Before the Emancipation Act, Catholic buildings rarely had any external sign of their inner religious function. Downside Abbey however is a triumphant expression of the new confidence of the church expressed by its vast dimensions (230ft long and 70ft high internally). Another significant external feature is the church tower measuring 166ft and holding a single bell in G bourdon. Francois de la Rochefoucauld writes in 1784 of the religious state in England
‘’ it is forbidden to summon worshipers by church bells. It is only the established protestant church that has the right to make itself heard’’
By the erection of Downside Abbey, Catholics could now also make themselves heard, an important achievement for a faith which had been so long repressed.
The effects of the can still be seen today, in ruins of monastic buildings throughout the country. Most monasteries simply ceased to exist; their structures were torn down, and the stone recycled in new buildings in the local community. 300 years after the dissolution of the monasteries Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin (1812-1852) designed Mount Saint Bernard Abbey, the first church since the reformation to be elevated to Abbey status being a ‘manifestation of a European Catholic sensibility in architecture’ Pugin also completed designs for Downside Abbey, another demonstration of the international spirit in religious design at that time. Downside and other Catholic churches of the time signify the possibility of a new concept through which to view gothic revival architecture in the nineteenth century.
The principal components of the great medieval church are displayed at Downside. The space is used for a variety of activities: services of worship, processions and ceremonies on special occasions, and more informal visits to shrines and chapels, which is a legacy of the old monistic way of life. The east arm with the Choir for the clergy, focuses on the High Altar and provides a place for regular worship; the surrounding Choir Aisles allow for efficient circulation to the shrines and Chapels and Transepts stabilize the large open space below the Crossing tower offering space for additional chapels. The long Aisled nave with its own altar would have been in the 13th,14th and 15th Centuries for use by the laity, at a time when the church was at its most influential. Downside holds within it an atmosphere of its ancestry. Steps lead to unexpected chapels and a vista of arches and vaulting leads the eye to the stillness of the sanctuary so overlooked in the Protestant churches of the reformation.
The emphasis on the Catholic beautification of faith is obvious, the use of pictorial aids and materials such as alabaster and gold being in contrast to the barren reformation churches. Downside Abbey is stunning in its attention to detail. The choir is a replica of Chester Cathedral which dates from the 14th Century with each canopy over the choir stalls containing a monastic or local saint. Angles support lower canopies holding emblems of Christ’s passion on the one side and musical instruments on the other, making this a truly sensory experience to behold. However it would be wrong to suggest that only catholic churches were building such sumptuous buildings, the Gothic revival spread far wider, finding a place in Anglican places of worship also.
The plight of the Catholics is within the very foundations of Downside Abbey. In the transept the shrine of St Oliver Plunkett, Archbishop of Armagh, the last martyr under the penal laws following the reformation, is held in an ornate gilt and oak casket and the stunning stained glass east window of St Benedict’s chapel portrays the three abbots of Glastonbury, Reading and Colchester who were martyred in 1539. Periods of prosperity are also clearly displayed at Downside, with vestments and church plates dating from when the Order was in its home town of Douai, Flanders, giving a reality to its heritage.
Bibliography
Victoria Young – A.W.N Pugin Mount St Bernard Abbey: The International Character of England’s Nineteenth- Century Monastic Revival. Essay published on Web ‘Nineteenth-Century Art Worldwide’
Carole Davison Cragoe, – BBC History Trail; Church and State. April 2002 programme on BBC website.
Catholic Encyclopaedia
Dom Augustine James - the Story of Downside Abbey – Downside Abbey, Stratton on the fosse.
Victoria Young – A.W.N Pugin Mount St Bernard Abbey: The International Character of England’s Nineteenth-Century Monastic Revival. Pg1
2. Carol Davidson Cragoe, April 2002. BBC History Trail; Church and State.
