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  • The Masonic Magazine
  • Feb. 1, 1882
  • Page 31
  • FOUNTAINS ABBEY, YORKSHIRE.
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The Masonic Magazine, Feb. 1, 1882: Page 31

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Page 31

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Fountains Abbey, Yorkshire.

elegant mode of decoration . The upper and chief platform is in three compartments , and has been relaid with clue attention to its original design . Near the north-west corner of the hi gh altar a stone coffin was found , which is still to be seen , which is supposed to have contained the remains of Henry , Lord Percy , of Alnwick , obit . 1315 .

The Lady Chapel , or the Chapel of the Nine Altars , is considered the most beautiful part of the church ; it adds much to the magnificence of the building , but was not a very usual addition . In this case it extends the eastern fagade of the church to the fine extent of 150 feet in length , and presents a plain and somewhat massive specimen of Early English architecture , with numerous well proportioned details . It was completed by John de Canciathough some

, additions were made to it as late as the end of the fifteenth century . The great east window and appurtenant buttresses display the magnificence of the latest period of Gothic architecture . It had nine li ghts and a transom , but all the tracery has long since disappeared . The other original windows of this front which still remain are beautified outside in the lower range by banded shafts and divided by massive half-octagonal buttresses . In each gable a large

plain window has been inserted , in place of the original wheel windows . Some innovations were made in the time of Abbat Darnton , and there are several sculptured figures , showing they were insertions of later date than the chief erection of John de Cancia , as the human figure was not introduced until after the time when the rule of the order became more lax than in the thirteenthcentury . Nine altars were introduced into the chapel by John de Canciabut no

, record of their particular dedications is known to exist . Indications of their several piscinee , which were of wood , can be traced , and one curious example in stone is nearly perfect . It is a curious fact that in the excavations only a few scraps of glass wera found . I presume , owing to its great value , it would be solcl at the time of the Reformation .

The cloister court is reached from the church by a doorway in the southeast corner of the south aisle of the nave . A base of masonry is seen in the centre of the quadrangle , supporting the lavatory , I believe now in its ori ginal position , where it was replaced in 1859 . It had at one time been used as a crab or cider-mill by one of the owners of Studley . Formerly the quadrangle was surrounded by a penthouse cloister . It is 128 feet square . Here I may point out to you the arrangements of the general lan of the

p Cistercian order of architecture alread y detailed . On the north , the conventual church ; on the east , the chapter-house and other buildings used by the monks of the fraternity ; on the south , the refectory , kitchen , and other offices ; and on the west , the buildings allotted to the lay brethren . The chapter-house is separated from the south wing of the transept by the sacristy and penitential cell . It is of a date between that of the building of the

transept and the Earl y English choir , and bears no assimilation in st yle to the other buildings of the Abbey . It was most probably built by the fourth abbat , Richard Fastolph , formerly Prior of Clarevaux , who obtained the design from Clarevaux , where he had resided . In size it is little inferior to any rectangular chapter-house in the kingdom , being 87 feet 7 inches by 41 feet . Ten rounded marble columns divided it into three aislesbut these are ruined to

, their bases . A triple tier of stone benches remain as used by the convent in its chapters . From 1170 to 1345 it was the invariable burial-place of the abbats , with two exceptions . Over the chapter-house was the library and scriptorium , and other apartments , the extent of which can be judged from the outside of the south wing of the transept which they joined , and from which they were approached .

The frater-house , in the south-east angle of the eastern range of buildings , was a fine vaulted apartment of Transition Norman work , 104 feet long by 29 feet broad , with a dormitory over corresponding in size .

“The Masonic Magazine: 1882-02-01, Page 31” Masonic Periodicals Online, Library and Museum of Freemasonry, 30 May 2025, django:8000/periodicals/mmg/issues/mmg_01021882/page/31/.
  • 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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Page 31

Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

Fountains Abbey, Yorkshire.

elegant mode of decoration . The upper and chief platform is in three compartments , and has been relaid with clue attention to its original design . Near the north-west corner of the hi gh altar a stone coffin was found , which is still to be seen , which is supposed to have contained the remains of Henry , Lord Percy , of Alnwick , obit . 1315 .

The Lady Chapel , or the Chapel of the Nine Altars , is considered the most beautiful part of the church ; it adds much to the magnificence of the building , but was not a very usual addition . In this case it extends the eastern fagade of the church to the fine extent of 150 feet in length , and presents a plain and somewhat massive specimen of Early English architecture , with numerous well proportioned details . It was completed by John de Canciathough some

, additions were made to it as late as the end of the fifteenth century . The great east window and appurtenant buttresses display the magnificence of the latest period of Gothic architecture . It had nine li ghts and a transom , but all the tracery has long since disappeared . The other original windows of this front which still remain are beautified outside in the lower range by banded shafts and divided by massive half-octagonal buttresses . In each gable a large

plain window has been inserted , in place of the original wheel windows . Some innovations were made in the time of Abbat Darnton , and there are several sculptured figures , showing they were insertions of later date than the chief erection of John de Cancia , as the human figure was not introduced until after the time when the rule of the order became more lax than in the thirteenthcentury . Nine altars were introduced into the chapel by John de Canciabut no

, record of their particular dedications is known to exist . Indications of their several piscinee , which were of wood , can be traced , and one curious example in stone is nearly perfect . It is a curious fact that in the excavations only a few scraps of glass wera found . I presume , owing to its great value , it would be solcl at the time of the Reformation .

The cloister court is reached from the church by a doorway in the southeast corner of the south aisle of the nave . A base of masonry is seen in the centre of the quadrangle , supporting the lavatory , I believe now in its ori ginal position , where it was replaced in 1859 . It had at one time been used as a crab or cider-mill by one of the owners of Studley . Formerly the quadrangle was surrounded by a penthouse cloister . It is 128 feet square . Here I may point out to you the arrangements of the general lan of the

p Cistercian order of architecture alread y detailed . On the north , the conventual church ; on the east , the chapter-house and other buildings used by the monks of the fraternity ; on the south , the refectory , kitchen , and other offices ; and on the west , the buildings allotted to the lay brethren . The chapter-house is separated from the south wing of the transept by the sacristy and penitential cell . It is of a date between that of the building of the

transept and the Earl y English choir , and bears no assimilation in st yle to the other buildings of the Abbey . It was most probably built by the fourth abbat , Richard Fastolph , formerly Prior of Clarevaux , who obtained the design from Clarevaux , where he had resided . In size it is little inferior to any rectangular chapter-house in the kingdom , being 87 feet 7 inches by 41 feet . Ten rounded marble columns divided it into three aislesbut these are ruined to

, their bases . A triple tier of stone benches remain as used by the convent in its chapters . From 1170 to 1345 it was the invariable burial-place of the abbats , with two exceptions . Over the chapter-house was the library and scriptorium , and other apartments , the extent of which can be judged from the outside of the south wing of the transept which they joined , and from which they were approached .

The frater-house , in the south-east angle of the eastern range of buildings , was a fine vaulted apartment of Transition Norman work , 104 feet long by 29 feet broad , with a dormitory over corresponding in size .

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