Abbey Kitchen

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Located near the refectory, the kitchen was usually a separate building: a precaution in case of accidental fire. Here the kitchen is separate -- as with most religious orders -- but the Cistercians sometimes situated their kitchens adjoining the refectory on the cloister. This was a literal interpretation of the rule of Saint Benedict (in which all monastic orders had their foundation) concerning monks living cloistered lives. For this reason, while the refectory ran east-west along the south of the cloister in most abbeys, it could run north-south in a Cistercian monastery to allow the extra space for the kitchen.

Furness' kitchen is unusually octagonal in plan (a well preserved example of the same can be found at Glastonbury).