As well as the main attractions of
Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal park, there are other interesting buildings, well worth a look:
Fountains Hall, an impressive Tudor-Jacobean mansion built for Sir Stephen Proctor between 1598 & 1604, partly with stone from the ruins of Fountains Abbey. It has a fascinating history. (You can now stay in this magnificent building, as part of it is let by the National Trust as holiday apartments.)
Part of the facade of Fountains Hall. The statues depict Mars, God of War, on the left and Saturn on the right - eating one of his children! The writing on the sundial says "Sic Transit Gloria Mundi", Latin for "Thus passes the glory of the world".
A 300 year old pear wood carving in Fountains Hall. This originally came from Studley Royal Hall, another large mansion on the estate that sadly burnt down in 1946. The motto says "Nec Cesso, Nec Erro" - "I won't rest, I won't stray."
Fountains Mill is the oldest building on the estate, older even than the visible parts of the Abbey's ruins. It was built in the 12th century as a watermill to grind wheat, oats and barley to feed the monastic community: monks, lay brothers, servants, visitors and the needy.
18th century graffiti - names carved in the stone and wood of the mill.
A spring or well. The valley of the River Skell has abundant fresh water, one of the reasons why it made such a suitable place to found the monastery in 1132. It all began when 13 monks were exiled from St Mary's Abbey in York after a dispute about the way the abbey was being run. Thurstan, Archbishop of York, provided this site in the valley of the little River Skell so that the exiles could found a new and more devout monastery, which quickly became linked to the austere Cistercian order.
