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| A general view of Kirkstall Abbey |
Having
discovered that it was possible – albeit time consuming – to travel from
Treeton to Pontefract and Sandal Castle by public transport, I decided to make
a little bit of an extra effort to visit Kirkstall Abbey. Having explored
countless castles, cathedrals, country houses and miscellaneous ancient
monuments and historic buildings throughout England, I thought that it was
about time to see this place.
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| The geology around Kirkstall Abbey |
The
geological map around Kirkstall Abbey mainly shows outcrops of the Pennine Lower Coal Measures Formation - with sandstone, siltstone and mudstone - and the Rough Rock, which
is typically a very coarse gritty sandstone in this part of Leeds.
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| Ashlar walling with a rubble core |
I once
visited an old quarry to look at a flaggy variety of Rough Rock, during the survey
of RIGS in Barnsley, and I have seen very many examples of this stone from a
quarry elsewhere in West Yorkshire, where it is widely used as
dimensional stone and has a good reputation for its durability.
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| A general view of Kirkstall Abbey |
Kirkstall Abbey is one of the best Cistercian abbeys in England - set on an old river terrace of the River Aire - and the building
stone was floated down the river from the old quarries in Bramley Fall Park. If you take the time to take
a close look at the stones that have not been blackened by industrial pollution, the physical characteristics of the Rough
Rock can be clearly seen here.
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| The Rough Rock |
The Rough Rock at Kirkstall Abbey is a very coarse grained, massive sandstone and, although it can be cut and squared into large blocks, it is unsuitable for fine stone carving - as often seen in other English mediaeval abbeys - and the architectural decoration is generally limited to simple, functional stone mouldings.
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| Different styles of masonry at Kirkstall Abbey |