York Guides

The doorway in the middle of the south range leads to the refectory or dining hall of the monks, and on each side of it the wall facing the cloister was taken up by the laver or long wash-basin used by the brethren before meals. It has a stone bench that once supported a semi-circular trough that held the water. The inner side of this trough remains but the outer side, which was probably of metal, has gone. Each trough was supplied with running water from a lead pipe near the middle; the holes for these pipes, and the vertical chases for the pipes draining the troughs can still be seen.

The troughs were set in deep wall arcades, the outer orders of which were once carried on shafts standing on the stone benches.

The towel cupboard

Between the warming house doorway and the day-stairs there is a large round-headed cupboard, the jambs of which have been cut back for double doors. This was the towel cupboard used in association with the laver