Abbey Church and Monastic Buildings, Alton Abbey

Summary

The abbey church and monastic buildings at Alton Abbey. The north transept of the church is understood to have been built as a chapel in the late 1890s; the remainder was built in 1905-1907, the architect believed to have been John Cyril Hawes. A roof was added to the crossing tower by Sir Charles Nicholson in about 1929. The former seamen’s pensionary, with additional accommodation for the monks, also by Nicholson, dates from 1929-1936. The extensions of 1955-1956 by Nicholson and Rushton and the extensions of 1972 and 1984 are not included in the listing.

Reasons for Designation

The abbey church and monastic buildings of Alton Abbey, an evolved group built between the 1890s and 1930s, are listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* as a complete Anglican monastic complex built between the 1890s and the 1930s, designed by two significant church architects, John Cyril Hawes and Sir Charles Nicholson;
* for the abbey church, built of flint dug on site to a dignified Gothic design evocative of Cistercian models, its distinctive plan, with pulpitum and women’s gallery, illustrating its monastic use;
* Nicholson's accommodation ranges, with harmonious Arts and Crafts-inspired detailing, are illustrative of the abbey’s role in providing hospitality and confraternity.

Historic interest:

* as a rare surviving Anglican monastery purpose-built for a male community, its rural situation being particularly unusual;
* as one of few surviving English works by Hawes, better known for his Roman Catholic churches in Australia.

Group value:

* the abbey church and monastic buildings, together with the separately listed gatehouse and chapel range, form a coherent and complete conventual complex.

History

The community of Alton Abbey was founded by Reverend Charles Plomer Hopkins (1861-1922), whose work amongst British merchant sailors began in 1884 in Rangoon, Burma (now Yangon, Myanmar) where he was cathedral organist and then port chaplain. He founded the Order of St Paul, or the Seamen’s Friendly Society of St Paul, the life of the order followed the Rule of St Benedict, adapted to guide the work amongst sailors. In 1895 a piece of woodland was purchased at Beech near Alton; Hopkins’s intention was that the remote monastery established there should serve as the novitiate, training men for work as maritime missionaries; in practice the abbey soon became a refuge for retired seamen and those travelling between London and the ports of Southampton and Portsmouth.

The first buildings at Alton Abbey were temporary huts, a chapel and a sailors’ home constructed from wattle and daub; these were gradually replaced by buildings in corrugated iron, with a large monastery structure remaining in place to the east of the current church until the 1950s. The permanent buildings were begun in the late 1890s, constructed of flint dug from the site, and bricks made on site; the monks themselves and those seamen who were able are understood to have helped with the construction. The north transept of the abbey church is understood to have been built as a chapel in the late 1890s; the nave was begun in 1905 and completed in 1907. The gatehouse, with the chapel, or oratory, and abbot’s lodging attached, was begun in 1901 or 1902, and completed in 1904. There is some uncertainty regarding the authorship of the church and the gatehouse complex, a fire having destroyed the abbey’s own records. The Buildings of England names Percy Green as the architect, following an account of 1955 (Anson, The Call of the Cloister, p 113) but the architect is believed to have been John Cyril Hawes, as confirmed by his later accounts (Taylor, Between Devotion and Design, pp 9-11). The church was not completed as intended: a presbytery was planned for the east end, and Hawes noted later that square - or cruciform - pillars were substituted for the circular ones he had designed. In 1928, a pyramidal roof was added to the crossing tower by Sir Charles Nicholson; thereafter Nicholson, or his firm of Nicholson and Rushton, undertook the majority of architectural work at the abbey, notably the two courtyard ranges providing a seamen's pensionary and accommodation for the monks. A guest house, linked with the gatehouse, was constructed in 1936, and later adapted as a bakery and workshop.

Following Hopkins’s death in 1922 the Rule of the order was brought into closer conformity with that of St Benedict, with its emphasis on hospitality.The seamen’s home, or pensionary, which occupies the western cloister, was built in 1929-1936 as a memorial to Hopkins; the intended use of the spaces within the western quadrangle being described in a contemporary press report (Hampshire Telegraph and Post, 7 December 1928). The eastern cloister, projected as part of the original plan, was constructed over the following years. In 1955-1956 an extension* was added to the south-east, and a further extension* was added in 1972. In 1982, the community became the Order of St Benedict. In 1984 an extension* was built closing the eastern side of the eastern cloister, providing a shop, meeting room and library. The seamen's pensionary closed in 1989, but the abbey continued to be used as a retreat house. The closure of the abbey is now planned (2025).

The abbey grounds retain some built features of flint and brick, including walling and steps to the north-west of the church. To the west of the abbey buildings is the abbey cemetery, containing Hopkins's grave, together with those of other monks and over 200 seamen. The original iron crosses are stored in the crypt of the church, having been replaced with ledger stones.

John Cyril Hawes (1876-1976) entered the office of Edmeston and Gabriel as an apprentice in 1893, whilst studying at the Architectural Association and at the London County Council’s Arts and Crafts School. Amongst his first buildings was the White Tower, Bognor Regis, built as a holiday home for himself and his brothers (1897, National Heritage List for England entry 1221489); his first church commission was St Christopher, Gunnerton, Northumberland (1899-1900, NHLE 1155349). Hawes's designs for Alton Abbey were undertaken whilst studying for the priesthood; he was ordained in 1903. Hawes converted to Roman Catholicism in 1911. His most prolific period as an architect was spent in Western Australia from 1915 to 1939, working concurrently as an outback missionary. Here his eclectic designs combining Romanesque and Californian Spanish Mission influences (judged by Hawes to be better suited to the Australian climate than Gothic) ranged from small churches in agricultural locations to the Cathedral of St Francis Xavier, Geraldton (1916-1938).

Sir Charles Archibald Nicholson (1867-1949) was a leading church architect of the early C20. He was articled to the late Victorian architect J D Sedding in 1889 and after Sedding's death in 1891 was assistant to his successor Henry Wilson. He began independent practice in 1895 and was in partnership with Hubert Corlette from 1895 until 1916, and from 1920, with Theodore Rushton. In the course of his career he was consulting architect to seven cathedrals, and was architect to four dioceses, including Winchester, within which Alton Abbey stands.

Details

Abbey church and conventual buildings. The north transept of the church is understood to have been built as a chapel in the late 1890s; the remainder was built in 1905-1907, the architect believed to have been John Cyril Hawes; a roof was added to the crossing tower by Sir Charles Nicholson in about 1929. The former seamen’s pensionary, with additional accommodation for the monks, also by Nicholson, dates from 1929-1936.

The extensions* of 1955-1956, 1972 and 1984 are not included in the listing.

MATERIALS: the church is of flint and yellow brick; the other monastic buildings are of flint and red brick, or red brick alone. Roofs are covered with plain tiles.

PLAN: the buildings stand to the north of the gatehouse, at the centre of the abbey grounds, forming two quadrangles: the church is on the north side of the eastern quadrangle; the adjoining western quadrangle is attached to the south-west corner of the church.

CHURCH

The church is in an early-C13 style, the design taking inspiration from Cistercian models.

PLAN: the church as built comprises an aisled nave with five bays to the west of the pulpitum, the flint screen dividing the nave from the monks’ choir in the crossing. In the low north transept is a chapel, set at a lower level; the taller south transept houses the sacristy with a chamber above. There is a substantial porch or narthex to the west, flanked by chapels.

EXTERIOR: the overall appearance of the church is austere, the windows being small lancets of equal size to both aisles and clerestory, with chamfered brick surrounds, those to the aisles being set between plain buttresses. The ground drops to the north, making room for a crypt, lit by loopholes and entered through a north doorway in the western bay; the aisle windows on this side are therefore set high up. At the west end is the flat-roofed narthex which has a central entrance bay flanked by off-set buttresses, containing a large pointed opening of six chamfered orders, with a blind pointed arcade above; the opening contains panelled doors with elaborate scrolled hinges; to either side of the entrance bays are the hipped-roofed chapels, lit by tall lancets. The elevation has a corbel table to the parapet, behind which rises the gable of the nave, surmounted by a cross. At the east end, the square crossing tower, with angle buttresses, is lit by tall lancets; the pyramidal roof was added around 1929 by Sir Charles Nicholson. The north transept has red brick quoins. Between the north transept and the tower is an octagonal turret with a conical roof, with a narrow door to the north and a blocked doorway to the east. The east end appears to show evidence of some rebuilding, with a slightly projecting gable, in which the flint is banded with brick; there are three tall lancets of equal height between buttresses. The eastern elevation of the south transept has also seen some rebuilding, thought to belong to the circa 1929 phase; this elevation has an entrance with a lancet above, whilst the west elevation has a corbel table, buttresses and tall lancets.

INTERIOR: materials and detailing are similar to the exterior: the internal walls of the church are knapped flint, the brick openings of chamfered orders; the aisle windows and the lancets to chapels and transepts have plain splayed reveals. The nave has pointed brick openings to the aisles, with continuous hoodmoulds; above, the clerestory windows are separated by the trusses of the hammerbeam roof, which rest on cyma reversa-moulded corbels. At the west end of the nave, above the wide narthex arch, are openings to a gallery, for women and the sick. At the eastern end of the nave is a dais, installed in 1991. The original wooden floor is now covered. The pulpitum has a corbel table above the large arched opening; a rood with the Virgin Mary and St John is framed by the high arched opening in the screen to the east. A cast and wrought iron screen separates the pulpitum from the aisled monks’ choir and sanctuary to the east; the east end is framed by a tall arch resting on chamfered piers of three orders. A stone altar table is set below a baldachino with gilded cresting. The flintwork of the earlier chapel in the north transept is noticeably less finished than elsewhere; the chapel has a hammerbeam roof and a piscina. The sacristy to the south formerly contained the night stair, allowing monks to come to prayers during the night; a timber structure, this has been removed. The room above, perhaps intended as a dormitory, now the old library, is fronted by a timber gallery overlooking the choir, which originally housed an organ, as well as providing access to the rood loft. A large arched opening, the arch springing from piers, separates this room from the volume of the choir; the opening is now closed by an insubstantial partition. The old library now has a false ceiling, presumably with a timber roof structure above. Within the crypt is a datestone marking the start of work on the nave in 1905.

MONASTIC BUILDINGS

PLAN: the western quadrangle was the seamen’s home or pensionary, with rooms on two floors; washing facilities, kitchen areas, and services are on the north side of the southern range, extending along the eastern side of the courtyard. Running along the southern range of both quadrangles on the ground floor are large communal rooms. Above these within the eastern quadrangle are the rooms originally intended for the monks. As already noted, the extensions* to the south-east are excluded from the listing.

EXTERIOR: the buildings share consistent use of materials and features: the overall composition has a vernacular, domestic character, the ranges in staggered sections following the rise of the ground level towards the south, and giving an impression of gradual development. The detailing shows Arts and Crafts inspiration: tiled roofs have wide boarded eaves; door and window openings have brick surrounds and tile lintels; single brick courses run through the elevations and the buildings have brick quoins and brick and timber kneelers. There are oak planked doors with applied fillets, as well as some metal-framed glazed French doors; windows are metal-framed casements. Tall brick chimneys project from the elevations; on the south elevation paired stacks are set diagonally. Rainwater heads in the earliest part of the complex bear the date ‘1929’.

The northern range of the western cloister has irregular fenestration, and a central pointed-segmental-arched carriage opening containing heavy panelled gates; a projecting brick niche is set over the archway. The western range is in three sections, each with a French door opening to the gardens. At the south end of the west elevation is a recessed porch within a pointed arch. On this elevation, the ground-floor windows are topped by semi-circular brick arches, set into the flint. The easternmost block belonging to the 1929-1936 phase has a canted bay window to the ground floor.

Within the quadrangles, the ranges present variety in height and form, with single-storey sections representing passageways or service areas. A covered walkway provided for the pensioners' recreation and exercise, leads across the northern side of the western cloister, the lean-to roof supported on timber posts. A buttressed single-storey section represents a passageway running along the southern and eastern sides of the eastern quadrangle, with a canted angle bay. The north side of the eastern cloister is occupied by the south aisle of the church, with the south transept to the north-east corner.

INTERIOR: the internal fittings throughout the complex are simple: there are heavy planked doors to each room within the western section; in the later eastern section there are flush doors. Woodblock flooring is visible in some rooms. Staircases have simple brick piers and timber balustrades. Bathrooms have tiled floors and walls. The entrance in the south-west porch leads to a vestibule, from which stairs provide access to the accommodation areas. The western range of the western cloister originally contained the infirmary, consisting of a large ground-floor room, having direct access to the cloister, and to the outer gardens to the west; there are five small rooms intended to accommodate those unable to climb stairs. A large common room above the infirmary, originally a dormitory for wayfarers, retains a stone chimneypiece with geometric moulding; it is understood a similar one survives in the former infirmary. Otherwise on the first floor there are five small plain rooms or ‘cabins’ to each range, accessed from passages – to the south, the passage continues through the eastern quadrangle. The large communal rooms in the south range are separated by folding doors: the common room or common hall is to the west, the dining room or refectory to the centre – itself divided into two parts, illustrating the join between the west and east quadrangle – and what is now (2025) the prayer room to the east. Each section has a wide Tudor-arched brick fireplace opening and woodblock flooring; the refectory has dado panelling.

A wide tiled passageway on the south and west sides of the eastern cloister provides access to the common rooms to the south, to the kitchen to the west, and to the church, reached by descending steps to the north.

EXCLUSIONS
* Pursuant to s1 (5A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (‘the Act’), it is declared that these aforementioned features are not of special architectural or historic interest, however any works which have the potential to affect the character of the listed building as a building of special architectural or historic interest may still require LBC and this is a matter for the LPA to determine.

Sources

Books and journals
Anson, P, The Hermit of Cat Island (1957), 19, 217, 276
Pevsner, N, Bullen, M, Crook, J, Hubbuck, R, , , The Buildings of England: Hampshire: Winchester and the North (2010), 174
Pevsner, N, The Buildings of England: Hampshire and the Isle of Wight (1967), 332
Felstead, A, Franklin, J, Pinfold, L, Directory of British Architects 1834-1900 (1993), 375
Taylor, JJ, Between Devotion and Design: the Architecture of John Cyril Hawes 1876-1956 (2000), 9-11
Anson, P, The Call of the Cloister: religious communities and kindred bodies in the Anglican Communion (1955), 106-122
Anson, P, Building up the Waste Places: the revival of monastic life on medieval lines in the post-reformation Church of England (1973), 149-155
'For God and our Sailors' being a short account of the work of the Seamen's Friendly Society of St Paul among our merchant seamen (1924),
Mackenzie, C, My Life and Times: Octave 2 1891-1900 (1963),

Websites
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: Charles Plomer Hopkins, accessed 25 February 2025 from https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/50329
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: Sir Charles Nicholson, accessed 25 February 2025 from https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/35225
Alton Abbey website: history, accessed 25 February 2025 from https://altonabbey.com/history-of-alton-abbey
Monsignor John Hawes: website of the John Hawes Foundation, accessed 25 February 2025 from https://www.monsignorhawes.com
Australian Dictionary of Biography: John Cyril Hawes, accessed 25 February 2025 from https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/hawes-john-cyril-6601

Other
Hampshire Telegraph and Post, 7 December 1928; 15 August 1930
Hampshire Advertiser and Southampton Times, 3 September 1932

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