York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is a historic county town in Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a minster, castle, and city walls.
United Kingdom: Yorkshire – Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal
About Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal
Fountains Abbey was founded in 1132 by a dissident group of Benedictine monks from York who opted to associate themselves instead with the fast-growing Cistercian movement of which St. Bernard of Clairvaux was the prime mover. Also known as the white monks, the Cistercians believed in strict monasticism and hard work. They became renowned for their expertise in agriculture, which in the case of Yorkshire included successful sheep farming and all manner of woollen products. With various ups and downs, the abbey survived for over 400 years before being dissolved by Henry VIII in 1539. It then became the private property of several prominent English families who seemed to have used it as a source of stone and lead for their undertakings, including nearby Fountains Hall that stands today.
Nestled within the Skell Valley near Ripon, this landscaped masterpiece was designed by John and William Aislabie in the 18th century.
While it’s often thought that the magnificent abbey ruin is the reason for the World Heritage Site designation here, it’s actually the water garden at Studley Royal.
Listed by UNESCO as ‘one of the most magnificent Georgian water gardens ever created’, Studley Royal is a landscape which has been artificially manipulated to such a standard as to be considered a ‘feat of human creative genius’.
Fountains Abbey became part of this contemporary design as an ornament or ‘folly’ within the garden in 1767 when the two neighbouring estates were united. The official World Heritage Site designation is Studley Royal Park including the Ruins of Fountains Abbey.
Fountains Hall
The house was built by Stephen Proctor between 1598 and 1611, partly with stone from the abbey ruins. It is an example of a late Elizabethan prodigy house, perhaps influenced by the work of Robert Smythson. After Proctor’s death in 1619, Fountains Hall passed into the possession of the Messenger family, who sold it to William Aislabie of neighbouring Studley Royal 150 years later.
The hall was renovated and modernised between 1928 and 1931, and the Duke and Duchess of York (later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth) often stayed there as guests of Lady Doris Vyner, sister to Frederick Gordon-Lennox, 9th Duke of Richmond.
During the Second World War, Fountains Hall and other estate buildings were used to house evacuees. Studley Royal became the wartime home of Queen Ethelburga’s School from Harrogate and the school’s sanatorium was at Fountains Hall. The stable block and courtyard was used for dormitories while one corner became the school chapel, at which Sunday Evensong was regularly said by the Archdeacon of Ripon.
Part of the hall has been divided into flats, one of which is a holiday let, but we were able to visit the main room of the hall and a side room which was set aside for an exhibition. So, there is not much to see inside, but the outside of the hall is worth checking out.
Fountains Mill
Opposite the front of Fountains Hall is a small formal garden, which is lovely to take a quick look around.
The gardens lead down to the River Skell, where there is a bridge and a path which leads down to Fountain Mill.
Fountains Mill is the oldest building on the estate and was in continuous use until 1927. It was built by the Cistercians in the 12th century to grind grain for the monastery. It survived the closure of the abbey and continued to mill grain until 1927.
In its long history, the building has also been a monastic granary, a timber sawmill, a home for refugees and a mason’s workshop.
The outside of the mill is gorgeous, and you can see or mostly hear, the large wheel of the mill which is still in working order. The inside of the mill building has been beautifully renovated and has exhibits relating to the history of the mill as well as a temporary art exhibition of contemporary works depicting scenes of Fountains Abbey.
Fountains Abbey
It is only a short walk from the mill, passing by the café – which looked tempting, but we were on a mission – to the ruins of Fountain’s Abbey.
We started looking around the ruins of the smaller buildings of the abbey. Having visited many abbeys and monasteries in recent weeks it was not too difficult to picture what this all might have looked like in its heyday, but there is something fascinating and beautiful in seeing the ruins of such magnificent structures – they have their own very special drama.
We moved into the main area of the abbey, passing through one of the most iconic areas of the ruins, the Cellarium. This long span of vaulting, incredibly, survived intact when the Abbey was dissolved and began to be plundered for its stone. It formed the roof of the Cellarium, the area where the monks ate, slept and socialised – though when the monastery was in use, the area would have been partitioned and not the long, open space we see today.
On the other side of the Cellarium is where the refectory and abbey’s cloisters would have been. Sadly, none of these structures are left today apart from tumbled-down ruins.
Our entry to the main part of what would have been the abbey church was through where the altars would have been. We continued down the nave, through the choir to the transept or crossing. One of the towers at the end of the transept is largely intact. You can stand inside and look upwards past where the roof would have been to the open sky. We were careful not to stay looking up too long in case one of the many pigeons decided to crap on our heads.
We moved through the rest of the nave and left the church through what would have been its main entrance. Around the entrance arch of the church colonies of bees had made their homes inside the masonry. Hopefully, they don’t do too much damage and bring the structure tumbling down.
Studley Royal Water Gardens
John Aislabie (1670-1742) inherited the Studley Royal estate in 1693 at the age of 23. He was just about to launch a political career that would see him rise to the very top and plummet just as quickly to the very bottom.
Aislabie’s father George had ‘married money’ by wedding Mary Mallory, the daughter of Sir John Mallory of Studley Royal. John studied at Cambridge University and was elected MP for Ripon in 1695. He rose to become a Lord of the Admiralty in 1710 and Treasurer of the Navy in 1714. In 1718 he was named Chancellor of the Exchequer.
In that role, he helped push a bill through the House of Commons by which the South Sea Company would take over the national debt in exchange for government bonds. The South Sea Company collapsed in 1720 and a Parliamentary investigation found that Aislabie had received £20,000 in company stock in exchange for promoting the scheme.
He resigned his post as Exchequer in 1721 and was imprisoned in the Tower of London for ‘dangerous and infamous corruption’. He did not stay long in the Tower, and after his release, he retired from public life and returned to Yorkshire where he devoted his time to creating one of Britain’s great gardens on his family estate at Studley Royal. Lakes, grottoes, canals, and cascades join with classical temples and the ruins of medieval Fountains Abbey to provide an unforgettable landscape.
St Mary’s Church
The magnificent St Mary’s Church is one of the finest examples of High Victorian Gothic Revival architecture in England. It was designed in the 1870s by the flamboyant architect William Burges.
The church was built by the Marquess and Marchioness of Ripon following a tragic family death in 1870.
The deer park
Studley Royal is an extensive property (800 acres) and beyond the water garden, there are woodlands and meadows where over 300 deer roam freely, including fallow, red, and sika deer.
There are several trails that take you through the grounds, including the deer park and St Mary’s church.
Planning your visit to Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal
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National Trust & English Heritage members can visit free of charge as part of their membership. Please bring your membership card with you.
Getting to the Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal
By road
Off B6265 to Pateley Bridge from Ripon. Follow the brown signs for Fountains Abbey from A1. We’re 12 miles north of Harrogate (A61).
Parking: Free parking at the visitor centre. Studley Royal pay & display car park is first-come-first-served. For level access car park at West Gate use SatNav HG43DZ. What3Words – Visitor Centre: vanished.jobs.fights. Studley ticket office: hopefully.curiosity.mercy. West Gate ticket office: jams.overpower.flannel
Sat Nav: Use postcode HG43DY
On foot
Public footpaths and bridleways from Ripon and the surrounding countryside.
By bus
Daily connections to Ripon on service 36 from Leeds and Harrogate. DalesBus Service 139 runs from Ripon to Fountains Abbey on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays all year. DalesBus service 822 runs from Pocklington, York, Ripon (Fountains Abbey), Pateley Bridge and Grassington on summer Sundays and Bank Holidays until 20 October 2024. DalesBus 825 runs from York, Knaresborough and Harrogate on summer Sundays and Bank Holidays until 6th October 2024.
By bicycle
Signed on-road cycle loop. The ‘Way of the Roses’ coast-to-coast route takes you through the deer park. Cycling is not permitted inside the abbey and water garden although children under five can bring small balance bikes and bikes with stabilisers to help get around the site.
The best time to visit York
York, United Kingdom, is seated in a temperate marine west coast climate, classified as Cfb under the Köppen climate classification. With this classification, York experiences mild summers and cool winters. The geographical position of York, slightly inland from the west coast, moderately influences the overall climate, leading to a somewhat drier climate than might typically be expected of a marine climate.
The best time to visit York
Visitors looking for optimal weather conditions should consider coming to York between May and August. During these months, high temperatures fluctuate between 15.2°C (59.4°F) and 20°C (68°F), providing a pleasantly warm environment. While rainfall peaks in June, July and August show a slight reduction in rainfall with values of 44mm (1.73″), ensuring more dry days to explore this historic city. Additionally, daylight lasts longer during these months, peaking at 17 hours in June and providing lengthy days for sightseeing.
The worst time to visit York
JThe least favorable season to visit York would be the winter, from December to February. During this period, the temperatures drop substantially with high temperatures lingering around 5.7°C (42.3°F) to 6.8°C (44.2°F), and lows dipping between 1.3°C (34.3°F) and 1.7°C (35.1°F). Moreover, these months witness significant cloud cover, with percentages ranging from 56% to 62%, reducing overall sunshine hours and visibility.
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