Image ID: 00548

Fountains Abbey

Date: c1910

Fountains Abbey is one of the largest and best preserved ruined Cistercian monasteries in England. It was established in 1132 by Benedictine monks from St Mary's Abbey, York. The abbey operated for 407 years, until 1539, when Henry VIII ordered the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Park became a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986. This view is of the east of the abbey church over what was the abbey graveyard, now lawn; the Chapel of Nine Altars is facing the viewer, with the tower constructed by Abbot Huby in the very early 16th century, not long before the Dissolution of the Monasteries, to the right.

Courtesy of Robert Cox

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KeywordsChurches