Marmaduke Bradley was the last abbot of Fountains,
who surrendered the abbey and its estates to the royal commissioners
in 1539. Bradley, it seems, manipulated his election to the abbacy,
wheeling and dealing with the royal commissioners to ensure the
removal of Abbot William Thirsk and secure his own appointment.
As abbot of Fountains, Bradley enjoyed a high standard of living
and continued to do so after the Dissolution, receiving the largest
pension of any Cistercian abbot in the country.