Some Design Aspects of Kirkstall Abbey

In 1147 twelve monks and ten lay brothers were sent out from Fountains under Abbot Alexander to found a daughter house at Barnoldswick which was to be built under the patronage of Henry de Lacy. 1 This settlement was unsuccessful and in 1152 the convent moved to Kirkstall where Alexander erected a church (basilica) and arranged humble offices according to the order. 2 Henry de Lacy’s patronage was generous. He ‘stood by [Abbot Alexander] now providing the fruits of harvest, now supplying money as the needs of the establishment required. He had part in providing the buildings, laid with his hand the foundations of, the church, and himself completed the whole fabric at his own cost’. 3