Who will write next chapter in long history of city’s oldest home?
A number of architectural features at Newlaithes are thought to have come from nearby Kirkstall Abbey, including the linen fold panelling and some of the stone.
Although a ruin, it still represents one of the best preserved Cistercian monasteries in the country.
It was built around 1150 in wood but had been replaced with Bramley Fall stone by 1182 and the monks remained there until the dissoloution in 1539. The abbey buildings escaped destruction and most were left standing and used for agricultural purposes. In the late 18th and 19th centuries, the main thoroughfare to Leeds ran through the nave of the church.