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BATH ABBEY |
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ABOUT THIS MONUMENT
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The Abbey Church of St Peter and St Paul was built on the site of an earlier, and much larger, Norman church. Construction is often believed to have begun in 1499, however recent evidence suggests that the early 1480s may be a more accurate date. When Bishop King, Bishop of Bath and Wells, arrived in Bath in 1499 the project gained momentum, however his death in 1503 slowed its progress considerably. The Norman church remained in use until c1525 and at the time of its dissolution in 1539 it remained unfinished. In 1572 it was given to the city as its parish church and in 1574 Queen Elizabeth I visited Bath, authorising a national collection for the church's ongoing building works. It was consecrated in 1590 and the final works were carried out in the early 17th century. In 1833 and 1860-73 two major restorations were carried out by G. P. Manners and Sir George Gilbert Scott respectively. Works undertaken by Manners involved the replacement of pinnacles and addition of flying buttresses to the nave. Scott replaced the timber and plaster ceiling in the nave with originally intended fan vaulting and opened up the interior so large congregations could be accommodated. The exterior of the church is uniform in design and exists essentially as it was when completed. Its decorative features include battlements, buttresses, pinnacles and pierced parapets. The choir is three bays in length and to the aisles and clerestory are broad, five-light windows. Its eastern end is dominated by a square-framed window of seven lights, with plain, three-light windows in the aisles. The transepts, to the north and south, are relatively narrow with five-light windows in their end walls; above the north window is a clock. The west front is by far the most elaborate with a large, arched window and detailed carvings, some of which date from later restorations. The two-stage tower is broader than it is long, has two bell openings on each side and four polygonal turret pinnacles.
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| URL: |
http://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=204213
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| MONUMENT NUMBER: |
204213 |
COUNTY: |
BATH AND NORTH EAST SOMERSET
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| NMR NUMBER: |
ST 76 SE 95 |
DISTRICT: |
BATH AND NORTH EAST SOMERSET |
| LAST UPDATED: |
N/A |
PARISH: |
BATH |
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AREA: |
N/A |
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STREET: |
ABBEY CHURCH YARD |
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MARITIME LOCATION: |
N/A |
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LOCATION: |
ST 75124 64769
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MORE INFORMATION & SOURCES
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(ST 75136477) Abbey Church of St. Peter & St. Paul (C of E) [NAT] (ST 75116470) Benedictine Abbey [NR] (site of) [NAT] (1)
In 676 a house of nuns was founded at Bath by Osric, King of the Wicci. It was later destroyed by the Danes, but re-established in 757 by Offa, King of Mercia, for secular canons. In about 970 Edgar introduced Benedictine monks and it was here that he was crowned in 973. Of the Saxon buildings we know nothing but they probably functioned until the destruction of the city in a rebellion of 1088. In the same year John de Villula was appointed Bishop of Somerset and ordered to move his see from Wells to Bath. A great rebuilding programme followed during which a new cathedral was built from 1090-1122 on the site of the Saxon church. A later rebuilding programme, by Bishop Oliver, resulted in the virtual demolition of this Norman cathedral and the construction from 1499-1620 of a new priory church on its nave. In 1539 the monastery surrendered and 1569 the church was 'uncovered and much ruined'. Its later history is one of almost continuous restoration.
Archaeological evidence can be summarized as follows:-
1755 Burials exposed S of Abbey during demolition of Abbey House.
1863-72 Norman remains exposed during restoration work, recorded by Irvine.
1964-65 and 1971. Excavations in Abbeygate St. by the Bath Excavation Committee revealed the foundation of the medieval precinct wall.
1973 Trial trench in Terrace Walk threw some light on the S transept of the Norman cathedral. (2-5)
1979 Excavations at Orange Grove revealed new evidence for the plan of the Norman cathedral. (6)
The Saxon abbey and close may have stood E of a possible road joining North Gate and Ham Gate. Its cemetery extended across the area later occupied by Abbey House. From the 1979 excavations and fragments incorporated into the present church we can see that the present Abbey occupies only the nave of its C12 predecessor. That church was c350ft by 90ft, aisled and cruciform, with an apsidal E end with radiating chapels. Its cloister can be traced in pre-1755 property bounderies and the W range survived until that date much modified as Abbey House - the Prior's lodgings and probable bath. The area is now a paved precinct known as Kingston Parade and no structural remains survive.
The site of the E range is determined by the position of the S transept. The later medieval cemetery lay to the W of the Abbey.(4)(7)
Abbey Church embodies some remains of a larger projected Norman church W front late C15, when present building was begun. (8)
Additional references. (9-15)
The Priory boundary did not lie along the W side of Swallow St. (See tracing in Bath maps file). There is no evidence that the Saxon abbey was on the same site as the later cathedral. (Plotted as published by Cunliffe for map of Ro/M Bath) (16)
The position of the first Saxon abbey is not known for certain but fragments of masonry which may belong to it have been found. (See Illustration Card for plan showing suggested site- at ST 75076475)(13)ST 75176470: Excavations at Sally Lunn's Tearoom, c1974, by S and P Cauvain on behalf of the owner, located C12-C14 remains, probably part of the cloister.(17)
There is evidence of a royal house at Bath within the Abbey precinct from the reign of King John, who visited on 4 occassions, and until 1276. (18)
In 675, King Osric of the Hwicce gave land in Bath to a 'convent of holy virgins'. According to archaeological evidence, the convent may have been built from Roman buildings that had been demolished, however nothing more is known of the convent. Land was granted to the `brethren of the monastery of St Peter at Bath' in 757 which makes it possible that, as at Gloucester, nuns and monks coexisted here.
Not a lot is known about the Saxon church although it may have existed on the site of the current church and was said to be built with 'marvellous workmanship'.
John of Tours, Bishop of Wells, initiated the building of the Norman church in the mid to late 1090s. At the time of his death in 1122 the building had reached the lower vaulting. It was damaged by a fire in 1137 and consecrated between 1148 and 1161. The Norman church was much larger than the current church, which occupies what was just the nave.
Bishop Oliver King arrived in Bath in 1499 to find the church in urgent need of repairs. According to Forsyth, King's inspiration for the new abbey was based on a dream he had whereby "angels were ascending and descending a ladder from heaven and a voice said: 'Let an olive establish the crown and a king restore the church'." Work is said to have begun in 1502, following demolition of the old nave. Prior William Birde carried on the project after King's death in 1503 and his successor, Prior Holloway, largely completed the project. While the building work was carried out, the east end of the Norman church was still in use.
The monastery was dissolved in 1539 and sold to Humphrey Colles of Taunton. He then sold it on, minus many of its materials such as lead which had been removed, to Matthew Colthurst, M.P. for Bath. In 1572 Colhurst's son, Edmund, gave the building to Bath to become its parish church. A national collection for repairs was authorized after a visit from Queen Elizabeth I in 1574 and work concluded in 1612-16 with the building of a timber roof with plaster infill in the nave.
In the 19th century two major restorations were carried out by G. P. Manners and Sir George Gilbert Scott. Works undertaken with the supervision of Lord Manners in 1833 involved the replacement of pinnacles and the addition of flying buttreses to the nave. Scott's work, in 1860-73, involved two major internal alterations: replacing the timber and plaster ceiling in the nave with originally intended fan vaulting and the opening up of the interior so as to accommodate large congregations.
The exterior of the church exists essentially as it was when completed. It is uniform in design and particular features include battlements, buttresses, pinnacles and pierced parapets. The choir is three bays in length and to the aisles and clerestory are broad, five-light windows. The eastern end of the abbey is dominated by a square-framed window of seven lights, with plain three-light windows in the aisles. The transepts, to the north and south, are relatively narrow with five-light windows in their end walls, and a clock above the north window. The west front is by far the most elaborate, with a large, arched window and detailed carvings, some of which date from later restorations. The two-stage tower is broader than it is long, has two bell openings on each side and four polygonal turret pinnacles. (19)
In her article, Linda Monckton reassess the 'dream' theory which suggests that the rebuilding of the Abbey in the late 15th and early 16th centuries was initiated by the Bishop of Bath and Wells, Oliver King, because of a dream he had on visiting Bath in 1499. The detail of the west front is considered to represent the dream. Monckton suggests, however, that this dream theory can only be traced back to the 17th century and that the west front merely "provided King with a means of inextricably linking the building work with his exclusive patronage".
Monckton proposes that the rebuilding of the Abbey was undertaken in three stages, and that it began earlier than other sources suggest. Instead of initiating its rebuilding, Monckton believes that Bishop King arrived in Bath to find that work had already begun. Correspondence from King suggests that this is the case and if true, then initial stage of building work could have begun in the early 1480s under Prior Cantlow who was well known for his patronage of building projects in the area. The second stage of works is attributed to Bishop King's contribution, from his arrival in 1499 until his death in 1503. The church was unfinished at the time of his death and the project lost momentum with the loss of this generous patron. The final phase is characterised by a lack of resources and slow progress. It wasn't until circa 1525 that the Norman church was mostly demolished and the church wasn't re-consecrated until the 1590s. The Abbey was finally completed in the early 17th century. (20)
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SOURCE TEXT
( 1) Ordnance Survey Map (Scale / Date)
OS 1:1250 1967
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( 2) Royal Archaeological Institute The Archaeological Journal
87, 1930 Page(s)397-416
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( 3) General reference
Bath Abbey 1964 (RWM Wright)
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( 4) Committee for Rescue Archaeology in Avon, Gloucestershire and Somerset occasional papers
Excavations in Bath 1950-75 (ed. B Cunliffe) 88-101,164 plans 1, 1979
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( 5) Journal of the British Archaeological Association
J T Irvine 1890 Page(s)85-94
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( 6) Popular archaeology
T O'Leary May 1980 Page(s)16-18
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( 7) Popular archaeology
P Davenport Aug 1985 Page(s)24-31
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( 8) List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest
DOE(HHR) City of Bath, Avon, 1972, 1
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( 9) General reference
Bath Archaeological News Sheet 5, 1987 (Bath Archaeological Trust)
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(10) edited by Margaret L Faull 1984 Studies in late Anglo-Saxon settlement
Page(s)7-8
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(11) Pevsner, N 1970 The Buildings of England
North Somerset and Bristol, 1958 Page(s)99-105
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(12) by David Knowles and R Neville Hadcock 1971 Medieval religious houses in England and Wales
Page(s)52,59,466
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(13) General reference
City of Bath,1986,48,54-5,57,65,67,68-72,75-78,92-95,98-99,106 figs, plans (B Cunliffe)
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(14) Bath history
2 Page(s)1-26
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(15) General reference
Bath Archaeological News Sheet 6 1988 (Bath Archaeological Trust)
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(16) Oral information, correspondence (not archived) or staff comments
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(17) Oral information, correspondence (not archived) or staff comments
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(18) R Allen Brown, H M Colvin and A J Taylor 1963 The history of the King's Works, volume 2 : the Middle Ages
Page(s)898
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(19) Michael Forsyth 2003 Bath
The Buildings of England Page(s)53-67
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(20) Society for Church Archaeology Church archaeology
Bath Abbey: A Re-assessment of its Patronage and Architectural History Page(s)1-16
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