What a beautiful day we had to walk around here.
We were there early and there were very few people.
Founded in 1132, the abbey operated for 407 years.
In 1170, around 60 monks were living at Fountains Abbey, along with 200 lay brothers.
The lay brothers were essential to the survival of the Abbey, because they were skilled craftsmen such as stonemasons, shoemakers, smiths and tanners.
It became one of the wealthiest monasteries in England until its dissolution, by order of Henry VIII, in 1539.