Fountains Abbey: History
• Origins
• Sources
• Foundation
• Consolidation
• Trials and Tribulations
• Strength and Stability
• End of Monastic Life

Fountains Abbey: Buildings
• Precinct
• Church
• Cloister
• Sacristy
• Library
• Chapter House
• Parlour
• Dormitory
• Warming House
• Day Room
• Refectory
• Kitchen
• Lay Brothers' Range
• Abbots House
• Infirmary
• Outer Court
• Gatehouse
• Guesthouse

Fountains Abbey: Lands

Fountains Abbey: People

The Abbey Church (continued)

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A building site
Each new church at Fountains was, built on the same site as its predecessor, and not adjacent to it. This was not only unusual but potentially extremely disruptive, for the monks would not simply have had to contend with the noise and debris caused by the construction work, but would surely have had to relocate to another part of the church, or even to another building, while their choir was being built.

The timber church at Fountains was evidently the work of expert carpenters. It was probably a two-storey building and would therefore have been a substantial structure, rather than a simple wooden shack.(4) This timber structure was soon replaced with a small stone church, which was built on the same site. Significantly, it is one of the earliest known stone churches approved by the Cistercian Order.(5)

Abbot Henry Murdac’s vehement opposition to the appointment of William FitzHerbert to the archbishopric of York resulted in an attack on the abbey in 1146, by an angry mob of William’s supporters. The extensive damage to the abbey buildings meant that the church had to be rebuilt. Although this new church was built on the same site as its predecessor, it stood on a terrace about one metre high, and was a much larger and grander building. Indeed, it was a worthy rival to the great abbey church at Rievaulx, and stood as a testimony to the growing success of Fountains. Whilst most of the building work was completed in the 1150s/60s, the church was not finished until c. 1170, during Robert of Pipewell’s abbacy. The core of this structure was retained and served the community throughout the Middle Ages. It is this third church which has been modelled in three-dimensions.