Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal

UNESCO designated Fountains Abbey and the adjoining Studley Royal gardens a World Heritage Site in 1986 in recognition of it being a masterpiece of human creative genius. They offer an amazing variety of opportunities for the landscape photographer, from the ruined Abbey and formal landscape architecture of the gardens to wonderful specimen trees in the wilder Deer Park.

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Fountains Abbey was founded in 1132CE by thirteen Benedictine monks from St Mary’s in York. They'd grown fed up of the extravagant and rowdy way that the monks lived in York. So they escaped, seeking to live a devout and simple lifestyle elsewhere. Over the next four centuries Fountains became incredibly wealthy through wool production, lead mining, cattle rearing, horse breeding and stone quarrying. This wealth allowed them to build a spectacular range of buildings.

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Walking around the ruins today you can still imagine how truly awe inspiring these buildings must have been to the average Medieval peasant. The original precincts covered 28ha and were surrounded by a 3m high stone wall. This was in an age when most people lived in wooden framed houses with infill panels of wattle and daub. The monks, with lay brothers providing the muscle, erected a church which soared almost 50m toward the heavens - the Medieval equivalent of a skyscraper, today's secular temples of commerce.

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The open valley in which the Abbey stands is bounded by mature woodland on its flanks with the River Skell flowing to the south of the ruins. The landscape feels tamed, but only by the lightest of touches. This feeling evaporates as we travel east and enter the landscape gardens of Studley Royal. Whilst still wooded, now the water is channelled into an arrow straight pond, bounded by statuary and Grecian inspired follies. The lawns and hedges are precisely trimmed. Specimen trees are grown in pleasing positions. This is a landscape that has been designed to fulfil an aesthetic ideal.

The water garden at Studley Royal, created by John Aislabie in 1718, is one of the best surviving examples of a Georgian water garden in England. It was expanded by his son, William who purchased the adjacent Fountains Estate. The garden's elegant ornamental lakes, canals, temples and cascades provide a succession of dramatic eye-catching vistas. It is also studded with a number of follies including a neo-Gothic tower and a palladian-style banqueting house. The gardens and park reflect every stage in the evolution of English garden fashion, from the late seventeenth-century to the 1780s and beyond.

 

Passing through the formal gardens we enter the Deer Park. It's also an idealised landscape but one that feels more natural. It's crowning glory are what Joe describes as some of the finest sweet chestnut trees in England. Our visit should coincide with autumn colour making the trees even more compelling subjects.

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We will be staying in National Trust properties just a short distance from the entrance to Fountains. This will grant us the right to enter the grounds outside normal visiting hours, a huge advantage in terms of light and the lack of other people. 

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We will split our days between exploring the amazing ruins of the Abbey, studying the wonderful specimen trees in the Deer Park and interpreting the formal landscapes of Studley Royal that sits between the two.

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This workshop is co-led by Joe Cornish which gives participants the opportunity to experience different teaching styles and approaches to photography.

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There will obviously be some walking involved but it will never be a race. Please be prepared for the weather; a waterproof coat, walking boots, fleece and quick drying trousers are a must. The ground may be muddy in the Deer Park and around Fountains Abbey.

 

Fountains Abbey is owned by the National Trust and maintained by English Heritage.