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  • The Masonic Magazine
  • Feb. 1, 1882
  • Page 28
  • FOUNTAINS ABBEY, YORKSHIRE.
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The Masonic Magazine, Feb. 1, 1882: Page 28

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Page 28

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Fountains Abbey, Yorkshire.

building in the monastery , this of Fountains being the longest known . There was always an approach from this building to the west end of the church , and thus the conversi were able to obtain access to that part of the church they occupied , whilst the fratres would reach it at the east end ; their functions necessarily occupying them about the choir at the east end of the church , access from their dormitory being acquired by a second storey being placed

over all the buildings between the fratry and the south wall of the transept , and a fli ght of stairs thence into the transept . This second storey contained the library or scriptorium , a very important part of the establishment as it was where the books and illuminated MSS . were kept and written by the accomplished monks of the Middle Ages , to whose labours we owe so much . The abbats' lodge , infirmary , abbey mill , and gate-house were situate as local circn instances necessitated .

You will thus find we have on the north of the cloister quadrangle the conventual church ; on the east , the south wing of the transept , the sacristy , and penitential cell , the chapter-house , passages , ancl fratry , whilst over the chapter-house and cells is the scriptorium ; on the south side the stairs to the monks' dormitory , the kitchen , refectory , and offices ; and on the west side the Domus Conversorum . Perhaps no Cistercian abbey remaining could be examined where the whole of these arrangements can be demonstrated so fullas

y the one within whose precincts you now stand . I need scarcely point out the fact that some considerable time must have been occupied in the erection of this vast pile of masonry . The crossings , transept , nava , narthex ( portico ) , chapter-house , refectory , Domus Conversorum , fratry , the buildings on the west side , and the infirmary , were mostl y built during the latter part of the twelfth century , and are transitional in character . During the whole of this

time the work of building could never have ceased . We learn from " The Memorials of Fountains Abbey , " from the narrative of Hugh , monk of Kirkstall , that after the election of the abbat Murdac , some partisans of his deposed predecessor , disappointed in their expectations of finding Murdac at Fountains , set fire to the monastery , which , together with half the "oratory , " was

consumed . The monks , aided by the nei ghbouring gentry , soon repaired this , which , doubtless , included onl y the inflammable portion of the building , as no trace of its effects remain . Earl y in the thirteenth century ( 1203 ) John Abbat , a Yorkshireman , projected the erection of the choir . He died , and the work was carried on by John , after Bishop of Ely , and ultimately finished by another John , a Kentishman . He ( John of Kent ) also built the lady chapel , the southern

half of the monks' dormitory , with an undercroft for the purpose of an ambulatory , an infirmary , and two houses for the entertainment of strangers ; he also built the abbat ' s house , which assigns him the distinction of having erected one of the noblest works of domestic architecture raised within the kingdom in his time . He died in 1247 , having possibly seen the buildings of the Abbey nearly completed . A subsequent period of distress and povertwas in the

y next century followed by great prosperity , many persons of power and opulence purchasing sepulture within its walls b y large gifts to the Abbey . Kings , popes , and prelates held it in hi gh favour ; and , enriched by a series of princel y gifts , it became one of the wealthiest monasteries in the kingdom . The church was amongst the fairest in the land , and its domains comprehended a vast extent of territory .

Ihemonastery was surrendered b y deed in 1539 , and in 1540 the king sold it to Sir Richard Gresham ; b y his descendants it was sold , in 1597 , to Sir Stephen Proctor , of Warsell , who pulled down the abbat ' s house and the minor offices , thereby making a quarry to obtain materials for the building of the mansion now standing near the west gate . The widow of Sir Stephen Proctor sold the property , in 1623 , to Sir Timothy Whittingham , from whom it passed to Humphrey Wharton , Esq ., of Gillingwood , who , in 1627 , sold it to Richard Ewens , Esq ., of South Oowton , whose daughter and heiress carried it into the

“The Masonic Magazine: 1882-02-01, Page 28” Masonic Periodicals Online, Library and Museum of Freemasonry, 29 May 2025, django:8000/periodicals/mmg/issues/mmg_01021882/page/28/.
  • List
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Title Category Page
FREEMASONRY IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY ; CHESTER, 1650-1700—APPENDIX. Article 1
THE QUEEN AND THE CRAFT. Article 12
DOCUMENTA LATOMICA INEDITA. Article 13
ACTS OF PARLIAMENT RELATING TO CRAFTSMEN. Article 18
ADONHIRAMITE MASONRY. Article 20
FOUNTAINS ABBEY, YORKSHIRE. Article 25
RELIEF. Article 32
USE OF THE WORD FREEMASON. Article 33
THE LANTERN AT PLUMPTON HALL. Article 34
AFTER ALL; Article 36
LITERARY GOSSIP. Article 41
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

Fountains Abbey, Yorkshire.

building in the monastery , this of Fountains being the longest known . There was always an approach from this building to the west end of the church , and thus the conversi were able to obtain access to that part of the church they occupied , whilst the fratres would reach it at the east end ; their functions necessarily occupying them about the choir at the east end of the church , access from their dormitory being acquired by a second storey being placed

over all the buildings between the fratry and the south wall of the transept , and a fli ght of stairs thence into the transept . This second storey contained the library or scriptorium , a very important part of the establishment as it was where the books and illuminated MSS . were kept and written by the accomplished monks of the Middle Ages , to whose labours we owe so much . The abbats' lodge , infirmary , abbey mill , and gate-house were situate as local circn instances necessitated .

You will thus find we have on the north of the cloister quadrangle the conventual church ; on the east , the south wing of the transept , the sacristy , and penitential cell , the chapter-house , passages , ancl fratry , whilst over the chapter-house and cells is the scriptorium ; on the south side the stairs to the monks' dormitory , the kitchen , refectory , and offices ; and on the west side the Domus Conversorum . Perhaps no Cistercian abbey remaining could be examined where the whole of these arrangements can be demonstrated so fullas

y the one within whose precincts you now stand . I need scarcely point out the fact that some considerable time must have been occupied in the erection of this vast pile of masonry . The crossings , transept , nava , narthex ( portico ) , chapter-house , refectory , Domus Conversorum , fratry , the buildings on the west side , and the infirmary , were mostl y built during the latter part of the twelfth century , and are transitional in character . During the whole of this

time the work of building could never have ceased . We learn from " The Memorials of Fountains Abbey , " from the narrative of Hugh , monk of Kirkstall , that after the election of the abbat Murdac , some partisans of his deposed predecessor , disappointed in their expectations of finding Murdac at Fountains , set fire to the monastery , which , together with half the "oratory , " was

consumed . The monks , aided by the nei ghbouring gentry , soon repaired this , which , doubtless , included onl y the inflammable portion of the building , as no trace of its effects remain . Earl y in the thirteenth century ( 1203 ) John Abbat , a Yorkshireman , projected the erection of the choir . He died , and the work was carried on by John , after Bishop of Ely , and ultimately finished by another John , a Kentishman . He ( John of Kent ) also built the lady chapel , the southern

half of the monks' dormitory , with an undercroft for the purpose of an ambulatory , an infirmary , and two houses for the entertainment of strangers ; he also built the abbat ' s house , which assigns him the distinction of having erected one of the noblest works of domestic architecture raised within the kingdom in his time . He died in 1247 , having possibly seen the buildings of the Abbey nearly completed . A subsequent period of distress and povertwas in the

y next century followed by great prosperity , many persons of power and opulence purchasing sepulture within its walls b y large gifts to the Abbey . Kings , popes , and prelates held it in hi gh favour ; and , enriched by a series of princel y gifts , it became one of the wealthiest monasteries in the kingdom . The church was amongst the fairest in the land , and its domains comprehended a vast extent of territory .

Ihemonastery was surrendered b y deed in 1539 , and in 1540 the king sold it to Sir Richard Gresham ; b y his descendants it was sold , in 1597 , to Sir Stephen Proctor , of Warsell , who pulled down the abbat ' s house and the minor offices , thereby making a quarry to obtain materials for the building of the mansion now standing near the west gate . The widow of Sir Stephen Proctor sold the property , in 1623 , to Sir Timothy Whittingham , from whom it passed to Humphrey Wharton , Esq ., of Gillingwood , who , in 1627 , sold it to Richard Ewens , Esq ., of South Oowton , whose daughter and heiress carried it into the

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