arcaded court, surfaced with grass or paving and sometimes with a fountain in the centre. The side adjoining thenaveof the church had book presses and formed an open-air but sheltered library. The dormitory was often built over the refectory on the east side of the cloister and was linked...
an abbey consists of a complex of buildings serving the needs of a self-contained religious community. The termabbeyis also used loosely to refer to priories, smaller monasteries under a prior. In England since the dissolution of the monasteries underHenry VIII...