The Cellarium, Fountains Abbey

Gelatine silver print entitled 'The Cellarium, Fountains Abbey' by Ian Beesley. Produced for the commission `Through the Mill:, The Story of Yorkshire Wool in Photographs'. 1985-1987'.

The main income of the Cistercians was their international wool crop which went largely to the merchants of Lombardy. Fleeces not exported directly abroad were stored here in the cellarium at Fountains (approximately 100 metres long). There are twenty-two bays divided down the middle by a row of arches supported on columns. The last twelve bays formed the refectory where the lay brothers lived and ate but the rest were used for storage of wool.