St. Hugh's Charterhouse, Parkminster
Encyclopedia
St. Hugh's Charterhouse, Parkminster is the only post-Reformation
Carthusian
monastery in the United Kingdom
. It is located in the parish of Cowfold
, West Sussex
, England
.
The monastery was founded in 1873, when the property formerly known as Picknoll was acquired for its construction in order to accommodate two houses of continental Carthusians in exile. Building took place between 1876 to 1883 to designs by a French architect, Clovis Normand, who had at his disposal a generous budget. The number of monks has varied: 30 in 1883, 70 in 1928, 22 in 1984.
The buildings are in a French Gothic Revival style described by some as "weak", although Pevsner
's judgement was that "The plan is magnificent and can only be properly seen from the air". The church has relics of Saint Hugh of Lincoln
, Saint Boniface
and the Virgin Mary; and an unusually tall (203 ft) spire. It stands in the centre of buildings including a library with a collection of rare books and manuscripts and a chapter house
decorated with images of the martyrdom of the monks' predecessors. The Great Cloister, more than a kilometre long and one of the largest in the world, connects the 34 hermitages to the church and the other buildings, embracing four acres of orchards and the monastic burial ground.
English Reformation
The 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....
Carthusian
Carthusian
The Carthusian Order, also called the Order of St. Bruno, is a Roman Catholic religious order of enclosed monastics. The order was founded by Saint Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns...
monastery in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. It is located in the parish of Cowfold
Cowfold
Cowfold is a village and civil parish between Billingshurst and Haywards Heath in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England, located at the intersection of the A272 and A281 roads. The parish has a land area of 1926 hectares . In the 2001 census 1,864 people lived in 729 households, of...
, West Sussex
West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
The monastery was founded in 1873, when the property formerly known as Picknoll was acquired for its construction in order to accommodate two houses of continental Carthusians in exile. Building took place between 1876 to 1883 to designs by a French architect, Clovis Normand, who had at his disposal a generous budget. The number of monks has varied: 30 in 1883, 70 in 1928, 22 in 1984.
The buildings are in a French Gothic Revival style described by some as "weak", although Pevsner
Nikolaus Pevsner
Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner, CBE, FBA was a German-born British scholar of history of art and, especially, of history of architecture...
's judgement was that "The plan is magnificent and can only be properly seen from the air". The church has relics of Saint Hugh of Lincoln
Hugh of Lincoln
Hugh of Lincoln was at the time of the Reformation the best-known English saint after Thomas Becket.-Life:...
, Saint Boniface
Saint Boniface
Saint Boniface , the Apostle of the Germans, born Winfrid, Wynfrith, or Wynfryth in the kingdom of Wessex, probably at Crediton , was a missionary who propagated Christianity in the Frankish Empire during the 8th century. He is the patron saint of Germany and the first archbishop of Mainz...
and the Virgin Mary; and an unusually tall (203 ft) spire. It stands in the centre of buildings including a library with a collection of rare books and manuscripts and a chapter house
Chapter house
A chapter house or chapterhouse is a building or room attached to a cathedral or collegiate church in which meetings are held. They can also be found in medieval monasteries....
decorated with images of the martyrdom of the monks' predecessors. The Great Cloister, more than a kilometre long and one of the largest in the world, connects the 34 hermitages to the church and the other buildings, embracing four acres of orchards and the monastic burial ground.
See also
- Abbeys and priories in EnglandAbbeys and priories in EnglandAbbeys and priories in England lists abbeys, priories, friaries and other monastic religious houses in England.-Article layout:The list is presented alphabetically by ceremonial county...
- List of Carthusian monasteries
- List of monasteries dissolved by Henry VIII of England
- List of places of worship in Horsham (district)
Further reading
- Robin Bruce LockhartRobin Bruce LockhartRobin Bruce Lockhart was a British author.The son of the British spy R. H. Bruce Lockhart, he wrote the 1967 book Ace of Spies about the super-spy Sidney Reilly, which was made into a 1983 television miniseries Reilly: Ace of Spies, starring Sam Neill...
, Half-way to Heaven: The Hidden Life of the Sublime Carthusians (London: Thames Methuen, 1985)