Four hundred years of Monastic peace ended when the greedy eyes of Henry 8th dissolved the monasteries to fill the treasury.
The Abbey buildings and over 500 acres (200 ha) of land were sold by the Crown, on 1 October 1540, to Sir Richard Gresham, the London merchant, father of the founder of the Royal Exchange, Sir Thomas Gresham. Gresham sold some of the fabric of the site, stone, timber, lead, as building materials to help to defray the cost of purchase.
The site was acquired in 1597 by Sir Stephen Proctor. The house was built between 1598 and 1604, partly with stone from the abbey ruins. It is an example of late Elizabethan architecture, perhaps influenced by the work of Robert Smythson. After Proctor's death in 1619, Fountains Hall passed into the possession of the Messenger family, who sold it to William Aislabie of neighbouring Studley Royal 150 years later. Fountains Hall became redundant as the Aislabie family remained at Studley Royal. It was leased to tenants and at one time parts of it were used for farm storage.
The hall was renovated and modernised between 1928 and 1931, and the Duke and Duchess of York (later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth) often stayed there as guests of Lady Doris Vyner, wife of the Marquess of Ripon and sister to the then-current Duke of Richmond and Gordon.
During the Second World War, Fountains Hall and other estate buildings were used to house evacuees. After the war the hall again fell into a state of dilapidation.
The National Trust acquired the Fountains Estate from North Yorkshire County Council in 1983 and has partly restored the hall. Part of it has been divided into flats, one of which is a holiday let. Visitors to Fountains Abbey can view the oak-panelled stone hall and an adjoining exhibition room, and there are plans to restore the chapel.
Super picture and history. Sounds a good place to visit (we are NT members). Was one of the Gresham's something to do with Gresham's Law? - seem to remember the phrase, 'Good money drives out bad' - or was it the other way round?! - from A Level Economics! (very long time ago!)
