1.
Cistercians
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A Cistercian is a member of the Cistercian Order (/sɪˈstɜːrʃən/, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist, a religious order of monks and nuns. They are variously called the Bernardines, after the highly influential St, the original emphasis of Cistercian life was on manual labour and self-sufficiency, and many abbeys have traditionally supported themselves through activities such as agriculture and brewing ales. Over the centuries, however, education and academic pursuits came to dominate the life of their monasteries, after that the followers of the older pattern of life became known as the Cistercians of the Original Observance. The term Cistercian, derives from Cistercium, the Latin name for the village of Cîteaux and it was in this village that a group of Benedictine monks from the monastery of Molesme founded Cîteaux Abbey in 1098, with the goal of following more closely the Rule of Saint Benedict. The best known of them were Robert of Molesme, Alberic of Cîteaux and the English monk Stephen Harding, Bernard of Clairvaux entered the monastery in the early 1110s with 30 companions and helped the rapid proliferation of the order. By the end of the 12th century, the order had spread throughout France and into England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Italy, the keynote of Cistercian life was a return to literal observance of the Rule of St Benedict. The most striking feature in the reform was the return to manual labour, especially field-work, Cistercian architecture is considered one of the most beautiful styles of medieval architecture. Additionally, in relation to such as agriculture, hydraulic engineering and metallurgy. The monastery church of Cluny Abbey, the largest in Europe, had become wealthy from rents, tithes, feudal rights and pilgrims who passed through Cluniac houses on the Way of St. James. On March 21,1098, Roberts small group acquired a plot of marshland just south of Dijon called Cîteaux, during the first year, the monks set about constructing lodging areas and farming the lands of Cîteaux, making use of a nearby chapel for Mass. In Roberts absence from Molesme, however, the abbey had gone into decline, and Pope Urban II, the remaining monks of Cîteaux elected Alberic as their abbot, under whose leadership the abbey would find its grounding. Robert had been the idealist of the order, and Alberic was their builder, upon assuming the role of abbot, Alberic moved the site of the fledgling community near a brook a short distance away from the original site. Alberic discontinued the use of Benedictine black garments in the abbey and he returned the community to the original Benedictine ideal of manual work and prayer, dedicated to the ideal of charity and self sustenance. Alberic also forged an alliance with the Dukes of Burgundy, working out a deal with Duke Odo of Burgundy concerning the donation of a vineyard as well as stones with which they built their church. The church was consecrated and dedicated to the Virgin Mary on November 16,1106, on January 26,1108, Alberic died and was soon succeeded by Stephen Harding, the man responsible for carrying the order into its crucial phase. The order was fortunate that Stephen was an abbot of extraordinary gifts, and he framed the original version of the Cistercian Constitution or regulations, the Carta caritatis. Although this was revised on several occasions to meet needs, from the outset it emphasised a simple life of work, love, prayer. Cistercian abbeys also refused to admit children, allowing adults to choose their religious vocation for themselves – a practice later emulated by many of the older Benedictine houses
2.
Fountains Abbey
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Fountains Abbey is one of the largest and best preserved ruined Cistercian monasteries in England. It is located approximately 3 miles south-west of Ripon in North Yorkshire, founded in 1132, the abbey operated for over 400 years, until 1539, when Henry VIII ordered the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The abbey is a Grade I listed building owned by the National Trust and he provided them with land in the valley of the River Skell, a tributary of the Ure. The enclosed valley had all the features needed for the creation of a monastery, providing shelter from the weather, stone and timber for building. After enduring a harsh winter in 1133, the applied to join the Cistercian order and in 1135 became the second house of that order in northern England. The monks subjected themselves to Clairvaux Abbey, in Burgundy which was under the rule of St Bernard, after Henry Murdac was elected to the abbacy in 1143, the small stone church and timber claustral buildings were replaced. Within three years, an aisled nave had been added to the church, and the first permanent claustral buildings built in stone. The community recovered swiftly from the attack and founded four daughter houses, Henry Murdac resigned the abbacy in 1147 to become the Archbishop of York and was replaced first by Maurice, Abbot of Rievaulx then, on the resignation of Maurice, by Thorald. Thorald was forced by Henry Murdac to resign after two years in office, the next abbot, Richard, held the post until his death in 1170 and restored the abbeys stability and prosperity. In 20 years as abbot, he supervised a huge building programme which involved completing repairs to the damaged church and building more accommodation for the increasing number of recruits. Only the chapter house was completed before he died and the work was continued by his successor, Robert of Pipewell. The next abbot was William who presided over the abbey from 1180 to 1190 and he was succeeded by Ralph Haget, who had entered Fountains at the age of 30 as a novice, after pursuing a military career. In the first half of the 13th century Fountains increased in reputation and this included enlarging the church and building an infirmary. In the second half of the 13th century the abbey was in straitened circumstances. The run of disasters befell the community continued into the early 14th century when northern England was invaded by the Scots. The culmination of these misfortunes was the Black Death of 1348–1349, the loss of manpower and income due to the ravages of the plague was almost ruinous. A further complication arose as a result of the Papal Schism of 1378–1409, Fountains Abbey along with other English Cistercian houses was told to break off any contact with the mother house of Citeaux, which supported a rival pope. This resulted in the abbots forming their own chapter to rule the order in England, in 1410, following the death of Abbott Burley of Fountains, the community was riven by several years of turmoil over the election of his successor
3.
Kirkstall
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Kirkstall is a north-western suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, on the eastern side of the River Aire. To the west is Bramley, to the east is Headingley, the population of the ward at the 2011 Census was 21,709. Kirkstall is around 2 miles from the city centre and is close to the University of Leeds and Leeds Metropolitan University and its main visitor attraction is Kirkstall Abbey. Another landmark is St. Stephens Church designed by the architect Robert Dennis Chantrell, richard Oastler, a reformer and fighter for childrens rights, is buried in a crypt under the churchs east end. In the 12th century Cistercian monks founded Kirkstall Abbey, a house of Fountains Abbey in North Yorkshire. The Abbey House Museum opposite the abbey tells the story of the community, Henry De Lacey, Baron of Pontefract, gave the land for the foundation of the abbey, and Kirkstall has a few roads named in his memory. The Abbey Light Railway, which connected the grounds of the abbey with the Bridge Road commercial area, was closed down in 2012, the Kirkstall Festival is an annual event, held in the abbey grounds on the second Saturday in July since 1981. It is a festival of music, local arts and crafts, Kirkstall is part of the Leeds West parliamentary constituency, whose MP is Rachel Reeves of the Labour Party, first elected in 2010. Fred Asquith was a specialist Yorkshire cricket wicketkeeper who was born in Kirkstall, during the English Civil War, the bridge over the Aire at Kirkstall was blown up by Royalist troops from Leeds. Kirkstall was historically an important centre of industry, Kirkstall Forge lays claim to being the longest continually used industrial site in Britain founded in the 13th century by the Cistercian monks of the abbey, and a number of printers. The earliest known activity on the site was a mill race which supplied water to power the corn mill at Kirkstall Abbey. Iron production took place at the forge from the 1580s onwards, during the late 18th century the reconstruction of the upper and lower forges allowed shovel and spade production to commence. A railway was built at the forge in 1830 and sustained growth at the plant, the First World War brought about large scale growth, providing axles for military vehicles and by 1930 most lorries and buses made in the UK had a Kirkstall back axle casing. In 2002 the owners of the site, the Dana Holding Corporation announced the closure of the works, shifting production to India, the site is undergoing major redevelopment, as is the old Waides Printers & Kwik Save site. Printing has, like iron-founding, suffered a decline, several printing companies remain, until the late 1970s when it was closed, Kirkstall was dominated by a coal fired power station. It was replaced by power stations away from town at Ferrybridge, Eggborough. The power station was demolished in the early 1980s, Kirkstall Abbey is a ruined Cistercian monastery set in grounds which are now a public park on the north bank of the River Aire. It was founded in about 1152 and took over 75 years to construct and it was closed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries under the auspices of Henry VIII
4.
Leeds
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Leeds /liːdz/ is a city in West Yorkshire, England. Historically in Yorkshires West Riding, the history of Leeds can be traced to the 5th century when the name referred to an area of the Kingdom of Elmet. The name has applied to many administrative entities over the centuries. It changed from being the appellation of a small borough in the 13th century, through several incarnations. In the 17th and 18th centuries Leeds became a centre for the production. During the Industrial Revolution, Leeds developed into a mill town, wool was the dominant industry but flax, engineering, iron foundries, printing. From being a market town in the valley of the River Aire in the 16th century Leeds expanded and absorbed the surrounding villages to become a populous urban centre by the mid-20th century. The city has the third largest jobs total by local authority area with 480,000 in employment and self-employment at the beginning of 2015. Leeds is also ranked as a world city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. Leeds is served by four universities, and has the fourth largest student population in the country and has the fourth largest urban economy. After London, Leeds is the largest legal and financial centre in the UK, with over 30 national and international banks located in the city. Leeds is also the UKs third largest manufacturing centre with around 1,800 firms and 39,000 employees, the largest sub-sectors are engineering, printing and publishing, food and drink, chemicals and medical technology. Outside of London, Leeds has the third busiest railway station, Public transport, rail and road communications networks in the region are focused on Leeds and there are a number of twinning arrangements with towns and cities in other countries. The name Leeds derives from the old Brythonic word Ladenses meaning people of the fast-flowing river and this name originally referred to the forested area covering most of the Brythonic kingdom of Elmet, which existed during the 5th century into the early 7th century. An inhabitant of Leeds is locally known as a Loiner, a word of uncertain origin, the term Leodensian is also used, from the citys Latin name. Leeds developed as a town in the Middle Ages as part of the local agricultural economy. Before the Industrial Revolution it became a centre for the manufacture of woollen cloth. Leeds handled one sixth of Englands export trade in 1770, growth, initially in textiles, was accelerated by the building of the Aire and Calder Navigation in 1699 and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in 1816
5.
River Aire
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The River Aire is a major river in Yorkshire, England,148 miles in length. In the Handbook for Leeds and Airedale, it notes that the distance from Malham to Howden is 58 miles direct, part of the river below Leeds is canalised, and is known as the Aire and Calder Navigation. The Aire starts its journey at Malham Tarn, after Cononley, the river enters West Yorkshire where it passes through the former industrial areas of Keighley, Bingley, Saltaire and Shipley. It then passes through Leeds and on to the villages of Swillington, at Castleford is the confluence of the Aire and Calder, just downstream of the confluence was the ford where the ancient British road, used by the Romans, crossed on its way north to York. The river re-enters North Yorkshire near Knottingley and in its lower reaches forms part of the boundary between North Yorkshire and the East Riding of Yorkshire, the River Aire empties into the River Ouse at Airmyn, myn being an old English word for river mouth. The name possibly derived from Common Brittonic *Isara, meaning strong river, still others have claimed that it is actually the name of the battle and not the body of water itself. Between Malham Tarn and Airmyn, the river drops 400 metres, tests have been conducted to authenticate the actual source of the Aire. The tarn at Malham has been dammed and then allowed to flood, observers have noted that whilst water surged at Aire Head, it also surged at the bottom of Malham Cove. There was a significant difference of 30 minutes between the two surges with Malham Cove being slower to react to the floodwater, the section between Malham Tarn and the confluence of the becks at Aire Head is known as Malhamdale. Thereafter the valley is known as Airedale and encompasses Bradford, and by the time it reaches Leeds, the river is darcy and ðarcy in 963, in the same source. It is Eyr’ in 1135 in The Coucher Book of Selby, eir is given in 1175-7 in one of the Dodsworth Manuscripts in Farrers Early Yorkshire Charters. Air from c.1160 to 1577, Air’ in the thirteenth century, the Aire was forded by a paved way by the Romans at Castleford. The Roman Road connected Doncaster with York and went north through the town near to the church, an Act of Parliament was passed in 1699 to make the river downstream of Leeds navigable with a further act to extend the navigable part of the river upstream to Bingley. This second act formed the basis of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, between the middle part of the nineteenth century to the latter part of the twentieth, the River Aire was devoid of fish life downstream of Shipley due to its pollution. Efforts have been made to return the river to a good wildlife status and fish, there are three power stations alongside the River Aire east of Castleford, Ferrybridge C, Eggborough and Drax. Drax takes its water from the Ouse, but both Ferrybridge and Eggborough draw their water from the Aire. Both of these plants stopped generating in 2016, with Eggborough being a stand-by for capacity problems until March 2017, due to the Aire flowing through the former industrial landscape of West Yorkshire, it had a reputation as being heavily polluted. In 2007, Yorkshire Water carried out improvements to Esholt Sewage Works at a cost of £110 million under the EUs Fresh Water Fish Directive
6.
Dissolution of the Monasteries
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Although the policy was originally envisaged as increasing the regular income of the Crown, much former monastic property was sold off to fund Henrys military campaigns in the 1540s. Professor George W. Bernard argues, The dissolution of the monasteries in the late 1530s was one of the most revolutionary events in English history. one adult man in fifty was in religious orders. Very few English houses had been founded later than the end of the 13th century, there was a Medieval proverb in England that said if the Abbot of Glastonbury married the Abbess of Shaftesbury, the heir would have more land than the King of England. The 200 houses of friars in England and Wales constituted a distinct wave of foundations almost all occurring in the 13th century. Friaries, for the most part, were concentrated in urban areas, however, the religious changes in England under Henry VIII and Edward VI were of a different nature from those taking place in Germany, Bohemia, France, Scotland and Geneva. Bernard says there was concern in the later fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries about the condition of the monasteries. Pastoral care was seen as more important and vital than the monastic focus on contemplation, prayer. English monasticism in the 1530s may have faced grave and urgent problems, Henry wanted to change this, and in November 1529 Parliament passed Acts reforming apparent abuses in the English Church. These Acts sought to demonstrate that establishing royal jurisdiction over the Church would ensure progress in religious reformation where papal authority had been insufficient, the monasteries were next in line. The stories of monastic impropriety, vice and excess that were to be collected by Thomas Cromwells visitors may have been biased and exaggerated. Levels of monastic debt were increasing, and average numbers of professed religious were falling, only a minority of houses could now support the twelve or thirteen professed religious usually regarded as the minimum necessary to maintain the full canonical hours of the Divine Office. Extensive monastic complexes dominated English towns of any size, but most were less than half full, renaissance princes throughout Europe were facing severe financial difficulties due to sharply rising expenditures, especially to pay for armies, fighting ships and fortifications. Most tended, sooner or later, to resort to plundering monastic wealth, protestant princes would justify this by claiming divine authority, Catholic princes would obtain the agreement and connivance of the Papacy. Monastic wealth, regarded everywhere as excessive and idle, offered a standing temptation for cash-strapped secular, in terms of popular esteem however, the balance tilted the other way. By the time Henry VIII turned his mind to the business of monastery reform, the first case was that of the so-called Alien Priories. As a result of the Norman Conquest some French religious orders held substantial property through their daughter monasteries in England, some of these were merely granges, agricultural estates with a single foreign monk in residence to supervise things, others were rich foundations in their own right. Such estates were a source of income for the Crown in its French wars. If the property with which a house had been endowed by its founder were to be confiscated or surrendered, then the house ceased to exist, whether its members continued in the religious life or not
7.
Henry VIII of England
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Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. Henry was the second Tudor monarch, succeeding his father, Henry VII, Henry is best known for his six marriages and, in particular, his efforts to have his first marriage, to Catherine of Aragon, annulled. Despite his resulting excommunication, Henry remained a believer in core Catholic theological teachings, domestically, Henry is known for his radical changes to the English Constitution, ushering in the theory of the divine right of kings to England. Besides asserting the supremacy over the Church of England, he greatly expanded royal power during his reign. Charges of treason and heresy were commonly used to quash dissent, and he achieved many of his political aims through the work of his chief ministers, some of whom were banished or executed when they fell out of his favour. Thomas Wolsey, Thomas More, Thomas Cromwell, Richard Rich and his contemporaries considered Henry in his prime to be an attractive, educated, and accomplished king, and he has been described as one of the most charismatic rulers to sit on the English throne. He was an author and composer, as he aged, Henry became severely obese and his health suffered, contributing to his death in 1547. He is frequently characterised in his life as a lustful, egotistical, harsh. He was succeeded by his son Edward VI, born 28 June 1491 at the Palace of Placentia in Greenwich, London, Henry Tudor was the third child and second son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. Of the young Henrys six siblings, only three – Arthur, Prince of Wales, Margaret, and Mary – survived infancy and he was baptised by Richard Fox, the Bishop of Exeter, at a church of the Observant Franciscans close to the palace. In 1493, at the age of two, Henry was appointed Constable of Dover Castle and Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports. He was subsequently appointed Earl Marshal of England and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland at age three, and was inducted into the Order of the Bath soon after. The day after the ceremony he was created Duke of York, in May 1495, he was appointed to the Order of the Garter. Henry was given an education from leading tutors, becoming fluent in Latin and French. Not much is known about his early life – save for his appointments – because he was not expected to become king, as Duke of York, Henry used the arms of his father as king, differenced by a label of three points ermine. In 1502, Arthur died at the age of 15 of sweating sickness, Arthurs death thrust all his duties upon his younger brother, the 10-year-old Henry. After a little debate, Henry became the new Duke of Cornwall in October 1502, Henry VII gave the boy few tasks. Young Henry was strictly supervised and did not appear in public, as a result, the young Henry would later ascend the throne untrained in the exacting art of kingship
8.
Ruins
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Natural disaster, war and depopulation are the most common root causes, with many structures becoming progressively derelict over time due to long-term weathering and scavenging. Many ruins have become UNESCO World Heritage Sites in recent years, to identify, ancient cities were often highly militarized and fortified defensive settlements. In times of war they were the focus of armed conflict. Entire cities have also been ruined, and some occasionally lost completely, the ancient city of Pompeii was completely lost during a volcanic eruption in the 1st century AD, its uncovered ruins now preserved as a World Heritage Site. The city of Lisbon was totally destroyed in 1755 by an earthquake and tsunami. Apart from acts of war, some important historic buildings have fallen victim to deliberate acts of destruction as a consequence of social, political, marble was still being burned for agricultural lime in the Roman Camapgna into the nineteenth century. In Europe, many buildings suffered as a result of the politics of the day. In the 16th century, the English monarch Henry VIII set about confiscating the property of monastic institutions in a campaign which known as the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Many abbeys and monsateries fell into ruin when their assets, including lead roofs, were stripped, following World War II, a number of European historic buildings fell into ruin as a result of taxation policies, which required all structures with roofs to pay substantial property tax. The owners of buildings, like Fetteresso Castle and Slains Castle in Scotland, deliberately destroyed their roofs in protest at, and defiance of. Post-colonial Ireland has encouraged the ruin of grand Georgian houses, symbols of British imperialism, however, sometimes tower basements remain, because their removal can sometimes be expensive. One example of such a basement is the basement of the radio mast of Deutschlandsender Herzberg/Elster. The basements of large wooden towers such as Transmitter Ismaning may also be left behind, the contemplation of rust belt post-industrial ruins is in its infancy. The new sense of historicism that accompanied neoclassicism led some artists, in the period of Romanticism ruins were frequent object for painters, place of meetings of romantic poets, nationalist students etc. Joseph Michael Gandy completed for Sir John Soane in 1832 an atmospheric watercolor of the architects vast Bank of England rotunda as an overgrown ruin. Ruinenwert was popularized in the 20th century by Albert Speer while planning for the 1936 Summer Olympics, for example, the ruins of Dunstanburgh Castle in England inspired Turner to create several paintings, in 1989 the ruined Dunnottar Castle in Scotland was used for filming of Hamlet
9.
J. M. W. Turner
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Joseph Mallord William Turner, RA was an English Romanticist landscape painter. Turner was considered a figure in his day, but is now regarded as the artist who elevated landscape painting to an eminence rivalling history painting. Although renowned for his oil paintings, Turner is also one of the greatest masters of British watercolour landscape painting and he is commonly known as the painter of light. Joseph Mallord William Turner was baptised on 14 May 1775, and it is generally believed he was born between late April and early May. Turner himself claimed he was born on 23 April, but there is no proof and he was born in Maiden Lane, Covent Garden, in London, England. His father, William Turner, was a barber and wig maker and his mother, Mary Marshall, came from a family of butchers. A younger sister, Mary Ann, was born in September 1778, the earliest known artistic exercise by Turner is from this period—a series of simple colourings of engraved plates from Henry Boswells Picturesque View of the Antiquities of England and Wales. Around 1786, Turner was sent to Margate on the north-east Kent coast, here he produced a series of drawings of the town and surrounding area foreshadowing his later work. Turner returned to Margate many times in later life, by this time, Turners drawings were being exhibited in his fathers shop window and sold for a few shillings. His father boasted to the artist Thomas Stothard that, My son, in 1789, Turner again stayed with his uncle who had retired to Sunningwell in Berkshire. A whole sketchbook of work from time in Berkshire survives as well as a watercolour of Oxford. The use of sketches on location, as the foundation for later finished paintings. By the end of 1789, he had begun to study under the topographical draughtsman Thomas Malton. Turner learned from him the tricks of the trade, copying and colouring outline prints of British castles. He would later call Malton My real master, topography was a thriving industry by which a young artist could pay for his studies. In the same year of 1789 he entered the Royal Academy of Art schools, when he was 14 years old, Sir Joshua Reynolds, president of the Royal Academy, chaired the panel that admitted him. At first Turner showed a keen interest in architecture, but was advised by the architect Thomas Hardwick to continue painting and his first watercolour painting A View of the Archbishops Palace, Lambeth was accepted for the Royal Academy summer exhibition of 1790 when Turner was 15. As a probationer in the academy, he was drawing from plaster casts of antique sculptures
10.
Thomas Girtin
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Thomas Girtin was an English painter and etcher. A friend and rival of J. M. W. Turner, Thomas Girtin was born in Southwark, London, the son of a wealthy brushmaker of Huguenot descent. His father died while Thomas was a child, and his then married a Mr Vaughan. Girtin learnt drawing as a boy, and was apprenticed to Edward Dayes, certainly Dayes did not appreciate his pupils talent, and he was to write dismissively of Girtin after his death. While a youth, Girtin became friends with J. M. W. Turner, Girtin exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1794. He went on sketching tours, visiting the north of England, North Wales. By 1799, he had acquired influential patrons such as Lady Sutherland, and he was the dominant member of the Brothers, a sketching society of professional artists and talented amateurs. In 1800, Girtin married Mary Ann Borrett, the 16-year-old daughter of a well-to-do City goldsmith, and set up home in St Georges Row, Hyde Park, next door to the painter Paul Sandby. By 1801, he was a welcome houseguest at his patrons country houses such as Harewood House and Mulgrave Castle, and able to charge 20 guineas for a painting, but his health was deteriorating. In late 1801 to early 1802, he spent five and a months in Paris. They were published as Twenty Views in Paris and its Environs after his death, in spring and summer 1802, Girtin produced a panorama of London, the Eidometropolis,18 feet high and 108 feet in circumference which was exhibited with success that year. It was notable for its treatment of urban light and atmosphere. That November, Girtin died in his room, the cause was variously reported as asthma or ossification of the heart. Girtins early landscapes are akin to 18th-century topographical sketches, but in years he developed a bolder, more spacious, romantic style. The scenery of the north encouraged him to create a new palette of warm browns, slate greys, indigo. Girtins early death reportedly caused Turner to remark, Had Tom Girtin lived I should have starved, the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum have collections of his work. The British Museum was given significant Girtin watercolours by the collector Chambers Hall, in July 2002 Tate Britain organised an exhibition, Thomas Girtin, The Art of Watercolour which aimed to reveal his technical genius
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Venables, Edmund (1911). "Abbey/Kirkstall Abbey". In Chisholm, Hugh. Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the 