Kirkstall Abbey

Kirkstall Abbey is a ruined Cistercian monastery in the western outskirts of Leeds in Yorkshire, set in grounds which are now a public park on the north bank of the River Aire. It was founded "c."1152 and was over seventy five years in construction. It was closed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries under the auspices of Henry VIII. The ruins have been painted by artists such as J.M.W. Turner.

The buildings

The English Cistercian houses, of which there are such extensive and beautiful remains at Fountains, Rievaulx, Kirkstall, Tintern, Netley, etc., were mainly arranged after the same plan, with slight local variations. As an example, below is the groundplan of Kirkstall Abbey, one of the best preserved.

The church here is of the Cistercian type, with a short chancel of two squares, and transepts (4) with three eastward chapels to each, divided by solid walls. The whole is of the most studied plainness. The windows are unornamented, and the nave (1) has no triforium. The cloister to the south (5) occupies the whole length of the nave. On the east side stands the two-aisled chapter-house (7), between which and the south transept is a small sacristy, and on the other side two small apartments, one of which was probably the parlour (8). Beyond this stretches southward the calefactory or day-room of the monks. Above this whole range of building runs the monks' dormitory, opening by stairs into the south transept of the church.

On the south side of the cloister (5) we have the remains of the old refectory, running, as in Benedictine houses, from east to west, and the new refectory (12), which, with the increase of the inmates of the house, superseded it, stretching, as is usual in Cistercian houses, from north to south. Adjacent to this apartment are the remains of the kitchen, pantry and buttery. The arches of the lavatory are to be seen near the refectory entrance. The western side of the cloister is, as usual, occupied by vaulted cellars, supporting on the upper story the dormitory of the lay brothers (9).

# Nave
# Tower
# Presbytery
# North and south transepts
# Cloister
# Library (part of east range, with 7 & 8)
# Chapter house (part of east range, with 6 & 8)
# Parlour (part of east range, with 6 & 7)
# Lay brothers' dormitory
# Reredorter
# The Lane/ malt house
# Refectory
# Warming house
# (unknown)
# Novices' quarter
# Abbot's lodgings
# Visiting abbot's lodgings
# Infirmary

Extending from the south-east angle of the main group of buildings are the walls and foundations of a secondary group of considerable extent (17, 18). These have been identified either with the hospitium or with the abbot's house, but they occupy the position in which the infirmary is more usually found. The hall was a very spacious apartment, measuring 83 ft. in length by 48 ft. 9 inches in breadth, and was divided by two rows of columns. The fish-ponds lay between the monastery and the river to the south. The abbey mill was situated about 80 yards to the north-west. The millpool may be distinctly traced, together with the gowt or mill stream.The 'Drain' shown on the diagram is a small underground tunnel which leads north alongside the river Aire, to a large manor house in the nearby village of Horsforth.

Dissolution and later history

On 22 November 1539 the abbey was surrendered to Henry VIII's commissioners in the Dissolution of the monasteries. In 1671 it passed into the hands of the Brudenell family, Earls of Cardigan. Much of the stone was removed for re-use in other buildings in the area, including the steps leading to Leeds Bridge.

During the 18th century the picturesque ruins attracted artists of the Romantic movement and were painted by artists including Turner. In 1889 the abbey was sold to Colonel John North, who presented it to Leeds City Council. The Council undertook a major restoration project and the abbey was opened to the public in 1895.

The abbey today

The abbey is a Grade 1 listed building. After a £5.5M renovation programme there is a new visitor centre which illustrates the history of the abbey. The abbey gatehouse forms the Abbey House Museum. The annual "Leeds Shakespeare Festival", performed by the British Shakespeare Company, took place in the cloisters until 2007. The abbey grounds are a public park, and are used for occasional events such as the annual Kirkstall Festival and the Kirkstall Fantasia open-air concerts.

ee Also

*Kirkstall
*Architecture in Leeds

External links

* [http://www.leeds.gov.uk/files/Internet2007/2006/week38/inter__4EF991CD1325D6EE80256E1B004CEC00_5c28daa0-5bdf-4e90-8f3f-ce6e56a0c8f3.pdf Visitor information]
* [http://www.leeds.gov.uk/kirkstallabbey/ Kirkstall Abbey official website]
* [http://www.kirkstall.org.uk/abbey/ Kirkstall Abbey on Kirkstall Online community website] - history,description and photographs, predating recent restoration project
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* [http://www.johnleach.co.uk/photography/places/leeds/0307-kirkstall-abbey/ Kirkstall Abbey Photogallery, July 2003]
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