattled parapet and decorated with inscriptions and statues in niches; the 3 elaborately-moulded arches of the Chapter House, which was one of the largest in the country; the central line of piers in the west cloister range from which ribs spring without capitals and which, with 22 double bays,is the largest building of its kind in Europe; the 2 warming house fireplaces with flat joggled arches; the guest houses, each with 2 floors of hall, chamber and privy and with early circular chimney stacks; and finally the late C12 bridge with 3 ribbed arches and triangular cutwaters, another rare survival. Fountains Abbey developed. as one of the most powerful religious houses in Yorkshire and the richest of its order in England. In November 1539 it surrendered to the King and eventually, in 1597 it passed to Stephen Proctor who built Fountains Hall (qv) c1611, probably using the stone from the monks infirmary for the purpose. The ruins passed through several hands until 1768 when they were sold to William Aislabie of Studley Royal, uniting the most ambitious garden scheme in the north of England with the most decorative of ruins. William Aislabie was responsible for 'tidying' the east end of the church, and building structures among the ruins, including a viewing platform in the east window (Walker). Ownership has since passed through the West Riding and North Yorkshire County Councils to the National Trust.
[Historic England]

The abbey was founded in 1132 by 13 Benedictine monks from St Mary’s in York. They'd grown tired of the extravagant and rowdy way that the monks lived in York and so they escaped, seeking to live a devout and simple lifestyle elsewhere. This was how they came to Fountains.
By the time three years had passed the monks had become settled into their new way of life and had been admitted to the austere Cistercian Order. With that came an important development – the introduction of the Cistercian system of lay brothers.
The lay brothers (what we would now call labourers) relieved the monks from routine jobs, giving them more time to dedicate to God rather than farming the land to get by. It was because of the help of the lay brothers that Fountains became wealthy through wool production, lead mining, cattle rearing, horse breeding and stone quarrying.
‘Idleness is the enemy of the soul. For this reason the brethren should be occupied at certain times in manual labour and at other times in sacred reading.’
– From St Benedict’s Rule
Bad harvests hit the monks hard and combined with raids from the Scots throughout the 14th century, they experienced economic collapse. This was worsened by the Black Death which struck the country in 1348.
Despite its financial problems, the abbey remained important. The abbacy of Marmaduke Huby (1495–1526) marked a period of revival, and the great tower built by Huby symbolised his hope for the abbey’s future.
The abbey was abruptly closed in 1539 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries ordered by Henry VIII. The abbot, prior and monks were sent away with pensions.
The estate was sold by the Crown to a merchant, Sir Richard Gresham. It remained in private hands until the 1960s. The National Trust bought the estate from the West Riding County Council in 1983.
[National Trust]

Taken in Fountains Abbey

Abbey Church, with precinct buildings, river walling and 2 bridges. Founded 1132, main building phases 1170-1247 and late C15 - early C16, by monks of the Cistercian Order. Freestone, with a dark fossiliferous limestone known as Nidderdale marble, and magnesian limestone. Abbey Church: west Galilee Chapel, nave with north and south aisles, choir, transepts, north tower, presbytery and Chapel of the Nine Altars to east. Cloister south of nave: has on east side Chapter House, with monks dormitory to first floor; west side - a storehouse and lay brothers refectory, their dormitory above; south side - monks refectory flanked by warming house and kitchen. Buildings to south-east of the cloister include the Abbots house and the monks infirmary with its service buildings. To south-west, the lay brothers' reredorter and infirmary. The 2 infirmaries stand over tunnels carrying the canalised River Skell. The infirmary bridge crosses the river between the lay brothers' infirmary and the East and West Guest-houses. The mill bridge is further upstream linking the outer court with the Abbey Mill (qv). Built in Romanesque and Early English style, Fountains is the best preserved of English abbeys and is the finest picturesque ruin. Among the architectural splendours are: the deeply-recessed elaborately-moulded, round-arched west door to the church and other late C12 doorways; the trefoil-headed recesses, now without attached columns, which line the nave and the chapel of the Nine Altars; Bishop Huby's Tower (1526), 55 metres high, of 5 stages with deeply-moulded plinth, massive angle buttresses, windows with varied heads, embattled parapet and decorated with inscriptions and statues in niches; the 3 elaborately-moulded arches of the Chapter House, which was one of the largest in the country; the central line of piers in the west cloister range from which ribs spring without capitals and which, with 22 double bays,is the largest building of its kind in Europe; the 2 warming house fireplaces with flat joggled arches; the guest houses, each with 2 floors of hall, chamber and privy and with early circular chimney stacks; and finally the late C12 bridge with 3 ribbed arches and triangular cutwaters, another rare survival. Fountains Abbey developed. as one of the most powerful religious houses in Yorkshire and the richest of its order in England. In November 1539 it surrendered to the King and eventually, in 1597 it passed to Stephen Proctor who built Fountains Hall (qv) c1611, probably using the stone from the monks infirmary for the purpose. The ruins passed through several hands until 1768 when they were sold to William Aislabie of Studley Royal, uniting the most ambitious garden scheme in the north of England with the most decorative of ruins. William Aislabie was responsible for 'tidying' the east end of the church, and building structures among the ruins, including a viewing platform in the east window (Walker). Ownership has since passed through the West Riding and North Yorkshire County Councils to the National Trust.
[Historic England]

The abbey was founded in 1132 by 13 Benedictine monks from St Mary’s in York. They'd grown tired of the extravagant and rowdy way that the monks lived in York and so they escaped, seeking to live a devout and simple lifestyle elsewhere. This was how they came to Fountains.
By the time three years had passed the monks had become settled into their new way of life and had been admitted to the austere Cistercian Order. With that came an important development – the introduction of the Cistercian system of lay brothers.
The lay brothers (what we would now call labourers) relieved the monks from routine jobs, giving them more time to dedicate to God rather than farming the land to get by. It was because of the help of the lay brothers that Fountains became wealthy through wool production, lead mining, cattle rearing, horse breeding and stone quarrying.
‘Idleness is the enemy of the soul. For this reason the brethren should be occupied at certain times in manual labour and at other times in sacred reading.’
– From St Benedict’s Rule
Bad harvests hit the monks hard and combined with raids from the Scots throughout the 14th century, they experienced economic collapse. This was worsened by the Black Death which struck the country in 1348.
Despite its financial problems, the abbey remained important. The abbacy of Marmaduke Huby (1495–1526) marked a period of revival, and the great tower built by Huby symbolised his hope for the abbey’s future.
The abbey was abruptly closed in 1539 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries ordered by Henry VIII. The abbot, prior and monks were sent away with pensions.
The estate was sold by the Crown to a merchant, Sir Richard Gresham. It remained in private hands until the 1960s. The National Trust bought the estate from the West Riding County Council in 1983.
[National Trust]

Taken in Fountains Abbey

Looking into the Chapel of 9 Altars

Abbey Church, with precinct buildings, river walling and 2 bridges. Founded 1132, main building phases 1170-1247 and late C15 - early C16, by monks of the Cistercian Order. Freestone, with a dark fossiliferous limestone known as Nidderdale marble, and magnesian limestone. Abbey Church: west Galilee Chapel, nave with north and south aisles, choir, transepts, north tower, presbytery and Chapel of the Nine Altars to east. Cloister south of nave: has on east side Chapter House, with monks dormitory to first floor; west side - a storehouse and lay brothers refectory, their dormitory above; south side - monks refectory flanked by warming house and kitchen. Buildings to south-east of the cloister include the Abbots house and the monks infirmary with its service buildings. To south-west, the lay brothers' reredorter and infirmary. The 2 infirmaries stand over tunnels carrying the canalised River Skell. The infirmary bridge crosses the river between the lay brothers' infirmary and the East and West Guest-houses. The mill bridge is further upstream linking the outer court with the Abbey Mill (qv). Built in Romanesque and Early English style, Fountains is the best preserved of English abbeys and is the finest picturesque ruin. Among the architectural splendours are: the deeply-recessed elaborately-moulded, round-arched west door to the church and other late C12 doorways; the trefoil-headed recesses, now without attached columns, which line the nave and the chapel of the Nine Altars; Bishop Huby's Tower (1526), 55 metres high, of 5 stages with deeply-moulded plinth, massive angle buttresses, windows with varied heads, embattled parapet and decorated with inscriptions and statues in niches; the 3 elaborately-moulded arches of the Chapter House, which was one of the largest in the country; the central line of piers in the west cloister range from which ribs spring without capitals and which, with 22 double bays,is the largest building of its kind in Europe; the 2 warming house fireplaces with flat joggled arches; the guest houses, each with 2 floors of hall, chamber and privy and with early circular chimney stacks; and finally the late C12 bridge with 3 ribbed arches and triangular cutwaters, another rare survival. Fountains Abbey developed. as one of the most powerful religious houses in Yorkshire and the richest of its order in England. In November 1539 it surrendered to the King and eventually, in 1597 it passed to Stephen Proctor who built Fountains Hall (qv) c1611, probably using the stone from the monks infirmary for the purpose. The ruins passed through several hands until 1768 when they were sold to William Aislabie of Studley Royal, uniting the most ambitious garden scheme in the north of England with the most decorative of ruins. William Aislabie was responsible for 'tidying' the east end of the church, and building structures among the ruins, including a viewing platform in the east window (Walker). Ownership has since passed through the West Riding and North Yorkshire County Councils to the National Trust.
[Historic England]

The abbey was founded in 1132 by 13 Benedictine monks from St Mary’s in York. They'd grown tired of the extravagant and rowdy way that the monks lived in York and so they escaped, seeking to live a devout and simple lifestyle elsewhere. This was how they came to Fountains.
By the time three years had passed the monks had become settled into their new way of life and had been admitted to the austere Cistercian Order. With that came an important development – the introduction of the Cistercian system of lay brothers.
The lay brothers (what we would now call labourers) relieved the monks from routine jobs, giving them more time to dedicate to God rather than farming the land to get by. It was because of the help of the lay brothers that Fountains became wealthy through wool production, lead mining, cattle rearing, horse breeding and stone quarrying.
‘Idleness is the enemy of the soul. For this reason the brethren should be occupied at certain times in manual labour and at other times in sacred reading.’
– From St Benedict’s Rule
Bad harvests hit the monks hard and combined with raids from the Scots throughout the 14th century, they experienced economic collapse. This was worsened by the Black Death which struck the country in 1348.
Despite its financial problems, the abbey remained important. The abbacy of Marmaduke Huby (1495–1526) marked a period of revival, and the great tower built by Huby symbolised his hope for the abbey’s future.
The abbey was abruptly closed in 1539 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries ordered by Henry VIII. The abbot, prior and monks were sent away with pensions.
The estate was sold by the Crown to a merchant, Sir Richard Gresham. It remained in private hands until the 1960s. The National Trust bought the estate from the West Riding County Council in 1983.
[National Trust]

Taken in Fountains Abbey

Abbey Church, with precinct buildings, river walling and 2 bridges. Founded 1132, main building phases 1170-1247 and late C15 - early C16, by monks of the Cistercian Order. Freestone, with a dark fossiliferous limestone known as Nidderdale marble, and magnesian limestone. Abbey Church: west Galilee Chapel, nave with north and south aisles, choir, transepts, north tower, presbytery and Chapel of the Nine Altars to east. Cloister south of nave: has on east side Chapter House, with monks dormitory to first floor; west side - a storehouse and lay brothers refectory, their dormitory above; south side - monks refectory flanked by warming house and kitchen. Buildings to south-east of the cloister include the Abbots house and the monks infirmary with its service buildings. To south-west, the lay brothers' reredorter and infirmary. The 2 infirmaries stand over tunnels carrying the canalised River Skell. The infirmary bridge crosses the river between the lay brothers' infirmary and the East and West Guest-houses. The mill bridge is further upstream linking the outer court with the Abbey Mill (qv). Built in Romanesque and Early English style, Fountains is the best preserved of English abbeys and is the finest picturesque ruin. Among the architectural splendours are: the deeply-recessed elaborately-moulded, round-arched west door to the church and other late C12 doorways; the trefoil-headed recesses, now without attached columns, which line the nave and the chapel of the Nine Altars; Bishop Huby's Tower (1526), 55 metres high, of 5 stages with deeply-moulded plinth, massive angle buttresses, windows with varied heads, embattled parapet and decorated with inscriptions and statues in niches; the 3 elaborately-moulded arches of the Chapter House, which was one of the largest in the country; the central line of piers in the west cloister range from which ribs spring without capitals and which, with 22 double bays,is the largest building of its kind in Europe; the 2 warming house fireplaces with flat joggled arches; the guest houses, each with 2 floors of hall, chamber and privy and with early circular chimney stacks; and finally the late C12 bridge with 3 ribbed arches and triangular cutwaters, another rare survival. Fountains Abbey developed. as one of the most powerful religious houses in Yorkshire and the richest of its order in England. In November 1539 it surrendered to the King and eventually, in 1597 it passed to Stephen Proctor who built Fountains Hall (qv) c1611, probably using the stone from the monks infirmary for the purpose. The ruins passed through several hands until 1768 when they were sold to William Aislabie of Studley Royal, uniting the most ambitious garden scheme in the north of England with the most decorative of ruins. William Aislabie was responsible for 'tidying' the east end of the church, and building structures among the ruins, including a viewing platform in the east window (Walker). Ownership has since passed through the West Riding and North Yorkshire County Councils to the National Trust.
[Historic England]

The abbey was founded in 1132 by 13 Benedictine monks from St Mary’s in York. They'd grown tired of the extravagant and rowdy way that the monks lived in York and so they escaped, seeking to live a devout and simple lifestyle elsewhere. This was how they came to Fountains.
By the time three years had passed the monks had become settled into their new way of life and had been admitted to the austere Cistercian Order. With that came an important development – the introduction of the Cistercian system of lay brothers.
The lay brothers (what we would now call labourers) relieved the monks from routine jobs, giving them more time to dedicate to God rather than farming the land to get by. It was because of the help of the lay brothers that Fountains became wealthy through wool production, lead mining, cattle rearing, horse breeding and stone quarrying.
‘Idleness is the enemy of the soul. For this reason the brethren should be occupied at certain times in manual labour and at other times in sacred reading.’
– From St Benedict’s Rule
Bad harvests hit the monks hard and combined with raids from the Scots throughout the 14th century, they experienced economic collapse. This was worsened by the Black Death which struck the country in 1348.
Despite its financial problems, the abbey remained important. The abbacy of Marmaduke Huby (1495–1526) marked a period of revival, and the great tower built by Huby symbolised his hope for the abbey’s future.
The abbey was abruptly closed in 1539 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries ordered by Henry VIII. The abbot, prior and monks were sent away with pensions.
The estate was sold by the Crown to a merchant, Sir Richard Gresham. It remained in private hands until the 1960s. The National Trust bought the estate from the West Riding County Council in 1983.
[National Trust]

Taken in Fountains Abbey

Abbey Church, with precinct buildings, river walling and 2 bridges. Founded 1132, main building phases 1170-1247 and late C15 - early C16, by monks of the Cistercian Order. Freestone, with a dark fossiliferous limestone known as Nidderdale marble, and magnesian limestone. Abbey Church: west Galilee Chapel, nave with north and south aisles, choir, transepts, north tower, presbytery and Chapel of the Nine Altars to east. Cloister south of nave: has on east side Chapter House, with monks dormitory to first floor; west side - a storehouse and lay brothers refectory, their dormitory above; south side - monks refectory flanked by warming house and kitchen. Buildings to south-east of the cloister include the Abbots house and the monks infirmary with its service buildings. To south-west, the lay brothers' reredorter and infirmary. The 2 infirmaries stand over tunnels carrying the canalised River Skell. The infirmary bridge crosses the river between the lay brothers' infirmary and the East and West Guest-houses. The mill bridge is further upstream linking the outer court with the Abbey Mill (qv). Built in Romanesque and Early English style, Fountains is the best preserved of English abbeys and is the finest picturesque ruin. Among the architectural splendours are: the deeply-recessed elaborately-moulded, round-arched west door to the church and other late C12 doorways; the trefoil-headed recesses, now without attached columns, which line the nave and the chapel of the Nine Altars; Bishop Huby's Tower (1526), 55 metres high, of 5 stages with deeply-moulded plinth, massive angle buttresses, windows with varied heads, embattled parapet and decorated with inscriptions and statues in niches; the 3 elaborately-moulded arches of the Chapter House, which was one of the largest in the country; the central line of piers in the west cloister range from which ribs spring without capitals and which, with 22 double bays,is the largest building of its kind in Europe; the 2 warming house fireplaces with flat joggled arches; the guest houses, each with 2 floors of hall, chamber and privy and with early circular chimney stacks; and finally the late C12 bridge with 3 ribbed arches and triangular cutwaters, another rare survival. Fountains Abbey developed. as one of the most powerful religious houses in Yorkshire and the richest of its order in England. In November 1539 it surrendered to the King and eventually, in 1597 it passed to Stephen Proctor who built Fountains Hall (qv) c1611, probably using the stone from the monks infirmary for the purpose. The ruins passed through several hands until 1768 when they were sold to William Aislabie of Studley Royal, uniting the most ambitious garden scheme in the north of England with the most decorative of ruins. William Aislabie was responsible for 'tidying' the east end of the church, and building structures among the ruins, including a viewing platform in the east window (Walker). Ownership has since passed through the West Riding and North Yorkshire County Councils to the National Trust.
[Historic England]

The abbey was founded in 1132 by 13 Benedictine monks from St Mary’s in York. They'd grown tired of the extravagant and rowdy way that the monks lived in York and so they escaped, seeking to live a devout and simple lifestyle elsewhere. This was how they came to Fountains.
By the time three years had passed the monks had become settled into their new way of life and had been admitted to the austere Cistercian Order. With that came an important development – the introduction of the Cistercian system of lay brothers.
The lay brothers (what we would now call labourers) relieved the monks from routine jobs, giving them more time to dedicate to God rather than farming the land to get by. It was because of the help of the lay brothers that Fountains became wealthy through wool production, lead mining, cattle rearing, horse breeding and stone quarrying.
‘Idleness is the enemy of the soul. For this reason the brethren should be occupied at certain times in manual labour and at other times in sacred reading.’
– From St Benedict’s Rule
Bad harvests hit the monks hard and combined with raids from the Scots throughout the 14th century, they experienced economic collapse. This was worsened by the Black Death which struck the country in 1348.
Despite its financial problems, the abbey remained important. The abbacy of Marmaduke Huby (1495–1526) marked a period of revival, and the great tower built by Huby symbolised his hope for the abbey’s future.
The abbey was abruptly closed in 1539 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries ordered by Henry VIII. The abbot, prior and monks were sent away with pensions.
The estate was sold by the Crown to a merchant, Sir Richard Gresham. It remained in private hands until the 1960s. The National Trust bought the estate from the West Riding County Council in 1983.
[National Trust]

Taken in Fountains Abbey

Abbey Church, with precinct buildings, river walling and 2 bridges. Founded 1132, main building phases 1170-1247 and late C15 - early C16, by monks of the Cistercian Order. Freestone, with a dark fossiliferous limestone known as Nidderdale marble, and magnesian limestone. Abbey Church: west Galilee Chapel, nave with north and south aisles, choir, transepts, north tower, presbytery and Chapel of the Nine Altars to east. Cloister south of nave: has on east side Chapter House, with monks dormitory to first floor; west side - a storehouse and lay brothers refectory, their dormitory above; south side - monks refectory flanked by warming house and kitchen. Buildings to south-east of the cloister include the Abbots house and the monks infirmary with its service buildings. To south-west, the lay brothers' reredorter and infirmary. The 2 infirmaries stand over tunnels carrying the canalised River Skell. The infirmary bridge crosses the river between the lay brothers' infirmary and the East and West Guest-houses. The mill bridge is further upstream linking the outer court with the Abbey Mill (qv). Built in Romanesque and Early English style, Fountains is the best preserved of English abbeys and is the finest picturesque ruin. Among the architectural splendours are: the deeply-recessed elaborately-moulded, round-arched west door to the church and other late C12 doorways; the trefoil-headed recesses, now without attached columns, which line the nave and the chapel of the Nine Altars; Bishop Huby's Tower (1526), 55 metres high, of 5 stages with deeply-moulded plinth, massive angle buttresses, windows with varied heads, embattled parapet and decorated with inscriptions and statues in niches; the 3 elaborately-moulded arches of the Chapter House, which was one of the largest in the country; the central line of piers in the west cloister range from which ribs spring without capitals and which, with 22 double bays,is the largest building of its kind in Europe; the 2 warming house fireplaces with flat joggled arches; the guest houses, each with 2 floors of hall, chamber and privy and with early circular chimney stacks; and finally the late C12 bridge with 3 ribbed arches and triangular cutwaters, another rare survival. Fountains Abbey developed. as one of the most powerful religious houses in Yorkshire and the richest of its order in England. In November 1539 it surrendered to the King and eventually, in 1597 it passed to Stephen Proctor who built Fountains Hall (qv) c1611, probably using the stone from the monks infirmary for the purpose. The ruins passed through several hands until 1768 when they were sold to William Aislabie of Studley Royal, uniting the most ambitious garden scheme in the north of England with the most decorative of ruins. William Aislabie was responsible for 'tidying' the east end of the church, and building structures among the ruins, including a viewing platform in the east window (Walker). Ownership has since passed through the West Riding and North Yorkshire County Councils to the National Trust.
[Historic England]

The abbey was founded in 1132 by 13 Benedictine monks from St Mary’s in York. They'd grown tired of the extravagant and rowdy way that the monks lived in York and so they escaped, seeking to live a devout and simple lifestyle elsewhere. This was how they came to Fountains.
By the time three years had passed the monks had become settled into their new way of life and had been admitted to the austere Cistercian Order. With that came an important development – the introduction of the Cistercian system of lay brothers.
The lay brothers (what we would now call labourers) relieved the monks from routine jobs, giving them more time to dedicate to God rather than farming the land to get by. It was because of the help of the lay brothers that Fountains became wealthy through wool production, lead mining, cattle rearing, horse breeding and stone quarrying.
‘Idleness is the enemy of the soul. For this reason the brethren should be occupied at certain times in manual labour and at other times in sacred reading.’
– From St Benedict’s Rule
Bad harvests hit the monks hard and combined with raids from the Scots throughout the 14th century, they experienced economic collapse. This was worsened by the Black Death which struck the country in 1348.
Despite its financial problems, the abbey remained important. The abbacy of Marmaduke Huby (1495–1526) marked a period of revival, and the great tower built by Huby symbolised his hope for the abbey’s future.
The abbey was abruptly closed in 1539 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries ordered by Henry VIII. The abbot, prior and monks were sent away with pensions.
The estate was sold by the Crown to a merchant, Sir Richard Gresham. It remained in private hands until the 1960s. The National Trust bought the estate from the West Riding County Council in 1983.
[National Trust]

Taken in Fountains Abbey

Remains of the Abbots House

Abbey Church, with precinct buildings, river walling and 2 bridges. Founded 1132, main building phases 1170-1247 and late C15 - early C16, by monks of the Cistercian Order. Freestone, with a dark fossiliferous limestone known as Nidderdale marble, and magnesian limestone. Abbey Church: west Galilee Chapel, nave with north and south aisles, choir, transepts, north tower, presbytery and Chapel of the Nine Altars to east. Cloister south of nave: has on east side Chapter House, with monks dormitory to first floor; west side - a storehouse and lay brothers refectory, their dormitory above; south side - monks refectory flanked by warming house and kitchen. Buildings to south-east of the cloister include the Abbots house and the monks infirmary with its service buildings. To south-west, the lay brothers' reredorter and infirmary. The 2 infirmaries stand over tunnels carrying the canalised River Skell. The infirmary bridge crosses the river between the lay brothers' infirmary and the East and West Guest-houses. The mill bridge is further upstream linking the outer court with the Abbey Mill (qv). Built in Romanesque and Early English style, Fountains is the best preserved of English abbeys and is the finest picturesque ruin. Among the architectural splendours are: the deeply-recessed elaborately-moulded, round-arched west door to the church and other late C12 doorways; the trefoil-headed recesses, now without attached columns, which line the nave and the chapel of the Nine Altars; Bishop Huby's Tower (1526), 55 metres high, of 5 stages with deeply-moulded plinth, massive angle buttresses, windows with varied heads, embattled parapet and decorated with inscriptions and statues in niches; the 3 elaborately-moulded arches of the Chapter House, which was one of the largest in the country; the central line of piers in the west cloister range from which ribs spring without capitals and which, with 22 double bays,is the largest building of its kind in Europe; the 2 warming house fireplaces with flat joggled arches; the guest houses, each with 2 floors of hall, chamber and privy and with early circular chimney stacks; and finally the late C12 bridge with 3 ribbed arches and triangular cutwaters, another rare survival. Fountains Abbey developed. as one of the most powerful religious houses in Yorkshire and the richest of its order in England. In November 1539 it surrendered to the King and eventually, in 1597 it passed to Stephen Proctor who built Fountains Hall (qv) c1611, probably using the stone from the monks infirmary for the purpose. The ruins passed through several hands until 1768 when they were sold to William Aislabie of Studley Royal, uniting the most ambitious garden scheme in the north of England with the most decorative of ruins. William Aislabie was responsible for 'tidying' the east end of the church, and building structures among the ruins, including a viewing platform in the east window (Walker). Ownership has since passed through the West Riding and North Yorkshire County Councils to the National Trust.
[Historic England]

The abbey was founded in 1132 by 13 Benedictine monks from St Mary’s in York. They'd grown tired of the extravagant and rowdy way that the monks lived in York and so they escaped, seeking to live a devout and simple lifestyle elsewhere. This was how they came to Fountains.
By the time three years had passed the monks had become settled into their new way of life and had been admitted to the austere Cistercian Order. With that came an important development – the introduction of the Cistercian system of lay brothers.
The lay brothers (what we would now call labourers) relieved the monks from routine jobs, giving them more time to dedicate to God rather than farming the land to get by. It was because of the help of the lay brothers that Fountains became wealthy through wool production, lead mining, cattle rearing, horse breeding and stone quarrying.
‘Idleness is the enemy of the soul. For this reason the brethren should be occupied at certain times in manual labour and at other times in sacred reading.’
– From St Benedict’s Rule
Bad harvests hit the monks hard and combined with raids from the Scots throughout the 14th century, they experienced economic collapse. This was worsened by the Black Death which struck the country in 1348.
Despite its financial problems, the abbey remained important. The abbacy of Marmaduke Huby (1495–1526) marked a period of revival, and the great tower built by Huby symbolised his hope for the abbey’s future.
The abbey was abruptly closed in 1539 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries ordered by Henry VIII. The abbot, prior and monks were sent away with pensions.
The estate was sold by the Crown to a merchant, Sir Richard Gresham. It remained in private hands until the 1960s. The National Trust bought the estate from the West Riding County Council in 1983.
[National Trust]

Taken in Fountains Abbey

Abbey Church, with precinct buildings, river walling and 2 bridges. Founded 1132, main building phases 1170-1247 and late C15 - early C16, by monks of the Cistercian Order. Freestone, with a dark fossiliferous limestone known as Nidderdale marble, and magnesian limestone. Abbey Church: west Galilee Chapel, nave with north and south aisles, choir, transepts, north tower, presbytery and Chapel of the Nine Altars to east. Cloister south of nave: has on east side Chapter House, with monks dormitory to first floor; west side - a storehouse and lay brothers refectory, their dormitory above; south side - monks refectory flanked by warming house and kitchen. Buildings to south-east of the cloister include the Abbots house and the monks infirmary with its service buildings. To south-west, the lay brothers' reredorter and infirmary. The 2 infirmaries stand over tunnels carrying the canalised River Skell. The infirmary bridge crosses the river between the lay brothers' infirmary and the East and West Guest-houses. The mill bridge is further upstream linking the outer court with the Abbey Mill (qv). Built in Romanesque and Early English style, Fountains is the best preserved of English abbeys and is the finest picturesque ruin. Among the architectural splendours are: the deeply-recessed elaborately-moulded, round-arched west door to the church and other late C12 doorways; the trefoil-headed recesses, now without attached columns, which line the nave and the chapel of the Nine Altars; Bishop Huby's Tower (1526), 55 metres high, of 5 stages with deeply-moulded plinth, massive angle buttresses, windows with varied heads, embattled parapet and decorated with inscriptions and statues in niches; the 3 elaborately-moulded arches of the Chapter House, which was one of the largest in the country; the central line of piers in the west cloister range from which ribs spring without capitals and which, with 22 double bays,is the largest building of its kind in Europe; the 2 warming house fireplaces with flat joggled arches; the guest houses, each with 2 floors of hall, chamber and privy and with early circular chimney stacks; and finally the late C12 bridge with 3 ribbed arches and triangular cutwaters, another rare survival. Fountains Abbey developed. as one of the most powerful religious houses in Yorkshire and the richest of its order in England. In November 1539 it surrendered to the King and eventually, in 1597 it passed to Stephen Proctor who built Fountains Hall (qv) c1611, probably using the stone from the monks infirmary for the purpose. The ruins passed through several hands until 1768 when they were sold to William Aislabie of Studley Royal, uniting the most ambitious garden scheme in the north of England with the most decorative of ruins. William Aislabie was responsible for 'tidying' the east end of the church, and building structures among the ruins, including a viewing platform in the east window (Walker). Ownership has since passed through the West Riding and North Yorkshire County Councils to the National Trust.
[Historic England]

The abbey was founded in 1132 by 13 Benedictine monks from St Mary’s in York. They'd grown tired of the extravagant and rowdy way that the monks lived in York and so they escaped, seeking to live a devout and simple lifestyle elsewhere. This was how they came to Fountains.
By the time three years had passed the monks had become settled into their new way of life and had been admitted to the austere Cistercian Order. With that came an important development – the introduction of the Cistercian system of lay brothers.
The lay brothers (what we would now call labourers) relieved the monks from routine jobs, giving them more time to dedicate to God rather than farming the land to get by. It was because of the help of the lay brothers that Fountains became wealthy through wool production, lead mining, cattle rearing, horse breeding and stone quarrying.
‘Idleness is the enemy of the soul. For this reason the brethren should be occupied at certain times in manual labour and at other times in sacred reading.’
– From St Benedict’s Rule
Bad harvests hit the monks hard and combined with raids from the Scots throughout the 14th century, they experienced economic collapse. This was worsened by the Black Death which struck the country in 1348.
Despite its financial problems, the abbey remained important. The abbacy of Marmaduke Huby (1495–1526) marked a period of revival, and the great tower built by Huby symbolised his hope for the abbey’s future.
The abbey was abruptly closed in 1539 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries ordered by Henry VIII. The abbot, prior and monks were sent away with pensions.
The estate was sold by the Crown to a merchant, Sir Richard Gresham. It remained in private hands until the 1960s. The National Trust bought the estate from the West Riding County Council in 1983.
[National Trust]

Taken in Fountains Abbey