LVIII - Kirkstall Abbey, 1147-1539: an historical study
Guy D.
Barnes
Kirkstall Abbey, 1147-1539: an historical study traces the history of this important Cistercian monastery from its foundation at Barnoldswick in 1147, and its move to Kirkstall in 1152, to its Dissolution in 1539 and shows how, in its heyday, it owned large areas of land on which many of the modern suburbs of Leeds have now been built. It also described the Abbey's internal development and activities, the important role played by the monks in wool production, their relations with important persons and institutions outside, and finally it reveals what happened to them and their lands after the Dissolution of the Abbey by Henry VIII.
This is the most recent of a number of books and articles already published by the Thoresby Society on Kirkstall Abbey. These include full reports on the excavations undertaken between 1950 and 1964.
The author, Guy D. Barnes, is Principal of the College of St Paul and St Mary, Cheltenham, and was awarded an M.Phil. degree by the University of Leeds for his work on Kirkstall Abbey.