Fountains Abbey 
East end of Fountains Abbey church.
Many more photos in our Fountains Abbey Photo Gallery.
Nave of Fountains Abbey church, looking east.
Ruins of the abbey's guest houses, built in 1160.
Lay Brothers' Infirmary, built over the water in four vaulted tunnels.
View across Abbey Green, or the Great Court, to the abbey church.
Detailed floor plan of Fountains Abbey. Click to enlarge.
Interactive satellite map of Fountains Abbey. For a larger view,
see our England Map or Google Earth download.
Fountains Abbey, in North Yorkshire, was founded by Cistercian monks in 1132 and is the largest monastic ruin in Britain. In 1987, it was awarded World Heritage status.
History
A dispute at St. Mary's Abbey in York led to the founding of Fountains Abbey in 1132. After a group of 13 reform-minded monks pled unsuccessfully to return to the simplicity of the original Rule of St. Benedict, they were exiled and taken into the protection of Thurstan, Archbishop of York. The archbishop provided the nuisance monks with a site in the valley of the little River Skell in North Yorkshire, described as "more fit for wild beasts than men to inhabit."
Three years later, the exiled monks joined the Cistercian order, which perfectly suited their desire for austerity and self-denial. Under the Cistercian rules they worked hard, lived mainly in silence, followed a diet barely above subsistence level, and wore the regulation habit of coarse undyed wool.
One of the most important developments at Fountains Abbey was the introduction of the Cistercian system of lay brothers. They were usually illiterate and relieved the monks from routine jobs. Many served as masons, tanners, shoemakers and smiths, but their chief role was to look after the abbey's vast flocks of sheep, which lived on the huge estate stretching west and north from Fountains.
The work and encouragement of the lay brothers led to the great wealth and economic importance of Fountains Abbey. In an ironic development that would make the founding monks roll over in their grave, by the middle of the 13th century the abbey was one of England's richest religious houses. The lay brothers encouraged the monks to extend their estates beyond what was necessary for monastic self-sufficiency, and the work of the monastic estate included not only farming, but mining lead, working iron, quarrying stones and breeding horses.
The 14th century saw economic collapse due to the combined effects of bad harvests, Scots raids, the Black Death and financial mismanagement. The community of lay brothers reduced in size, many of the monastic granges were leased out to tenant farmers, and in the late 15th century dairy farming replaced sheep farming.
But despite its financial problems, Fountains Abbey remained of considerable importance in the Cistercian Order. The abbots sat in Parliament and the abbacy of Marmaduke Huby (1495-1526) marked a period of revival. Fountains once again flourished, but its life was brought to an abrupt end in 1539 by Henry VIII's Dissolution of the Monasteries.
For a few months after the Dissolution, the abbey buildings stood empty in the hope of being the site for the cathedral for a new Dales bishopric. This was not to be, and by 1540 glass and lead from the dismantling of Fountains had found their way to Ripon and York.
Fountains Abbey and over 500 acres of land were sold by Henry VIII to Sir Richard Gresham, a merchant. The property was passed down through several generations of Sir Richard's family, finally being sold to Stephen Proctor who built Fountains Hall, an Elizabethan mansion built partly with stone from the abbey ruins, between 1598 and 1604. In 1767 it was sold for £18,000 to William Aislabie, who landscaped the abbey ruins to make a picturesque view from the Water Garden.
Please see our Fountains Abbey Photo Gallery for a virtual tour through 101 captioned photos.
The ruins of Fountains Abbey provide the focal point of the 18th-century landscape garden at Studley Royal, one of the few surviving examples of a Georgian green garden. It's known for its conservation work in the water gardens, ornamental temples, follies, and vistas. The garden is bounded at its northern edge by a lake and 400 acres of deer park.
| Names: | Fountains Abbey |
| Type of site: | Christian monastery, English abbey |
| Faith: | Roman Catholic; Cisterican order |
| Status: | Ruined |
| Date: | 1132 |
| Location: | 6.5km (4 miles) SW of Ripon off the B6265, North Yorkshire, England |
| Phone: | 01765/608888 |
| Hours: | Oct-Mar daily 10am-4pm; Apr-Sept daily 10am-6pm. Closed Dec 24-25, Fri in Nov-Jan. |
| Cost: | £5.50 adults, £3 children, £15 family |
| Directions: | It is easiest to get to Fountains Abbey if you rent a car, but it can also be reached from York by public transportation. Take bus 142 leaving from the York Hall Station to Ripon, 37km (23 miles) to the northwest (A59, A1, and B6265 lead to Ripon). From Ripon, take a taxi 6.5km (4 miles) to the southwest or enjoy the scenic walk. |
- Personal visit (May 2006).
- Official Website of Fountains Abbey.
- Fountains Abbey pamphlet (The National Trust Yorkshire, 2003).
- Frommer's England 2006.
- Official Website of Fountains Abbey
- Studley Royal Park including the Ruins of Fountains Abbey - UNESCO World Heritage List
