• History
• The Ruins
• Life of a Monk
• The Lay Brothers
• The Dissolution
• Artists' Inspiration
• The Restoration

Although taking the same vows as the monks, the lay brothers spent most of their time in practical labour, for being illiterate, it was impossible for them to follow all the services of the choir monks. Housed in separate quarters to the west of the cloister, they rose at dawn, said Prime in their own choir, and then dispersed to their places of work.

In addition to undertaking building and craft activities, they efficiently managed the Abbey's granges or farms, thus ensuring the economic prosperity of the whole community. At first there were probably more lay brothers than choir monks, but by the mid fourteenth century their numbers were greatly reduced due to the effects of changing social conditions.