 Fountains Abbey was founded in 1132 by discontented Benedictine monks from St Mary's Abbey, York, who desired a return to the austere Rule of St Benedict.After many struggles and great hardships, St Bernard agreed to send a monk from Clairvaux to instruct them, and in the end they prospered.Already by 1152, Fountains had many offshoots, including Newminster Abbey (1137) and Meaux Abbey (1151).