Editing Kirkstall Abbey

{{Short description|Cistercian monastery in West Yorkshire, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2015}}
{{Infobox monastery
|name= Kirkstall Abbey
|image= Kirkstall Abbey in the late afternoon.jpg
|order= [[Cistercian]]
|founder= Abbot Alexander
|established= 1152
|mother= [[Fountains Abbey]]
|disestablished= 1538
|diocese= [[Diocese of York]]
|churches= 
|people= 
|location= [[Kirkstall]], [[Leeds]], [[West Yorkshire]], England
|coordinates= {{coord|53.8210|N|1.6066|W|region:GB_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
|oscoor= {{gbmappingsmall|SE258361}}
|map_type= West Yorkshire
|remains= Substantial
|heritage_designation= [[listed building|Grade I]]
|public_access= Yes
}}

'''Kirkstall Abbey''' is a ruined [[Cistercian]] monastery in [[Kirkstall]], north-west of [[Leeds city centre]] in [[West Yorkshire]], England. It is set in a public park on the north bank of the [[River Aire]]. It was founded {{circa|1152}}. It was disestablished during the [[Dissolution of the Monasteries]] under [[Henry VIII]].

The picturesque [[ruins]] have been drawn and painted by artists such as [[J. M. W. Turner]], [[Thomas Girtin]] and [[John Sell Cotman]].

Kirkstall Abbey was acquired by the [[Leeds City Council|Leeds Corporation]] as a gift from [[John Thomas North|Colonel North]] and opened to the public in the late 19th century. The gatehouse became a museum, which is now part of the [[Leeds Museums & Galleries]] group.

==Foundation==
[[De Lacy#Lords of Pontefract, Bowland and Clitheroe|Henry de Lacy (died 1177)]], [[English feudal barony|Baron]] of [[Pontefract Castle|Pontefract]] and of [[Clitheroe Castle|Clitheroe]], promised to dedicate an abbey to the [[Virgin Mary]] should he survive a serious illness. He recovered and agreed to give the Abbot of [[Fountains Abbey]] land at [[Barnoldswick]] in the [[West Riding of Yorkshire]] (now in [[Lancashire]]) on which to found a daughter abbey. [[Abbot]] Alexander with twelve Cistercian [[monk]]s from Fountains went to Barnoldswick in May 1147 and after demolishing the existing church attempted to build the abbey on Henry de Lacy's land. They stayed for six years but found the place inhospitable. Abbot Alexander set about finding a more suitable place for the abbey and came across a site in the heavily wooded Aire Valley occupied by hermits.<ref name=vch>{{citation |editor-last=Page |editor-first=William |title=Houses of Cistercian monks:Kirkstall|
url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=36238|work=A History of the County of York: Volume 3 |publisher=British History Online |pages=142–146 |year=1974 |access-date=28 March 2010}}</ref>

Alexander sought help from de Lacy, who was sympathetic and helped acquire the land from William de Poitou. The monks moved from Barnoldswick to Kirkstall, displacing the hermits, some of whom joined the abbey, the rest being paid to move. The buildings were mostly completed between 1152, when the monks arrived in Kirkstall, and the end of Alexander's abbacy in 1182.<ref name="Hist">{{Citation |title=Kirkstall History|url=http://cistercians.shef.ac.uk/kirkstall/history/| publisher=shef.ac.uk |access-date=15 March 2010}}</ref> [[Millstone Grit]] for building came from [[Bramley Fall stone|Bramley Fall]] on the opposite side of the river.<ref name="Con">{{Citation |title=Kirkstall History Consolidation|url=http://cistercians.shef.ac.uk/kirkstall/history/consolidation/| publisher=shef.ac.uk |access-date=15 March 2010}}</ref>

== Buildings ==
[[File:Kirkstall Abbey Kirche Hauptschiff.jpg|thumb|right|Interior]]
The English Cistercian houses, of which there are remains at Fountains, [[Rievaulx]], Kirkstall, [[Tintern]] and [[Netley]], were mainly arranged after the same plan, with slight local variations. As an example, below is the groundplan of Kirkstall Abbey, one of the best preserved.{{sfn|Venables|1911}}

[[File:KirkstallAbbey.JPG|200px|thumb|left|Kirkstall Abbey]]
The church is of the Cistercian type, with a short [[chancel]] (3), and [[transept]]s (4) with three eastward [[chapel]]s to each, divided by solid walls. The building is plain, the windows are unornamented, and the [[nave]] (1) has no [[triforium]]. The windows and doorways have round heads, whereas the vaulting arches are pointed and the moldings and capitals also show early [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]] features.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Linstrum|first=Derek|title=Historic Architecture of Leeds|publisher=Oriel Press|year=1969|pages=8}}</ref> During the 15th century, the great east window was replaced with a smaller one. The tower over the crossing was made higher in the 16th century, just before dissolution.<ref name=":0" />

The [[cloister]] to the south (5) occupies the whole length of the nave. On the east side stands the two-aisled [[chapter house]] (7), between which and the south transept is a small [[sacristy]], and on the other side two small apartments, one of which was probably the [[parlour]] (8). Beyond this is the [[calefactory]] or day-room of the monks. Above this whole range of building runs the monks' dormitory, opening by stairs into the south transept of the church.{{sfn|Venables|1911}}

On the south side of the cloister (5) there are the remains of the old refectory, running, as in Benedictine houses, from east to west, and the new refectory (12), which, with the increasing occupancy of the house, superseded it, reoriented, as is usual in Cistercian houses, from north to south. Adjacent to this apartment are the remains of the kitchen, pantry and buttery. The arches of the lavatory are to be seen near the refectory entrance. The western side of the cloister is occupied by vaulted cellars, supporting on the upper story the dormitory of the [[lay brother]]s (9).{{sfn|Venables|1911}}

[[File:Kirkstall Abbey ground plan.GIF|thumb|380px|Kirkstall Abbey layout]]

# [[Nave]]
# [[Tower]]
# [[Chancel|Presbytery]]
# North and south [[transept]]s
# [[Cloister]]
# Library (part of east range, with 7 & 8)
# [[Chapter house]] (part of east range, with 6 & 8)
# [[Parlour]] (part of east range, with 6 & 7)
#[[Lay brother|Lay brothers']] dormitory
# [[Reredorter]]
# The Lane/ malt house
# [[Refectory]]
# [[Calefactory|Warming house]]
# (unknown)
# [[Novice]]s' quarter
# Abbot's lodgings
# Visiting abbot's lodgings
# [[wikt:infirmary|Infirmary]]

Extending from the south-east angle of the main group of buildings are the walls and foundations of a secondary group of buildings (17, 18). These have been identified as the hospitium or the abbot's house, but they occupy the position in which the infirmary is more usually found. The hall was a very spacious apartment, measuring 83&nbsp;ft. in length by 48&nbsp;ft. 9&nbsp;inches in breadth, which was divided by two rows of columns. The fish-ponds lay between the monastery and the river to the south. The abbey mill was situated about 80 yards to the north-west. The millpool may be distinctly traced, together with the [[goit]] or mill stream.{{sfn|Venables|1911}}

== Dissolution and later history ==
[[File:Thomas Girtin 003.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Kirkstall Abbey, by [[Thomas Girtin]]]]
On 22 November 1539 the abbey was surrendered to [[Henry VIII]]'s commissioners in the Dissolution of the monasteries.<ref name="Dis">{{Citation |title=Kirkstall History Dissolution|url=http://cistercians.shef.ac.uk/kirkstall/history/dissolution/| publisher=shef.ac.uk |access-date=15 March 2010}}</ref> It was awarded to [[Thomas Cranmer]] in 1542, but reverted to the crown when Cranmer was executed in 1556. Sir Robert Savile purchased the estate in 1584, and it remained in his family's hands for almost a hundred years. In 1671 it passed into the hands of the Brudenell family, the [[Earl of Cardigan|Earls of Cardigan]]. Much of the stone was removed for re-use in other buildings in the area, including the steps leading to the river bank by [[Leeds Bridge]], in the town centre.<ref>{{cite news |title=Leeds nostalgia: Leeds Bridge |url=https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/your-leeds/nostalgia/leeds-nostalgia-leeds-bridge-1-7215683 |access-date=30 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181001031237/https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/your-leeds/nostalgia/leeds-nostalgia-leeds-bridge-1-7215683 |archive-date=1 October 2018 |work=Yorkshire Evening Post |date=20 April 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

During the 18th century the picturesque ruins attracted artists of the [[Romanticism|Romantic movement]] and were painted by artists including [[J. M. W. Turner]], [[John Sell Cotman]] and [[Thomas Girtin]].<ref name="YAS">{{Citation|title=Celebrating 850 years of Kirkstall Abbey|url=http://www.medieval.yas.org.uk/content/kirkstall.html|publisher=Yorkshire Archaeological Society|access-date=15 March 2010|archive-date=4 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111004055558/http://www.medieval.yas.org.uk/content/kirkstall.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1889 the abbey was sold to [[John Thomas North|Colonel John North]], who presented it to [[Leeds City Council]]. The Council undertook a major restoration project and the abbey was opened to the public in 1895.<ref name="IoE">{{NHLE |num=1256668 |desc=Kirkstall Abbey |access-date=15 March 2010}}</ref>

The [[African Americans|African American]] novelist [[William Wells Brown]] visited Kirkstall Abbey in 1851, writing about his experience.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|last=Williams|first=Joe|date=27 October 2020|title=Nature Prevails at Kirkstall Abbey|url=https://museumsandgalleries.leeds.gov.uk/featured/nature-kirkstall-abbey/|access-date=31 October 2020|website=Leeds Museums and Galleries}}</ref> Using poetry and poetic language, he described the 'pensive beauty' of the desolate ruins in their 'pastoral luxuriance' showing his appreciation of British literature as well as an interest in nature and local history.<ref name=":1" />

Little [[archaeological excavation|excavation]] took place before 1890, after which [[William St John Hope]] led an investigation of the abbey walls and some trees were removed. Extensive excavations were carried out during the 1950s by Leeds City Museums staff (now Leeds Museums & Galleries) under the direction of W. V. Wade of [[Leeds University]].<ref>Owen, D. E., ''Preface'' to [[Thoresby Society]] (1955), ''Kirkstall Abbey Excavations 1950-1954'', pp. ix-x</ref>

== The abbey today ==
[[File:Kirkstall Abbey Kapitelsaal.jpg|thumb|[[Chapter house|Chapter House]] of the abbey]]
[[File:Kirkstall Abbey Kirche von Westen.jpg|thumb|Western Elevation of the abbey]]

The abbey is a Grade I [[listed building]] and [[Scheduled monument|scheduled ancient monument]].<ref name="IoE"/> After a £5.5&nbsp;million renovation programme there is a new visitor centre with interactive exhibits which illustrates the history of the abbey and the lives of the monks. Entry to the Abbey itself is via the visitor centre.

The {{convert|23.5|hectare|acre}} grounds surrounding the abbey form a public park which includes landscaped grounds, open grassland, tennis courts, children's play area, rugby union and football pitches.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.greenflagaward.org/park-summary/?park=252|title=Kirkstall Abbey|publisher=[[Green Flag Award]]|accessdate=21 March 2024}}</ref>

On the other side of the main road, the Grade II* listed former abbey gatehouse now forms the [[Abbey House Museum]].

===Cultural events===

The ''Leeds Shakespeare Festival'', performed by the [[British Shakespeare Company]], took place annually in the cloisters from 1995 until 2009. The abbey grounds are a public park, and are used for occasional events such as the annual Kirkstall Festival and the Kirkstall Fantasia open-air concerts.

The Abbey was also used on 19 March 2011 for the live [[BBC Three]] event ''[[Frankenstein's Wedding|Frankenstein's Wedding... Live in Leeds]]''. A live music drama starring Andrew Gower and [[Lacey Turner]] as fiancees Victor Frankenstein and Elizabeth Lavenza.

On 10 and 11 September 2011 the [[Kaiser Chiefs]] played two concerts at Kirkstall Abbey to a maximum audience of 10,000 on each day.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/latest-news/leeds_kaiser_chiefs_announce_second_date_after_sell_out_1_3468348 | newspaper=Yorkshire Evening Post | title=Kaiser Chiefs announce second date after sell out|access-date=10 June 2011 | archive-date=12 June 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110612142427/http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/latest-news/leeds_kaiser_chiefs_announce_second_date_after_sell_out_1_3468348 | url-status=dead}}</ref>

The [[BBC Television]] series ''[[Gunpowder (TV series)|Gunpowder]]'' (2017) used Kirkstall Abbey as a filming location.<ref name="hordley">{{cite web|last1=Hordley|first1=Chris|title=Where was BBC's Gunpowder Filmed?|url=http://www.creativeengland.co.uk/story/Where-BBC-Gunpowder-filmed|publisher=[[Creative England]]|access-date=29 November 2017|date=20 October 2017|archive-date=4 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190504014308/http://creativeengland.co.uk/story/Where-BBC-Gunpowder-filmed|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==See also==
[[File:Abbey House Museum.jpg|thumb|[[Abbey House Museum]] in the gatehouse]]
*[[Grade I listed buildings in West Yorkshire]]
*[[Listed buildings in Leeds (Kirkstall Ward)]]
*[[Abbey House Museum]]
*[[Architecture of Leeds]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
{{Refbegin}}
*{{EB1911|last=Venables|first=Edmund|authorlink=Edmund Venables|wstitle=Abbey/Kirkstall Abbey}}
{{Refend}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Kirkstall Abbey}}
* [https://museumsandgalleries.leeds.gov.uk/kirkstall-abbey/ Kirkstall Abbey official website]
* [http://www.kirkstall.org.uk/abbey/ Kirkstall Abbey on Kirkstall Online community website] – history, description and photographs, predating recent restoration project

{{Listed buildings in Leeds}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Cistercian monasteries in England]]
[[Category:1150s establishments in England]]
[[Category:Roman Catholic churches in Leeds]]
[[Category:Listed buildings in Leeds]]
[[Category:Grade I listed churches in Leeds]]
[[Category:Grade I listed monasteries]]
[[Category:Monasteries in West Yorkshire]]
[[Category:Ruins in West Yorkshire]]
[[Category:Museums in Leeds]]
[[Category:Religious museums in England]]
[[Category:Parks and commons in Leeds]]
[[Category:Christian monasteries established in the 1150s]]
[[Category:Scheduled monuments in West Yorkshire]]
[[Category:1538 disestablishments in England]]
[[Category:Ruined abbeys and monasteries]]
[[Category:Grade I listed ruins]]
[[Category:Kirkstall|Abbey]]
[[Category:Monasteries dissolved under the English Reformation]]