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Fountains Abbey: 03. Library Passage

Location
(54°6′35″N, 1°34′56″W)
Fountains Abbey: 03. Library Passage
SE 274 683
17 Jul 2001, 25 May 2015

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Description

The passage at Fountains joins the cloister to the infirmary walk. It was developed from previous uses in the later twelfth century and thus its remains are rather disjointed. The W section has a half-barrel vault and once served as a library; the 4th bay of the rib-vaulted area was entered from the S transept and was a sacristy; the four E bays were newly-enclosed in the late twelfth century. As well as W and E entrances, there is an entrance from the transept, which is still open, and there is a blocked entrance in the S wall which led into the vestibule of the chapter house, where more books were kept [we all know the problem of books] (Gilyard-Beer 1970, 45). The passage is windowless.

For further information, see report for Fountains Abbey, church.

History

Gilyard-Beer narrates the various divisions which were made within the passage in monastic times, and its use as a charnel house after the Dissolution until it was opened in 1854 (Gilyard-Beer 1970, 44-45).

Some time in the later twelfth century a ribbed vault was put on the five eastern bays, while the bay to the W, supporting the night stairs from the monks dormitory to the S transept, remained with its original half-barrel vault. The corbels are thus of both periods.

Features

Exterior Features

Doorways

Interior Features

Vaulting/Roof Supports

Other
Bibliography

G. Coppack, The English Heritage Book of Fountains Abbey (London, 1993).

R. Gilyard Beer, Fountains Abbey, North Yorkshire (HMSO, 1970).