No peeking
Modesty was all important in the monastery. The privies were set back to
back, which would have afforded greater privacy.
[Williams, The Cistercians in the Early Middle Ages, p. 249.]
The Fountains site contributes extensively to
our understanding and knowledge of the life and function of the
lay-brothers. The
western range is the largest and most impressive of its kind to
survive, and the site includes evidence for and
remains of other important and unusual buildings associated with
the lay-brothers. Geophysical survey has shown that the lay-brothers
at Fountains had their own cloister, which stood to the west of
the range, at its northern end.(78) The
lay-brothers had their own latrine block (reredorters),
which stood at the southern end of the range. This was built in
the mid-twelfth century and ran over
the River Skell, so that waste would be flushed away. It was a
free-standing, two-storey building, with privies on both levels,
but these were staggered, which should have lessened the risk of
stray drips splashing someone seated below. The latrines could
be accessed externally from the outer court and also from the lay-brothers’ infirmary,
an aisled building of six bays, which stood to the west of the
range.(79)
Another important and rare survival is the late
twelfth-century infirmary bridge, which ran cross the River Skell.(80) This
linked the lay-brothers’ living quarters in the western range
with their working quarters in the outer court.