Patrick from Abbey House Museum will be visiting:

the Wednesday Group on the 23rd January

To talk about Abbey House, its history and artifacts.

The core of Abbey House was originally the inner gatehouse of Kirkstall Abbey, founded in 1152. When Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries the gatehouse was blocked at either end and became a house.

Since then the house has been a farmhouse and also the home of the Butler family, the owners of Kirkstall Forge. In 1926 Leeds City Council bought Abbey House.

During the 1950s three Victorian streets were formed. Abbey Fold in 1954, Harewood Square in 1955 and Steven Harding Gate in 1958.

In 1996 a bid was developed for the complete renovation of the buildings and the collections and submitted to the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Following the two-year £1.5 million refurbishment the museum re-opened in 2001 with twelve new shops and houses to visit.