Fountains Abbey

I'm sure many people knew that my 'tiny planet' yesterday was made from a panoramic shot of the famous Fountains Abbey, near Ripon, North Yorkshire, now in the care of the National Trust.  A former Cistercian monastery, founded in 1132, it became one of the wealthiest monasteries in England by the mid-1200s, thanks to its extensive land holdings farmed by lay brothers, and sales of wool. It later suffered problems with disease in its sheep, raids by the Scots into the north of England, and finally the Black Death (1348-49) which decimated the population. The Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539 was the end of that story, but the estate was sold to gentry and a mansion (Fountains Hall) was built, partially from stone from the Abbey itself. In the 1700s, John and William Aislabie linked the Abbey site with neighbouring Studley Royal to form extensive, landscaped water gardens and a deer park, with the abbey ruins as a romantic centrepiece. The whole estate is now a designated World Heritage Site. 

There are lovely views of the ruins from the banks of the River Skell, which runs alongside. 

Enough of the buildings survive to give a good idea of the size of the monastery and the use of its various parts.

The floor plan of the abbey church is clear, with the 49m high tower, added in the early 1500s, still largely intact.

To my mind, the most atmospheric part is the vaulted Cellarium, originally divided up into storerooms, whose pillars supported the lay brothers' dormitory above. I love its soaring arches and the play of light and shade.