Inside Leeds' historic Kirkstall Abbey - built nearly 900 years ago by monks who ate once a day with 'strict vegetarian diet'

Kirkstall Abbey was completed around 1152, making it one of the oldest buildings, if not the oldest building, in the city of Leeds.

The Cistercians came to Kirkstall because they wanted to be left alone.

They had a previous settlement in Barnoldswick near Skipton and came into conflict with the local population.

They asked their benefactor, Henry de Lacey, for some land without people.

Thirteen monks set off from Fountains Abbey.

The chapter house is built up of two parts - the front of it would have been Norman architecture and the back is Gothic, which shows how the Cistercian monks grew over time at Kirkstall.

The chapter house was a really important place because it was where the monks went to read the rule of St Benedict every day and that taught them their values for life.

The abbey's church is the oldest part of the abbey ruins.

Sarah Allen - Learning and Access Officer at Kirkstall Abbey

Sarah Allen, Learning and Access Officer at Kirkstall Abbey, said: “When people are finding out about the monks, they want to know who these people were, why they came here, what was the reason for becoming a monk. And I think that's something that, particularly when I'm working with groups of children, when we talk about how strict their life was, that they came to church seven times a day, that they only ate once a day, that they had a strict vegetarian diet.

“Children are interested in where they went to the toilet and how much beer they were allowed to drink a day. They went to the toilet in the reredorter, which is where our visitor centre and café is now. They drank a lot of beer because their toilets flushed into the river, which is where they got their water supply from, so they turned it into beer before they drank it. But they were allowed eight pints a day.

“Henry's soldiers came, they took away the roof, they took away the windows, they took away anything that was seen to be of value, but the monks had hidden the books. So the books from the abbey, ten of them still exist today.

“We are this little green beating heart in the middle of what is a really busy road and a really busy suburb.”

Sara Merritt - Audience Development Manager at Kirkstall Abbey

Sara Merritt, Audience Development Manager at Kirkstall Abbey, said: “At the back of the chapter house, there are some coffins that are built into the walls. We don't really know why they are there. We think that they may have held remains of previous abbots, but over time, unfortunately, they got pillaged by people looking for treasure.

“When the abbey was closed by King Henry VIII as part of the dissolution of the monasteries, it was the chapter house where the monks all gathered, basically, to give it back to King Henry, which would have been a really momentous occasion, incredibly sad and a massive turning point in English history.

“We're just really proud to have it as part of Leeds' heritage and its culture. We know from people wandering around that it is just really special to them, both locally and internationally.”