Fountains Abbey was founded in 1132 by 13 Benedictine monks from St. Mary's Abbey in York who were seeking a simpler life. They immediately placed themselves under St. Bernard, who sent Geoffrey of Clairvaux to teach them the Cistercian Rule. They later became Cistercian monks.
After two years of privation and poverty, they decided to leave England and seek a home among their brethren abroad, but this became unnecessary when Hugh, Dean of York, joined them, bringing with him money and property. Building of the abbey, the ruins of which still stand, was finished before the year 1250.
In 1146, a colony of monks was sent to Bergen in Norway, and the monasteries of Sawley, Roche, Woburn, Meaux, Kirkstall, and Vandy were founded from Fountains.
About Fountains
Fountains Abbey was founded in 1132 by 13 Benedictine monks from St. Mary's Abbey in York who were seeking a simpler life. They immediately placed themselves under St. Bernard, who sent Geoffrey of Clairvaux to teach them the Cistercian Rule. They later became Cistercian monks.
After two years of privation and poverty, they decided to leave England and seek a home among their brethren abroad, but this became unnecessary when Hugh, Dean of York, joined them, bringing with him money and property. Building of the abbey, the ruins of which still stand, was finished before the year 1250.
In 1146, a colony of monks was sent to Bergen in Norway, and the monasteries of Sawley, Roche, Woburn, Meaux, Kirkstall, and Vandy were founded from Fountains.
About Fountains