Fountains Abbey: The story of a mediæval monasteryHodges, George
History
Fountains Abbey: The story of a mediæval monastery
Hodges, George
Fountains Abbey (North Yorkshire, England)
The meat bones in the rubbish heap suggest the near neighbourhood of the
House of Merciful Meals. This is the room which lies to the south of the
reservoir and the coal-yard. A screen extended across the east end of
the misericord, and there was a dais for the high table at the west end.
Along the north wall are still remains of one of the stone benches.
Tables stood here, as in the refectory of the cloister.
The long corridor ended at the door of the infirmary. This was a noble
group of buildings, now ruined almost to the ground. There was a great
hall, one of the finest in the kingdom, with two rows of stately
pillars. It had a fire-place at each end, and the aisles were divided by
partitions into small rooms, some having fire-places of their own. Back
of it, to the east, reached by broad stone steps, eight of which remain,
stood a two-storied structure, with vaulted basement probably for
domestic stores, and with upper apartments which may have served for the
entertainment of guests of unusual distinction. Up these stairs, then,
attended by officers of the Abbey, went the Nevilles, the Marmions, the
Mauleverers, on their visits to the monastery. In the chamber above
slept the abbot of Clairvaux, when he came on his round of inspection of
the Cistercian houses. Adjoining this lodging, on the south, was the
chapel, into which a flight of narrow stairs descended from this
guest-room. The base of the altar is still _in situ_. Next the chapel,
with a yard between, was the spacious kitchen, whose great round ovens
are still in place. Here, was cooked the food for the infirmary, for the
misericord, and for the occupants of the lodging. A staircase beside the
chapel-door seems to have led from the kitchen to the guest-room, over
the arch of the entrance.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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