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Our Day At Kirkstall Abbey

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This week, we went out with my sister-in-law Nina and her daughter Laurel. We visited Kirkstall Abbey so that the boys could see some of our local heritage. Kirkstall Abbey is a ruined Cistercian monastery in Leeds, not far from us. It is set in a public park on the banks of the River Aire. 
I remember visiting the abbey a lot when I was a child and wanted the boys to grow up seeing our local significant buildings, getting to learn about our history and also getting to play through learning too.  
The abbey itself is huge. You have to go through the visitor centre to get access to the inside of the building, but first of all, we enjoyed walking around the outside ad viewing the form of the abbey. It’s a lovely walk around the grounds and you can even make your way right to Leeds City Centre by walking along the River Aire from here. 
Going through the visitor centre and into the abbey is a truly amazing experience. Before now, I have never been inside the building itself and getting to do some was such an emotional experience. 
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The hard work, the architecture, the true scale of this monumental building is shown from the inside, but not only that. The ruins of the building and destruction are easy to see from the inside. 
Most of the abbey is open to the elements as it has no roof, stair cases are either eroded, damaged or not even there any more and there are random boulders of stone about that have fallen from the abbey in the past. 
Little posts around explained what happened in each aspect of the abbey. What it was used for, who would go there and how it was destroyed. There was also a very dark, quiet area where we could see religious people praying and such and so did not go in there as we didn’t want to disturb them. 
The abbey is such a beautiful place to have the pleasure of getting to visit and we all had an amazing day out, learning about its history, viewing the ruins and getting to play a little too.
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History of Kirkstall Abbey
Kirkstall Abbey is a Cistercian monastery. A Cistercian is a member of the Cistercian Order, a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns. The Cistercians were adversely affected by the Protestant Reformation, the Dissolution of the Monasteries under King Henry VIII. 
On 22 November 1539 the abbey was surrendered to Henry VIII’s commissioners in the Dissolution of the monasteries where it was disestablished. Henry VIII was the Supreme Head of the Church in England which meant that he had the authority to do this. 
After this time, it was owned by various people and also got destroyed too, as much of the stone was removed for re-use in other buildings in the area. But in 1889 the abbey was sold to Colonel John North, who then gave it to Leeds City Council. 
The Council undertook a major restoration project and in 1895, the abbey was opened to the public to view from the outer edge due to it’s unsafe buildings. After a £5.5 million renovation programme to make the building safe, the abbey was then opened and entry into the buildings itself was allowed. 
The abbey is a Grade I listed building and a Scheduled Ancient Monument (a scheduled monument is a ‘nationally important’ archaeological site or historic building).

5 Comments

  • Anonymous

    They have tidied it up a lot since I was last there! We always had a day there in the summer hols with a picnic, happy days.

  • Coombe Mill - Fiona

    I love places like this, so much history and such a fun way to learn about it. The building looks so impressive with plenty of interesting hidey holes for the children to explore. Thank you for sharing a really interesting post on Country Kids.

  • Anonymous

    This ruin is now part of my wishlist.. i want to visit this and see the ruins! I am an architecture graduate & places like this is always a dream place! I so love the details and intricate designs! #countrykids

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