Kirkstall Abbey

Sue Davies and I also visited Kirkstall Abbey with Sam Flavin. The Abbey is one of Britain's best preserved abbeys and was founded in 1152 by a party of Cistercian monks from Fountains Abbey...

The Abbey closed down in 1534 as part of the ‘Dissolution of Religious Houses’ ordered by Henry VIII. The monks were pensioned-off, the roofs stripped of lead and some buildings converted for agricultural use. School groups can visit the Abbey and uncover the story of what life was like for a 12th century monk or discover how the Abbey has changed over the centuries. Children can step back in time and imagine what life was like for the monks; where they cooked, where they ate their meals, where they prayed and slept.  The Abbey has a great new Visitor Centre where interactive displays, reconstructions and audio-visual presentations provide additional information. As we wandered around this amazing site we bumped into the team who are filming 'Frankenstein's Wedding... Live In Leeds' an ambitious music and drama event. It explores the iconic story through contemporary performance and cutting-edge musical content and is a collaboration between BBC Wales, BBC North and local organisations in Leeds. The live event will be broadcast on BBC Three later this month.

Chris