Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. In revising these sheets for a second edition I have been, once more, largely indebted to the kindness of antiquarian friends.
In particular I have been allowed to anticipate in some points a forthcoming work on Fountains Abbey by Mr. Micklethwaite and Mr. W. S. John Hope.
Within the last seven years much fresh light has been thrown on monastic antiquities by minute examination and patient inquiry, and the impossibility of dealing exhaustively with even a section of this subject in anything short of a large and technical work has become proportionately evident.