The place was called Fountains, where, at that
time and afterwards so many drank of waters springing
up to eternal life as from the fountains of the Saviour.
[William of Newburgh, twelfth-century Augustinian
canon (1)]
Fountains
Abbey was the second Cistercian outpost founded in the North
of England. The first community overcame rather difficult
beginnings to establish what was to become the largest and richest
Cistercian abbey in the country. Fountains spawned an extensive
family that extended as far as Norway, and the abbey played a
prominent role in the export of wool. Throughout the Middle Ages,
Fountains
had its fair share of crises and triumphs, and became embroiled
in political and ecclesiastical affairs. On several occasions
the community stood at the very forefront of international events:
in the mid-twelfth century, the abbey spearheaded opposition
to
the controversial appointment of William
FitzHerbert as archbishop
of York and led a delegation to the papacy; in the fifteenth
century, ructions over the appointment of Roger
Frank to the abbacy
of Fountains
caused the intervention of the pope, parliament and even the
Council of Constance [1414-1418].
Fountains Abbey is of continuing
importance today. It is a World Heritage site and the ruins are
amongst the most significant
monastic remains in Europe. These include the oldest surviving
Cistercian
water-mill, a splendid twelfth-century western range (once
occupied by the lay-brothers), and a magnificent tower erected
by Abbot
Marmaduke Huby in the sixteenth century. Fountains has also
given rise to exciting archaeological discoveries, with the identification
of the first timber buildings, begun in 1134, and the layout
of the guest complex - geophysical survey reveals a clear outline
of the guesthall that once stood alongside the two remaining
guesthouses,
but is now invisible to the eye. Fountains is currently the
focus
of an extensive archaeological and architectural research project
which, when complete, will make it one of the most clearly
understood and well documented medieval abbeys.