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Fountains Abbey: History
Fountains Abbey: Buildings
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The sacristy (1/1) The sacristy adjoined the south transept of the church and was connected by a door. Liturgical vessels, vestments and books used in the Mass and Canonical Offices were stored for safekeeping in the sacristy, under the watchful eye of the sacrist. An inventory taken at the time of the Dissolution indicates that Fountains at this time owned a number of rich vestments. The list refers to gold, silk and velvet cloths, including, six gold copes, twenty-six white damask copes and four of white velvet, six red silk copes, with images of stars and flowers, a black silk cope, nine of red damask and two of red silk. Various altar cloths are mentioned and other miscellaneous items, such as a velvet cloth for the crucifix and two cushions for the mitre.(32) The sacristy was also used by ordained members of the community to robe in vestments for services, and it was thus necessary that this room was close to the church. An extraordinary discovery was
made at Fountains in the mid-nineteenth century when the walls
to the south of the southern transept, which
blocked off the sacristy, were removed. Four hundred skeletons
were exposed and it has been suggested that these represent ‘the
dead of a local Civil War action.’ (33) |