Former Monastic Buildings To Cathedral Church Of Christ And The Blessed Virgin

Former monastic buildings to the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary

These buildings form an exceptional group of monastic structures that remain in continuous use alongside the cathedral. They represent the principal surviving elements of Chester Abbey, with building work spanning from the early 12th century to the 20th-century restorations.

The Cloister

The cloister arcades and vaults were rebuilt around 1525–30, but substantial earlier work survives. The south wall adjoining the cathedral and the west wall beside the abbey undercroft date from the early 12th century. The east wall facing the north transept, the chapter house vestibule, the slype passage connecting to the precinct, and the monks' parlour belong to the early 13th century. The north wall, which includes the refectory, is 12th century in origin but was altered in the late 13th century and retains a long stone bench that formerly served as the monks' lavatorium.

The four southern bays of the west cloister walk feature an arcaded passage set back to provide carrels (study alcoves). In the west wall is a Norman doorway to the former Abbot's Lodging, decorated with roll-moulding to the arris, colonnettes with scalloped capitals, and a plain stepped round arch. A segmental-arched doorway provides access to a stair serving the floor above the cellarer's undercroft. Two 13th-century grave-slabs and three of 14th-century date lie within the carrels, though damaged.

The south walk wall contains a late Norman doorway with round and octagonal colonnettes carrying water-leaf capitals and an arch with moulded, ornamented voussoirs. A pair of triple round-arched recesses with patterned colonnettes marks the burial place of Richard (Abbot 1092–1117), William (1121–40) and Ralph (1141–57). Other monuments include a grave slab for Henry Bebington dated 1341, a fine 13th-century grave-slab, and a stone to Simon Ripley, Abbot 1485–93, transferred from the chapter house. The arcade and vault were rebuilt by Sir George Gilbert Scott in 1911–13.

The east walk wall features an early English 3-arched stone screen to the chapter house vestibule, restored and its central doorway rebuilt in the 1840s by Hussey. A 20th-century buttress, inscribed to Sheriff J. B. Close Booth and donors to the cloister restoration of 1913, stands nearby. Two blocked simple Norman archways survive to the south. North of the vestibule screen, an early 13th-century archway leads to a 3-bay rib-vaulted slype passage. Beyond this is a fragment of an early 13th-century quatrefoil middle window, part of the now-truncated stair to the former dormitory, alongside a complete lower window. A 13th-century archway gives access to another stair, from which the middle window is visible, continuing to the monks' parlour.

The north walk wall displays an early 13th-century triple blank arch above the lavatorium bench, with carved corbels of 1520s date supporting the vault. One corbel bears the arms of Henry VIII. A doorway to the refectory, circa 1225, features a cusped archway. In the garth stands a stone reservoir, fed during the Middle Ages by a conduit from Christleton.

The Cellarer's Undercroft

This early 12th-century undercroft, located beside the cloister west walk and now serving as the cathedral shop, store and workshop, is groin-vaulted with a central row of short circular columns carrying scalloped capitals. It is divided from the cathedral nave by the rib-vaulted Abbot's Passage, which dates to the late 12th century.

St Anselm's Chapel

Reached above the Abbot's Passage is St Anselm's Chapel, formerly the Abbot's chapel of the 12th century, with side-piers to the nave ornamented with colonnettes. It was recast and refurnished in the earlier 17th century by John Bridgeman, Bishop of Chester (1619–52), a Laudian reformer who added an altar rail, a carved oak chancel screen, and a distinguished Gothick plaster ceiling.

The Cathedral Library Undercroft

Adjacent to the Abbot's lodging is a former 13th-century undercroft, now positioned below the cathedral library (formerly King's School, designed by Sir Arthur William Blomfield in 1875–7). This undercroft is vaulted across 3 by 2 bays with plain conical corbels at vault springing and chamfered ribs that die into octagonal columns on plinths. The 12th-century west face of the cathedral's north-west tower is visible from within the undercroft and its stair. Access is available either by stair from St Anselm's Chapel or directly from the baptistry in the north-west tower.

The Chapter House Vestibule and Chapter House

The chapter house vestibule is an early 13th-century space of domestic scale, measuring 3 by 3 bays with piers of eight attached shafts rising into the vault-shafts without capitals. A stone screen of 3 arches separates it from the chapter house proper. The central opening is flanked by 2-light windows with quatrefoil plate tracery, supported on 3 detached colonnettes with stiff-leaf capitals.

The 3-bay rectangular chapter house features free-standing vaulting piers and intermediate shafts flanking each side, carried on stiff-leaf corbels and surmounted by stiff-leaf capitals. The rib-vault includes a ridge-rib. An east cupboard retains 13th-century ironwork. Five east lancet windows contain stained glass of 1872 by Heaton Butler and Bayne, depicting the history of the Abbey and Cathedral in memory of Dean Anson, who initiated the Victorian restoration.

The Monks' Parlour

This chamber, now used as a choir-room, features a 13th-century cusped arched doorway and two recesses of former open fireplaces. It is vaulted across 4 by 2 bays on octagonal piers carrying chamfered ribs.

The Refectory

Now serving as the cathedral cafe, the refectory originated as a Norman building and was refurbished around 1300 and again in the 20th century. A Romanesque doorway survives. A raised corbelled reading pulpit, dating from around 1300, includes a stair within the thickness of the south wall, accessed through a trefoil-headed doorway and preceded by a screen of 5 arches with quadruple colonnettes and quatrefoil plate tracery. Five cusp-arched windows to the stair are visible from the cloister garth. A string-course at approximately 2 metres above floor level is followed by decorated side windows. The east window was rebuilt in 1913 by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, and the roof was rebuilt in 1939 by F. H. Crossley.

Features of Prime Interest

The exceptional extent of these monastic buildings, maintained in continuous use with the cathedral, represents their chief value. The group also includes late 14th-century choir stalls, a late 13th-century Lady Chapel, and the chapter house with its vestibule.