The
BasilicaThe Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town. Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic cities in the 2nd century BC.The term was also applied to buildings used for religious purposes...
of St Gregory the Great at Downside, commonly known as
Downside Abbey, is a Roman Catholic
BenedictineBenedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
monasteryMonastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
and the Senior House of the
English Benedictine CongregationThe English Benedictine Congregation comprises autonomous Roman Catholic Benedictine communities of monks and nuns and is technically the oldest of the 21 congregations that are affiliated in the Benedictine Confederation....
. One of its main apostolates is a
schoolDownside School is a co-educational Catholic independent school for children aged 11 to 18, located in Stratton-on-the-Fosse, between Norton Radstock and Shepton Mallet in Somerset, south west England. It is attached to Downside Abbey...
for children aged nine to eighteen. Its graduates are known as
Old Gregorians.
Both monastery and school are located at
Stratton-on-the-FosseStratton-on-the-Fosse is a village and civil parish located on the edge of the Mendip Hills, south-west of Westfield, north-east of Shepton Mallet, and from Frome, in Somerset, England. It has a population 1,045, and has a rural agricultural landscape, although it was part of the once-thriving...
, southwest of the English city of Bath.
History
The community was founded at
Douai-Main sights:Douai's ornate Gothic style belfry was begun in 1380, on the site of an earlier tower. The 80 m high structure includes an impressive carillon, consisting of 62 bells spanning 5 octaves. The originals, some dating from 1391 were removed in 1917 during World War I by the occupying...
,
FlandersFlanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
, then in the Spanish Netherlands, in 1605, under the patronage of St. Gregory the Great (who had sent St Augustine to England in 597). The founder was
Saint John RobertsSaint John Roberts was a Benedictine monk and priest, and was the first Prior of St. Gregory's, Douai, France...
, who became the first
priorPrior is an ecclesiastical title, derived from the Latin adjective for 'earlier, first', with several notable uses.-Monastic superiors:A Prior is a monastic superior, usually lower in rank than an Abbot. In the Rule of St...
and established the new community with other English monks who had entered various monasteries in the Spanish Benedictine Congregation, notably that at
ValladolidValladolid is a historic city and municipality in north-central Spain, situated at the confluence of the Pisuerga and Esgueva rivers, and located within three wine-making regions: Ribera del Duero, Rueda and Cigales...
. In 1611 Dom Philip de Caverel, abbot of
St. Vaast's AbbeyThe Abbey of St. Vaast was a Benedictine monastery situated in Arras, département of Pas-de-Calais, France.-History:The abbey was founded in 667. Saint Vedast, or Vaast was the first bishop of Arras and later also bishop of Cambrai, and was buried in the old cathedral at Arras...
at
ArrasArras is the capital of the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France. The historic centre of the Artois region, its local speech is characterized as a Picard dialect...
, built and endowed a monastery for the community.
The Priory of St. Gregory's, Douai, was therefore the first English Benedictine house to renew conventual life after the
ReformationThe English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....
. For nearly 200 years the monastery trained monks for the English mission and six of these men were beatified by Pope Pius XI in 1929. Two of them, SS John Roberts and Ambrose Barlow, were among the
Forty Martyrs of England and WalesThe Forty Martyrs of England and Wales are a group of men and women who were executed for treason and related offences in the Kingdom of England between 1535 and 1679...
canonized by
Pope Paul VIPaul VI , born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding Pope John XXIII, who had convened the Second Vatican Council, he decided to continue it...
in 1970.
Expelled from France during the
French RevolutionThe French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
, after a period of imprisonment, in March 1795 the community were permitted to proceed to England. They settled for some 20 years as guests of
Sir Edward SmytheThere has been one creation of Baronet with the surname Smythe . It was created in the Baronetage of England for Edward Smythe on 23 February 1661....
at Acton Burnell,
ShropshireShropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
, before finally settling at Mount Pleasant, Downside, in Somerset, in 1814.
The Monastery was completed in 1876 and the Abbey Church in 1925, being raised to the rank of a minor basilica in 1935 by Pius XI.
The Abbey Church
The building of Downside Abbey Church was begun in the 19th century, and ended with completion of the nave after World War I. The Abbey Church houses the relics of St
Oliver PlunkettSaint Oliver Plunkett was the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland....
, an Irish martyr, who entrusted his body to the care of a Benedictine monk of the English Benedictine Congregation. The church is one of only three in the United Kingdom to be designated a minor
basilicaThe Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town. Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic cities in the 2nd century BC.The term was also applied to buildings used for religious purposes...
by the Roman Catholic Church, the others being St. Chad's
CathedralA cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
in
BirminghamBirmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
and
Corpus Christi PrioryCorpus Christi Priory was a Roman Catholic Premonstratensian priory in Manchester, England. Norbertine Canons Regular first came to Manchester in 1889 from the Belgian Abbey of Tongerlo and in the Miles Platting area of Manchester built Corpus Christi Basilica which they served until 2007 when...
,
ManchesterManchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
.
The church is built in the Gothic Revival style, and is designed to rival in size the medieval cathedrals of England that were lost to the Catholic Church through the
ReformationThe English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....
. A magnificent ensemble of work is represented by a galaxy of architectural talent of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The earliest part is the richly decorated transepts by
Archibald Matthias DunnArchibald Matthias Dunn FRIBA, JP, born in Wylam in Northumberland, was with his partner Edward Joseph Hansom, among the foremost Catholic architects in North East England during the Victorian era.-Biography:...
and
Edward Joseph HansomEdward Joseph Hansom was an English Victorian architect who specialised in ecclesiastical buildings in Gothic Revival style, including many Roman Catholic churches....
, dating from 1882. The choir is the masterpiece of
Thomas GarnerThomas Garner was one of the leading English Gothic revival architects of the Victorian era. His name is usually mentioned in relation to his almost 30-year partnership with George Frederick Bodley...
(who is buried there), dedicated in 1905. The soaring nave by
Giles Gilbert ScottSir Giles Gilbert Scott, OM, FRIBA was an English architect known for his work on such buildings as Liverpool Cathedral and Battersea Power Station and designing the iconic red telephone box....
(c. 1923-25) remains unfinished, with its western wall in crude
LiasThe Lias Group or Lias is a lithostratigraphic unit found in a large area of western Europe, including the British Isles, the North Sea, the low countries and the north of Germany...
stone standing bare and undecorated. The
Lady ChapelA Lady chapel, also called Mary chapel or Marian chapel, is a traditional English term for a chapel inside a cathedral, basilica, or large church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary...
is acknowledged as one of the most complete and successful schemes of Sir
Ninian ComperSir John Ninian Comper was a Scottish-born architect. He was one of the last of the great Gothic Revival architects, noted for his churches and their furnishings...
, with a
reredosthumb|300px|right|An altar and reredos from [[St. Josaphat's Roman Catholic Church|St. Josaphat Catholic Church]] in [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]]. This would be called a [[retable]] in many other languages and countries....
and altar furnishings incorporating medieval fragments and a reliquary containing the skull of St Thomas de Cantilupe. The tower, completed in 1938, at 166 feet (55m), is the second highest in Somerset. The choir stalls are modelled on the famous stalls in
Chester CathedralChester Cathedral is the mother church of the Church of England Diocese of Chester, and is located in the city of Chester, Cheshire, England. The cathedral, formerly St Werburgh's abbey church of a Benedictine monastery, is dedicated to Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary...
.
Downside Abbey has been designated by
English HeritageEnglish Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
as a grade I
listed building. Sir
Nikolaus PevsnerSir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner, CBE, FBA was a German-born British scholar of history of art and, especially, of history of architecture...
described the Abbey as "the most splendid demonstration of the renaissance of Roman Catholicism in England. If ever there was an excuse for building in period forms in the twentieth century, it is here".
The G. P. England organ
The first
pipe organThe pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...
at Downside was built in 1805 by George Pike England of
Tottenham Court RoadTottenham Court Road is a major road in central London, United Kingdom, running from St Giles Circus north to Euston Road, near the border of the City of Westminster and the London Borough of Camden, a distance of about three-quarters of a mile...
for the The Music Room in Brighton Pavilion: when removed in 1882 to the South Transept gallery of the new church, it consisted of 16 stops over 2 manuals and pedals. Removed to the
parish churchA parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
of
Saint VigorSaint Vigor was a French bishop and Christian missionary. Born in Artois, he studied at Arras under Saint Vedast. Against the opposition of his father, he became a priest, running away from home to become one. He became a preaching hermit at Ravière and worked as a missionary...
in nearby
Stratton-on-the-FosseStratton-on-the-Fosse is a village and civil parish located on the edge of the Mendip Hills, south-west of Westfield, north-east of Shepton Mallet, and from Frome, in Somerset, England. It has a population 1,045, and has a rural agricultural landscape, although it was part of the once-thriving...
in 1907, it survives today somewhere in America, having been sold following water damage sustained in Stratton during 1969.
The Garrard organ
The England organ was to be replaced in 1905 with a new instrument by Garrard of
LechladeLechlade, or Lechlade-on-Thames, is a town at the southern edge of the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. It is the highest point at which the River Thames is navigable. The town is named after the River Leach that joins the Thames near here....
, consisting of three manuals and 55 speaking stops: it was supplied two years later by the renamed firm of Garrard, Spooner & Amphlett, but was never completed satisfactorily.
The Compton organ
The current organ in the Abbey Church was built by
John ComptonJohn Compton , born in Newton Burgoland, Leicestershire, was a pipe organ builder. His business based in Nottingham and London flourished between 1902 and 1965.-Life:...
in 1931 to replace the Garrard organ: it has 142 speaking stops over four manuals and pedals. This extraordinarily large number of stops is derived from a mere 38 ranks of pipes by means of extension and transmission. The whole instrument is enclosed within three stone and concrete chambers with swell shutters facing upwards, except the Tuba box which speaks down into the transept. Unusually, the casework (designed by
Giles Gilbert ScottSir Giles Gilbert Scott, OM, FRIBA was an English architect known for his work on such buildings as Liverpool Cathedral and Battersea Power Station and designing the iconic red telephone box....
and carved by Ferdinand Stuflesser of Ortesei in the Austrian Tyrol) has no pipefronts: it is of solid
oakAn oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
with
fretworkFretwork is an interlaced decorative design that is either carved in low relief on a solid background, or cut out with a fretsaw, coping saw, jigsaw or scroll saw. Most fretwork patterns are geometric in design. The materials most commonly used are wood and metal. Fretwork is used to adorn...
, but has no roof: consequently, the whole organ speaks up into the transept
vaultsA Vault is an architectural term for an arched form used to provide a space with a ceiling or roof. The parts of a vault exert lateral thrust that require a counter resistance. When vaults are built underground, the ground gives all the resistance required...
and projects itself down the nave remarkably well. The
consolethumb|right|250px|The console of the [[Wanamaker Organ]] in the Macy's department store in [[Philadelphia]], featuring six manuals and colour-coded stop tabs....
, a typical Compton luminous stop button affair which faces West from near the
crossingA crossing, in ecclesiastical architecture, is the junction of the four arms of a cruciform church.In a typically oriented church , the crossing gives access to the nave on the west, the transept arms on the north and south, and the choir on the east.The crossing is sometimes surmounted by a tower...
down the North side of the Nave, is made from timber from H.M.S. Bellerophon, which transported Napoleon after the
Battle of WaterlooThe Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
.
Blessed George Gervase
George GervaseBlessed George Gervase was an English Benedictine priest who worked as a missionary in England during the period of recusancy. He was martyred at Tyburn....
was born at
BoshamBosham is a small coastal village and civil parish in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England, about ) west of Chichester on an inlet of Chichester Harbour....
,
SussexSussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
in 1569, and seems to have been received into the Catholic Church when he was aged about thirty. He studied for the priesthood at the English seminary at Douai and was ordained in 1603. In 1604 he came to England to begin his missionary work among the recusant Catholic families. In February 1605 he was arrested and banished, at which time he returned to his old college in Douai. In September 1607 he returned to England, but before doing so he visited the monastery of St Gregory at Douai and was clothed as a novice. His novitiate was to be in England, but proved to be very short.
He was arrested only two months after his return to England and condemned to death for his refusal to take the new oath of allegiance, accepting the King as the head of the Church. He was brutally martyred on 11 April 1608 at the age of thirty-nine years.
Saint John Roberts
John RobertsSaint John Roberts was a Benedictine monk and priest, and was the first Prior of St. Gregory's, Douai, France...
was born in North Wales in 1576 and educated at St John's College, Oxford and the Inns of Court, London. He was received into the Catholic Church in Paris and entered the English
seminary at ValladolidThe Royal English and Welsh College, Valladolid, under the patronage of St Alban, was founded in 1589 during the protestant reformation for the training of Catholic priests for the English and Welsh Mission....
, Spain, in 1598. In the following year he joined the Benedictine Order and made his vows at St Martin's Abbey, Compostella on 26 April 1600. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1602 and arrived in England in 1603, where he was appointed vicar of the English monks of the Spanish Congregation on the Mission.
Though arrested, imprisoned and banished, he returned four times. During one exile, he played a role in the foundation of St Gregory's at Douai in Flanders. On his fifth visit to England, whilst working in London, he was seized immediately after Mass on Advent Sunday 1610 and dragged through the streets, still wearing his vestments. He was arrested for the crime of being a Catholic priest; and instead of taking the oath against papal authority for his freedom, he refused.
On 10 December 1610 he was drawn to Tyburn where he was hanged and quartered. Two nights later his body was rescued by a party of Catholics, and his relics were taken to St Gregory's, Douai.
Blessed Maurus Scott
Maurus ScottBlessed Maurus Scott , born William Scott, was an English lawyer who became a Benedictine monk and priest, serving as a missionary in England during the period of recusancy. He was executed at Tyburn, and is a Catholic martyr....
was born in about 1578 of Protestant parents in Chigwell, Essex. He studied law at Cambridge and in 1603 met John Roberts and was received into the Church. He entered a Benedictine monastery in Spain, made his vows and was ordained to the priesthood in 1610. It was at this time that he went to Douai where he stayed at St Gregory's before crossing over to England. He arrived in England in time to witness the martyrdom of St John Roberts and was himself arrested and imprisoned for a year before being banished to France. On his arrival in France he went to St Gregory's and asked to be received into the community. After staying there for a few months he returned to England and once more was arrested.
On 25 May 1612 he was tried at the Old Bailey and condemned to death for being a Catholic priest. He was taken to Tyburn where he was hanged.
Saint Ambrose Barlow
Ambrose BarlowAmbrose Edward Barlow, O.S.B., was an English Benedictine monk who is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church. He is one of a group of saints canonized by Pope Paul VI who became known as the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales....
was born in 1585, the son of Sir Alexander Barlow, a fervent Lancastrian Catholic. He entered the English seminary in Douai in 1608 and in 1610 was sent to continue his studies at Valladolid, Spain, returning to Douai two years later.
On a visit to England in 1614 he was imprisoned, and on release he returned to Douai where he entered the Benedictine community of St Gregory's, where he made his vows on 5 January 1616. After his ordination in 1617 he was sent to England, where he worked diligently on the English Mission in Lancashire for twenty-four years. He was four times arrested for the crime of being a Catholic.
Shortly after celebrating Mass on Easter Sunday, he was arrested by the local Anglican parson and a mob numbering 400, tried and condemned for being a Catholic priest. He was hanged and quartered at Lancaster on 10 September 1641.
Blessed Philip Powell
Philip PowellBlessed Philip Powell was a lawyer who became a Benedictine monk and priest, serving as a missionary in England during the period of recusancy. He was martyred at Tyburn.-Early life:...
was born in Wales in 1594. He studied in London and then became a novice at St Gregory's in Douai in 1619. After making his vows and being ordained to the priesthood, he returned to England where he was chaplain to the Poyntz family at Leighland in Somerset.
Whilst sailing to South Wales, he was arrested, taken to London and imprisoned. At his trial he freely acknowledged that he was indeed a Benedictine monk and a priest.
On 30 June 1646 he was drawn on a hurdle to Tyburn where he was hanged until dead and then quartered. His only crime was that of being a Catholic priest.
Blessed Thomas Pickering
Thomas PickeringBlessed Thomas Pickering was a Benedictine lay brother who served in England during the time of recusancy. He was martyred as a result of the fraudulent claims of Titus Oates that he was part of a plot to murder King Charles II....
was born in 1621 and in 1660 made his vows at St Gregory's in Douai as a lay brother. In 1665 he was sent to London to be steward for the Benedictine monks who were chaplains to the Catholic wife of King Charles II.
In 1678
Titus OatesTitus Oates was an English perjurer who fabricated the "Popish Plot", a supposed Catholic conspiracy to kill King Charles II.-Early life:...
bore false witness that Blessed Thomas had attempted to shoot the King. The story was believed and he was arrested.
Although reprieved by the King many times, pressure to execute Blessed Thomas was too great, and on 9 May 1679 he was taken to
TyburnTyburn is a former village just outside the then boundaries of London that was best known as a place of public execution.Tyburn may also refer to:* Tyburn , river and historical water source in London...
where he was hanged drawn and quartered.
The School
Downside School is a Roman Catholic
public schoolA public school, in common British usage, is a school that is neither administered nor financed by the state or from taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of endowments, tuition fees and charitable contributions, usually existing as a non profit-making charitable trust...
situated near Bath. Monks from the Priory of St. Gregory the Great, which had been established at Douai, Flanders, in 1606, and contributed to a college at the
University of DouaiThe University of Douai is a former university in Douai, France. With a Middle Ages heritage of scholar activities in Douai, the university was established in 1559 and lectures started in 1562. It closed from 1795 to 1808...
, first arrived at Downside in 1814.
The School attached to the monastery is for Roman Catholic boys and girls from the age of 10 to 18 years and one of Britain's Catholic schools. As in most Roman Catholic schools in the 21st century, non-Catholic students are accepted.
During the nineteenth century Downside remained a small monastic school. It was Dom Leander Ramsay who was the founder of modern Downside. He planned the new buildings that opened in 1912 and now form two sides of the Quad.
Superiors
- John Bede Polding (later archbishop) (1805–1819)
- Prior/Abbot Edmund Ford (1894–1906)
- Abbot Cuthbert Butler
Edward Cuthbert Butler was an English Benedictine historian, and Abbot of Downside Abbey. He is known for his history of Vatican I, and his writing on mysticism.-Works:* The Lausiac History of Palladius...
(1906–1922)
- Abbot Leander Ramsay (1922–1929)
- Abbot John Chapman
The Right Reverend Dom John Chapman OSB , received into the Roman Catholic Church at the age of 25, was a Roman Catholic priest, the 4th Abbot of Downside Abbey of the English Benedictine Congregation from 1929 until his death, an internationally respected New Testament and patristics scholar, a...
(1929–1933)
- Abbot Bruno Hicks (1933–1938)
- Abbot Sigebert Trafford (1938–1946)
- Abbot (later Bishop) Christopher Butler
Basil Christopher Butler OSB , was a convert from the Church of England to the Roman Catholic Church, a Roman Catholic priest, the 7th Abbot of Downside Abbey, one-time Abbot President of the English Benedictine Congregation, a bishop, an internationally respected scripture scholar, a consistent...
(1946–1966)
- Abbot Wilfrid Passmore (1966–1974)
- Abbot John Roberts (1974–1990)
- Abbot Charles Fitzgerald-Lombard (1990–1998)
- Abbot Richard Yeo (1998–2006)
- Abbot Aidan Bellenger (2006–present)
Notable monks
- Dom
Dom is a title of respect prefixed to the given name. It derives from Latin Dominus.It is used in English for certain Benedictine and Carthusian monks, and for members of certain communities of Canons Regular. Examples include Benedictine monks of the English Benedictine Congregation...
Illtyd TrethowanDom Illtyd Trethowan , earlier known as Kenneth Trethowan, was an English priest, philosopher, and author, for more than thirty years sub-prior of Downside Abbey in Somerset and a visiting professor in theology at Brown University.-Early life:Born at Salisbury in 1907, he was the son of William...
OSB, (sub-prior 1958–1991)
- Dom
Dom is a title of respect prefixed to the given name. It derives from Latin Dominus.It is used in English for certain Benedictine and Carthusian monks, and for members of certain communities of Canons Regular. Examples include Benedictine monks of the English Benedictine Congregation...
Bernard OrchardDom Bernard Orchard OSB MA was an English Roman Catholic Benedictine monk, headmaster and biblical scholar.-Early life and education:John Archibald Henslowe Orchard, the son of a farmer, was born in Bromley, Kent...
OSB
- Dom
Dom is a title of respect prefixed to the given name. It derives from Latin Dominus.It is used in English for certain Benedictine and Carthusian monks, and for members of certain communities of Canons Regular. Examples include Benedictine monks of the English Benedictine Congregation...
David Knowles OSB, Regius Professor, historian of monasticism
- Cardinal
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
DomDom is a title of respect prefixed to the given name. It derives from Latin Dominus.It is used in English for certain Benedictine and Carthusian monks, and for members of certain communities of Canons Regular. Examples include Benedictine monks of the English Benedictine Congregation...
Francis Aidan Gasquet OSB, Vatican librarian, historian
External links