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No 165 - 2002
4. The New Monastery Buildings by Oliver Holt OSB
EVER since the community's arrival at Woolhampton in 1903 there has been a continuous history of development of the site of the former St Mary's College. The year of our centenary will be marked with a particularly dramatic development which should herald a new beginning for the next 100 years.
Since the closure of Douai School in 1999, the former school buildings have been empty, awaiting a new use. In the very near future they are to be developed into flats and houses by Bewley Heritage. For various practical reasons, it was decided that the buildings should be split just north of what is known as "The Ark" which includes the monastic refectory, the guest dining room and the kitchen. It therefore became necessary to make alternative provision for these facilities. In addition the increased activity of the guest department, in retreats, conferences and in hospitality for individual guests meant that our present provision of guest rooms was becoming inadequate.
After a limited competition and visits to various buildings, David Richmond & Partners of Islington, London, were chosen as the architects for the monastery development in November 2000 The community were particularly impressed by the Canon HQ building in Reigate, Surrey, in which David Richmond had shown an imaginative approach in designing an attractive building with a strong emphasis on the quality of the environment and a sensitivity to the wishes of the client, the character of the site and to the issues raised by the incorporation of existing buildings. In discussion he had shown an awareness of the history of monastic buildings and of their particular character. He and his assistant, Jason Hayter, have now been working with a committee from the community for the past two years on the detailed designs and the exchange of ideas has been very fruitful. The architects have studied the traditional models for monastic architecture, particularly the ideal monastic plan drawn up the scholars, Aubert and Dimier, based on the 9th century monastery of St Gall in Switzerland.
In the process of looking at buildings by other recommended architects, particularly at academic institutions it was very interesting to see college accommodation blocks which had received awards during the 1980s and 1990s and then to return to see our monastic buildings built by Sir Frederick Gibberd in the 1960s with new eyes. The experience made us realise that our buildings were really of very fine quality and had lasted very well, although the heating system is nearing the end of its efficient life after forty years and needs to be replaced. It is certainly important that any additions or adaptations are of comparable quality. Another crucial factor is the imposing presence of the Abbey Church with its two very different elements, the original design by Arnold Crush in the 1920s and Michael Blee's completion which is now ten years old. We feel that David Richmond's response to the Gibberd design and to the whole complex and his own original ideas are outstanding.
A monastic refectory is not just a room in which meals can be efficiently served. It should reflect the importance of shared meals in community life and has its own ritual and spirit. The new refectory will be slightly smaller than the present refectory, but will be a double height room. One wall will be mainly of glass looking north towards a newly created courtyard which will have the fine existing oak tree in its centre. 
Interior of the proposed monastic refectory.
The new kitchen will be fitted out with modern equipment and will be adjacent both to the monastic and guest refectories. The latter will be able to sit 48 people in a formal arrangement and will be a great improvement on the present guest dining room which can only take 24 at an uncomfortable squeeze. 
The refectory seen from the cloister showing the exisiting oak tree in the court.
The present accommodation is in two blocks, the north block containing mainly novices and guests and the south block most of the monastic community. The David Richmond scheme will result in most of the community moving into newly upgraded rooms in the north block while 16 rooms of the south block will be converted into en-suite guest rooms which will all be en suite. The ground floor of the south block will be occupied by less mobile members of the community, some of whom may need rooms with special provision for the infirm or disabled. They will be much nearer to the refectory and the calefactory (the monks' common room).
One of the most ingenious features of the design is the way in which David Richmond has used the spare rooms in the monastery and made them available for guests, while also ensuring that the monastic privacy and seclusion are respected. The guests will have access to the newly refurbished rooms without needing to enter the monastic enclosure. A new short length of cloister passing a newly formed courtyard (the space presently used to park the monastic cars) will lead via a staircase and lift to a corridor behind the southern wall of the monastic refectory. On this corridor there will be four new rooms fully equipped for disabled guests, something we have not been able to provide before now. The corridor will continue directly into the first floor of the exisiting south block. The present arrangements of guests using rooms in the monastery itself has not been satisfactory, either for the guests themselves or for the community. This new area of guestrooms will have its own conference rooms and a small chapel. It will therefore be possible for a group of about 18 to hold a residential conference in their own area, while the existing conference rooms (nearer the reception area and the Abbey Church) could be used for another day function. Both groups could then share the guest refectory for meals. 
The view from the guests' entrance showing the new proposed guest refectory and the Abbey Church
The monastic buildings will be physically separated from the former school buildings by the demolition of the small link between the Ark and the 1923 block (both of which were designed by Sebastian Pugin-Powell) which now includes the parish priest's and the bursar's offices and the reception area. This opening will then provide access to the new kitchen delivery area and yard. The western façade of this link has one of the series of fine stone windows which run up to the reception pavilion. The stone will be carefully dismantled and re-used as a feature elsewhere in the new building. The approach of one of the listed buildings officers to this demolition was interesting and refreshing. She agreed to the demolition, but with the suggestion that the new roadway would incorporate, perhaps in brick, the outline of the former walls, this enabling the interested visitor to "read" the history of the buildings. 
The new cloister to link the Abbey Church with the main cloister. Behind can be seen the 1925 Pugin-Powell building.
We have already looked at the importance of the refectory in the life and spirit of a monastic community, and the importance of the Abbey Church in any monastery is self-evident and particularly obvious in the arrangement at Douai. However there is another element which has never been properly provided for the community and that is a proper library. We have a fine collection of books, including some important historical collections and archives, but they have always been kept in corridors and inadequately adapted rooms. Gibberd's scheme included a library but this has never been carried out. We now have the opportunity to build a proper library and archive storage and a great deal of work has gone into the design of this element. A committee has been working for some time and has included two professional archivists and specialist librarians from Reading University. The committee has been researching the possibility of the Douai Archive providing a depository for the archives of other religious communities which may not be able to provide adequate storage or care for them. The Douai Library and Archive could become in the future an important resource for a variety of people interested in research or scholarship, particularly for people on retreat and for those taking part in the Pastoral Programme. Presently it is extremely difficult for anyone to consult the library and archive for various reasons: the inadequate conditions, the lack of an electronic catalogue and the fact that the books and archives are in the monastic enclosure. The new library will be north of the Abbey Church on the site of what some readers may know as the orchard, although most of the trees have now died and been removed.
The committee has also looked at the possibility of applying for lottery funds, but the initial indications have not been encouraging. They are now beginning to investigate trust funds which might be more helpful.
The plans also include a new sacristy north of the Abbey Church together with associated rooms, including storage space for the extra chairs in the church. There will be an all-purpose meeting room in which, among other things, choir practices can take place, away from the conference room area.
The community is looking forward to a time when all the elements which should make up a monastery will for the first time be available to the community (including the elderly members) with a proper provision of quiet and privacy as well as up-to-date and appropriate facilities for our guests. It's been worth waiting a hundred years!‡
Index
The Role of the Monastery in Today's Society A Layman's Viewby Sir David Goodall
100 Years at Woolhampton as seen from the pages of The Douai Magazine
A Low God is No God Reflections on latent atheism by Peter Bowe OSB
Go to index of Douai Newsletter.