Medieval monks’ night staircase rebuilt at Furness Abbey

Furness Abbey, on the outskirts of Barrow, was founded in the first half of the 12th century. Photograph: Stuart Walker/English Heritage

A staircase used by weary medieval monks when they had to file down from bed to their church services in the middle of the night has been rebuilt in some of the most atmospheric monastic ruins in England.

Exactly 900 years since it was first built and almost 500 years since it was destroyed, the night staircase has been reconstructed at Furness Abbey in Cumbria.