The outer court at Fountains would have been a hive of
activity, for it was here that industrial and agricultural work
was carried out. Little is now known of its layout, for most of the buildings
that stood
here in the Middle Ages have long since disappeared. They would
have included the tannery, granaries and even a slaughter-house, as well
as orchards,
bridges, ponds and pastures. The remains of two buildings, the
abbey corn mill and wool-house, can be visited today.