The main cloistral complex, Fountains and Studley Royal

Summary

The main surviving built structures of the monastic complex of Fountains Abbey

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Description

The cloistral complex of the abbey is its best preserved element. It is construCted of dressed sandstone masonry, derived from quarry points in the adjoining cliffs, and incorporates a variety of architectural styles reflecting the changing tastes of the centuries during which it evolved. The bulk of the complex was completed between 1132 and 1200, though many of its components were later modified.

The complex consists of a Church (forming its northern side), and then a Chapter House, Warming House, Monks Refectory, Kitchen and Lay Brother's wing, moving clockwise around the central square cloister. Cistercian abbeys were all laid out to a standard pattern, and Fountains is no exception; however, in order to achieve this, on the required scale, a system of 17 tunnels had to be constructed to convey the river Skell under the southern elements of the complex.

In general, the walls survive to at least first floor levels. It is notable that it is those areas nearest the Abbot's Lodging (30432/3) and those near the river which have suffered worst. In most cases, however, damage has been limited to that which was caused by carrying out the terms of the Dissolution Act (eg: slighting the Church and Chapter House, so that religious services could never be held there again) and the removal of more valuable resaleable materials such as lead and glass. However, it should also be noted that certain structural elements were demolished by William Aislabie (after his acquisition of the abbey in December 1767) for "improvements" dictated by aesthetic tastes.

The surviving structures are generally open to the sky, with the exceptions of the Warming House, Muniment room, the trancept chapels and the magnificent Cellarium.

Documentary evidence suggests limited agricultural reuse of the buildings in the later 16th century, and perhaps industrial use (lead smelting in the Warming House) in the early seventeenth century.

The owners from 1627 to 1767 were the Messenger family, who appear to have had antiquarian sympathies. Hence, perhaps, the preservation of the ruins, although there is much mid-eighteenth century criticism of Mr. Messenger for allowing cows to wander loose in the building, and brambles to grow unhindered!

William Aislabie's acquisition in 1767 allowed the use of the ruins as a garden feature, with some resultant clearance and demolition. A shrubbery, of sorts, was created in the Cloister. The first antiquarian excavations took place in the 1790s in the Chapter House and were continued by J.R.Walbran in 1847-57, St.John-Hope in the 1880s, and various excavators in the present century. Latterly, the site has been the subject of intensive investigation, linked to the restoration programme, by English Heritage.

Eighteenth to early-twentieth century use is evidenced in a variety of ways. The core of the complex was sealed off by wooden doors and latterly iron gates, which were kept locked much of the time (see 1805, Fothergill diary, where a key was collected from Studley Lodge, and 1894 Macquoid account, where he was locked in and had to climb out of the Chapter House Window). Several iron gates (including splendid ornate ones at the northern end of the Lay Brothers Refectory) survive, as do numerous hinge pivots elsewhere. The Muniment Room - over the Warming House - is paved and glazed, having seen service as the meeting room of the Fountains Court Leet until 1840, and latterly as a museum (from 1855). Agricultural uses are only slightly indicated today - by the tank in the centre of the cloister which appears to have been a cider press originally sited in the cellarium, and mentioned in the earliest tourist account, dated 1685.

Restoration: EH are currently conducting a rolling programme of consolidation, sometimes removing earlier consolidation. Little in the way of reconstructed masonry is apparent. Exceptions include the pavement of the High Altar (probably rebuilt by Aislabie early in the 1770s; Gilpin says that he undertook architectural reconstruction elsewhere, but it is not clear where), and the southern end of the Cellarium, which collapsed in 1822 and was rebuilt to a standard which makes the repair almost impossible to relocate. Features of the Choir and Nave were excavated by Walbran and left exposed to the elements into the early years of the present century, but have since been reburied. The Narthex was also rediscovered by Walbran, and rebuilt in 1859.

Floodlighting: An aspect of the C20 management of the site was the installation of floodlights. The first scheme was installed in 1932, and most recently replaced in 1993.

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