Abbot William Marshall (1509–28) and the Architectural Development of Kirkstall Abbey, Yorkshire, in the Late Middle Ages

Kirkstall Abbey, Yorkshire, has some of the best preserved monastic ruins in the British Isles, however the late medieval buildings at the abbey have received little scholarly attention. The primary focus of this paper is the patronage of Abbot William Marshall (1509-28), who raised the height of the abbey’s bell tower. The replanning and refurbishing of Kirkstall was in many respects representative of the developments seen at English Cistercian monasteries in the later medieval period. However, in a number of important aspects the works closely mirror the architectural improvements undertaken at the monastery’s motherhouse, Fountains Abbey.