After a riot in 1132 at the Benedictine, 13 monks were expelled. Among them was Saint Robert of Newminster. They were taken under the protection of Thurstan, Archbishop of York. He provided them with land in the valley of the River Skell, which is a tributary of the Ure. The enclosed valley had all the natural features needed for the creation of a monastery. It provided shelter from the weather as well as stone and timber for building. It also had a good supply of running water.
After a harsh winter in 1133, the monks applied to join the Cistercian. At that time, it was a fast-growing reform movement. By the beginning of the 13th century, it had over 500 houses. In 1135, Fountains became the second Cistercian house in northern England, just after Rievaulx.
The Fountains monks became under Clairvaux Abbey, in Burgundy. It was under the rule of St Bernard. Under the guidance of Geoffrey of Ainai, a monk sent in from Clairvaux, the group learned how to celebrate the seven Canonical Hours. According to Cistercian usage, they were shown how to construct wooden buildings in accordance with Cistercian architecture.
The abbey precinct covers and surrounded by an wall. It was built in the 13th century. Some parts of it are visible to the south and west of the abbey.
The area consists of three concentric zones which are cut by the River Skell, flowing from west to east across the site. The church and its buildings stand at the centre of the precinct north of the Skell. Its inner court contains domestic buildings which stretches down to the river and the outer court. It houses the industrial and agricultural buildings.
The original abbey church was built of wood and "was probably" two stories high. It was, however, quickly replaced with stone. The church was damaged in the attack on the abbey in 1146 and was rebuilt, in a larger scale, on the same site. Building work was completed c.1170. This structure, completed around 1170, was long and had 11 bays in the side aisles. The abbot's house, one of the largest in all of England, is located to the east of the latrine block. Portions of it are suspended on arches over the River Skell. It was built in the mid-twelfth century as a modest single-storey structure. From the fourteenth century, it underwent extensive expansion and remodelling. By 16th century, it became a grand dwelling with fine bay windows and grand fireplaces. The great hall was an expansive room .
Among other apartments, for the designation of which see the ground-plan, was a domestic oratory or chapel, , and a kitchen, .
The archaeological excavation of the site began under the supervision of John Richard Walbran. In 1846, he published a paper "On the Necessity of clearing out the Conventual Church of Fountains". In 1966, the Abbey was placed in the guardianship of the Department of the Environment and the estate. It was purchased by the West Riding County Council, which later transferred its ownership to the North Yorkshire County Council in 1974.
The National Trust bought the Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal estate from North Yorkshire County Council in 1983. In 1986 the parkland in where the abbey stands was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
It was recognised for fulfilling the criteria of ""being a masterpiece of human creative genius"." It was described ""as an outstanding example of a type of building or architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates significant stages in human history"."
Fountains Abbey is owned by the National Trust and maintained by English Heritage. The trust owns Studley Royal Park, Fountains Hall, St Mary's Church, which was designed by William Burges and built around 1873. All of them are significant features of the World Heritage Site.
In January 2010, Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal became two of the first National Trust properties to be included in Google Street View, using the Google Trike.
Fountains Abbey was used as a film location by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark for their single "Maid of Orleans (The Waltz Joan of Arc)" during the cold winter of December 1981. In 1980, Hollywood filmed its final scenes to the film "". Other productions set on location of the abbey include: "Life at the Top", "The Secret Garden", "The History Boys." Television series such as "Flambards", "A History of Britain", "Terry Jones' Medieval Lives", "Cathedral", "Antiques Roadshow." Several game shows such as "Treasure Hunt" The BBC Television series "Gunpowder" (2017) also used Fountains Abbey as a location.
Fountains Abbey was featured twice in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Books. It includes poetical illustrations by Letitia Elizabeth Landon.
Hurricane Isaac
Hurricane Isaac was a storm in 2012.
A tropical wave formed off the coast of Africa and it was named Tropical Depression Nine-L. A few hours later, it became a tropical storm and it was was named "Isaac." Hurricane Isaac hit the Florida Straits, Gulf of Mexico and Louisiana.
Pontcysyllte Aqueduct
The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct () is a canal aqueduct in north east Wales. It took 10 years to design and build. It was completed in 1805. It is the longest aqueduct in Great Britain, and is the highest canal aqueduct in the world. The 18-arched stone and cast iron structure is designed for narrowboats.
The aqueduct was part of a grand plan which was never completed. It was part of the proposed Ellesmere Canal. It would have been an industrial waterway which made a link between the River Severn at Shrewsbury and the port of Liverpool on the River Mersey.
The westerly high-ground route across the Vale of Llangollen was chosen. A less expensive route was surveyed to the east, but the route chosen would have taken the canal through a mineral-rich area. It would have taken the canal through the coalfields of North-East Wales. However, only parts of the canal route were completed. The plan fell through because the money ran out. The capitalist system at the time was primitive and unreliable. Most major work on the canal stopped after the completion of the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct in 1805.
The structure is a Grade I listed building. It is recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The name "Pontcysyllte" is Welsh for "Cysyllte Bridge", or "Bridge of Cysyllte". Cysyllte is the township of the old parish of Llangollen, where the southern end of the bridge lies.
In 1999, the aqueduct and its surrounding lands were submitted to the "tentative list" of properties being considered for UNESCO World Heritage Site status. The aqueduct was suggested as a contender in 2005, its 200th anniversary year. It was finally announced in 2006 that a larger proposal, which covers a section of the canal from the aqueduct to Horseshoe Falls would be the United Kingdom's 2008 nomination.
Parts of the site including the length of canal from Rhoswiel, Shropshire, to the Horseshoe Falls, Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, and Chirk Aqueduct were visited by inspectors from UNESCO in October 2008. It was carried out to analyse and confirm the site management and authenticity. The aqueduct was named by UNESCO on the World Heritage List on 27 June 2009.
2020 Belarusian presidential election
The Presidential elections were held in Belarus on 9 August 2020.
These candidates appeared on the ballot:
It was announced that Lukashenko won the election, marking his 6th term as President of the Republic of Belarus. This was disputed by both national and international sources. The platform "Golos (voice)" created prior to the election allowed Belarusians to upload photographs of their voting papers. From the sample provided – over 1 million voters – it was proven impossible for former President Lukashenko to obtain the number of votes stated.
Opposition candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya declared herself as the national leader of the country and called on Lukashenko to start negotiations. Meanwhile, her campaign team stated that they were ready to hold "long-term protests" against the official results.