Yorkshire Philosophical Society

Event Information

Cost    £ 16 / person

Travel by individual cars to the Abbey Gatehouse Museum, Leeds LS5  3EH, meeting at 10.00 a.m. Directions will be provided. There is a free car park adjacent to the museum. The museum is Leeds Museums social history collection and is served by No’s 33, 33a, and 757 buses from Leeds centre. It features period shops, atmospheric alleys, and display cases of historic objects. We shall have a self guided visit round the rooms and displays followed by an included tea or coffee in the museum café.

After refreshment, we walk across the road to the impressive Grade 1 listed ruins of Kirkstall Cistercian Abbey, set in peaceful parkland beside the river Aire. There is a visitor centre with interactive displays telling about the history of the abbey and the lives of the monks.

The abbey was founded in 1152 and continued until 1539 when it was surrendered to Henry VIII‘s commissioners in the Dissolution of the Monasteries. It was awarded to Thomas Cranmer in 1542, but reverted to the crown when Cranmer was executed in 1556. Sir Robert Savile purchased the estate in 1584, and it remained in his family’s hands for almost a hundred years. In 1671 it passed into the hands of the Brudenell family, the Earls of Cardigan. Much of the stone was removed for re-use in other buildings in the area, including the steps leading to Leeds Bridge.

During the 18th century the picturesque ruins attracted artists of the Romantic movement and were painted by artists including J. M. W. Turner, John Sell Cotman and Thomas Girtin. In 1889 the abbey was sold to Colonel John North, who presented it to Leeds City Council. The Council undertook a major restoration project and the abbey was opened to the public in 1895.

We return to the Gatehouse café for an included simple sandwich lunch with tea or coffee, before driving to Thwaite water mill (directions will be given to car drivers). The nearest bus service is 110 from the City centre and involves a walk of about 300yds along Thwaite Lane. Situated on an island between the Aire and Calder rivers, the mill is one of the last surviving examples of a water powered mill. We shall have a self guided tour of the site including the Mill manager’s house, engineers’ workshops, and of course, the mill itself. Over time, the mill has been used to process rape oil, crushed wood (for dyes), whiting, and putty. It closed in 1975 when the weir collapsed during floods.

Alan Owen        Organiser

To download a copy of the form as a Word document, click here:-Visit to Kirkstall (1)

To download a copy of the YPS terms and conditions, click here:-YPS booking t&c’s

To:-   Alan Owen,  YPS,  The Lodge, Museum Gardens, York  YO1  7DR

Abbey Gatehouse museum, Kirkstall Abbey, and Thwaite Mills

Please reserve ……. Places for me/us on this visit. I enclose a cheque for  £……. (drawn to YPS please.)

Name(s) ………………………………………             email ………………………………………

Address ………………………………………              Tel. No.  …………………………………..

…………………………………………                        I shall probably travel by bus    YES   NO      (pl. circle)

………………….Postcode …………..            Will probably use car. Can offer lifts    YES   NO   (pl. circle)

Acknowledgement will be by email.    Please enclose SAE if postal acknowledgement required.