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SE54 Fountains Abbey, Yorkshire |
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The most splendid surviving example of a Cistercian Monastery, and also the most beautifully sited. It bestrides a half mile reach of Skeldale, between the quarried face of Rye Bank and the well wooded south side of the river. Its founders were a handful of Benedictines determined to establish a more cultured way of life, discovering the site in 1132. Because clear water sprang from the sheltering rocks, they named their new abode, Fountains. A seven storey tower rising 170 feet dominates the site, the creation of Abbot Huby in the 15th century. At the Dissolution, Fountains was the richest Cistercian prize to fall to Henry VIII.
Illustration: Background of this print is pure white |