Caldey Abbey

The abbey buildings are whitewashed roughcast with distinctive red tile dressings forming sills, string-courses and arched hoods to windows. The roofs are red-tiled with prominent roughcast stacks. The design is in a free early 20th century Arts and Crafts style with influences from Mediterranean and Romanesque Europe. Windows are either small-paned timber casements or leaded lights. The complex is built around a cloister garth with the church at the south-east corner, the former abbot's house and private chapel at the south-west corner, the refectory to the west, kitchen and laundry at the north-west corner, and monk's cells and offices over basement workshops in the north range, with staircase, library and study room at the north-east corner.

East Entrance and Forecourt

The single-storey east entrance facade is set back in a lawned courtyard. It comprises three bays, with an arched main door in a projecting centre bay topped by a stepped parapet, and a shallow curved oriel each side with tiny stone-framed windows. A nogged brick string course runs right across, beneath an empty narrow niche in the parapet. Piers each side of the doorway are in red and white chequerwork, and the arch is in brick. To the right is a narrow link bay with a small arched light, and then at right angles the south gable of the library block with three stepped arched windows in the gable and two plain windows below. The east side has a gabled dormer with a triple casement over three large arched windows. The forecourt has a pergola on the south, and a single-storey north range parallel to the church. Four casement pair windows under the eaves to the right light the statio, four tiny stone arched lights to the left and two in the apsed end light the chapter-room.

Church

The abbey church entrance faces east, with an octofoil rose window and a large Romanesque doorway with a recessed inner arch, irregular quoins to the jambs, and similar irregular quoins to the angles, all in grey stone. The south side has arched stone single-light windows at upper level: two to the right are shorter, lighting the gallery, and four longer windows are over a lean-to aisle added in 1950 with five small arched windows and a doorway to the left. The sheer battered south tower, also roughcast, has pairs of stone bell-lights and a parapet with minimal crenellation. The nave to the left of the tower has two round windows set high at the eaves, and the lower chancel (created in 1950 from the former sacristy) has a triplet of small arched lights. The blank rear wall of the cloister south range with attached shed is a remnant of the cottage range burnt in 1940.

The interior of the church dates from 1949–51. It is a simple aisleless design with a thin hammerbeam roof, a gallery to the east, and a round-headed arch to the sanctuary. The chancel north window bears the monogram ABC. To the north, the parallel statio has fine arched scissor-braced trusses and wind-braces to the roof, and at the east end a massive stone doorway with monolith jambs and lintel, plinth and impost stones, and a relieving arch. This opens into the former chapter house with a similar roof and apsidal end. An arched door with fine wrought iron hinges leads from the cloister to the statio.

Former Abbot's House

The former abbot's house at the south-west corner is nearly free-standing with a double roof running east-west (a tall chimney in the valley has gone). The east front has stone quoins to the left, two leaded windows in the left gable above a tiled lean-to each side of a tall roughcast square porch with parapet and arched entry. The plank door has ornate hinges and latch. The lean-to has a hipped roof at the left corner over a chamfered corner window. The south side has a fine two-storey gabled bay to the left with chamfered angles and leaded lights flush with the wall face: four lights to the front, one to the angle and two to the sides, with the ground floor having two transoms. At the south-west angle is a very tall thin circular stair-tower with tiny arched lights beneath a flared conical copper roof (originally tiled with a timber belvedere balcony). The west side has two gables, five leaded paired windows to the first floor, a very broad arched window to the ground floor left and three small stone arched lights to the right. Quoins mark the left angle. On the north wall, another round tower with conical copper roof, lower and broader than the south-west tower, contains the external entrance to the abbot's chapel, with arched upper lights and an arched doorway with stone jambs and a small window to the right, and a plank door.

The main room of the former abbot's house has exposed ceiling beams, oak panelling to about two metres high, round-headed doors to cupboards, kitchen and hallway, with good door fittings. A large fireplace has a decorated cornice and a wooden beam corbelled from stone jambs. An arch leads to a bay window with a carved oak seat. There is a stained glass roundel by Dom Bede Bailey. The adjacent kitchen (originally the abbot's private secretary's room) has oak doors to full-height cupboards with strap hinges. The stair hall has an open-well oak stair with square newels with ball finials. The main newel has an obelisk finial with flat top. The first floor has panelled doors and fireplaces with tiled cheeks in single-colour tiles. The corner room has an arched door to the turret. The turret is of concrete with semi-circular cast concrete landings up to an observation level.

Abbot's Chapel

The chapel has apsidal ends to both walls and roof, a louvred lantern on the ridge, and a row of five small grey stone arched lights under the eaves.

The interior has a barrel vault, an apse to each end, stone jambs to arches, and a stone cornice. Oak panelling rises to about two metres high, with oak plank doors with wrought iron hinges and good metal fittings. There is a stone arched piscina and shelf. Stained glass (not made at Caldey) features six figures associated with the Benedictine order (Benedict, Bruno, Romuald, John Gualbert, Bernard Ptolemy and Bernard of Tiron). The floor is black and white marble. The elaborate fittings have been removed: it has an alabaster altar with tabernacle. The circular porch has a stone piscina.

West Refectory

The west refectory has a basement storey, a large roughcast north end stack with triple shafts, and a slim round turret on the centre of the west wall with a tiled conical roof. Two large plate-glass arched windows above (formerly with leaded glazing) light the refectory. A red-tile sill course and linked arched hoods run across. The basement has a broad brick arched window to the left of the turret. To the left, a short link with hipped roof against the refectory north gable has a flat dormer, two 20th century windows to the upper floor and one arched basement window. A rainwater head is dated 1913.

The interior has an elaborate six-bay open timber roof with cambered tie-beam trusses on corbels, the bracing forming a full semi-circle under a thin collar. Windbracing appears in two tiers. A fine large hooded fireplace to the north wall has splayed stone jambs and a timber lintel. The statue of St Michael formerly on the hood is now at Prinknash. Tiled hoods appear to the windows and to the arch over the pulpit in the west wall. The pulpit has a panelled timber front above the top of wooden wall panelling. A stepped triple window sits above the south dais end. A blank tympanum is over the arched doorway to the left of the fireplace to the kitchen.

North-West Kitchen

The prominent octagonal two-storey kitchen has an elaborate two-stage roof, clerestorey glazing between stages, and a louvred spired lantern above. A tall roughcast chimney with two round shafts rises to the south. Large round-headed plate glass windows at each level (originally leaded) have linked tile hoods and sills. A short projecting lower north block has a hipped lean-to roof and a four-light casement to the upper floor on both west and east faces. Against the north face is a large covered external stair up from the north service court, with a sloping tiled roof and four stepped arched openings on the north.

The interior has an elaborate conical arch-braced roof with an oculus. Simple wood fittings and remarkable glass tile wall cladding remain.

North Range

The north range, set high above a rock-face, is of three storeys plus attics. The full-height basement has massive red brick broad arches. The ground floor has narrow arched windows with a brick sill course and tile arched hoods linked by a string course. The top floor has similar sill and string courses linking arches; windows are in pairs with stone jambs and centre piers. A massive hipped roof with end gablets and roughcast tall stacks appears at the left end and on the front roof slope. Six dormers of between two and eight lights include five flat-roofed with pendants to cornices, the fourth with the main chimney rising through, and the sixth with a pyramid roof restored in 2001. Another tiny pyramid-roofed dormer restored on the left end. Nine pairs of windows to the second floor to the left of a bay with arched stair lights at intermediate heights. One pair and a single light are to the right. The ground floor has a close-spaced group of six narrow lights with joined hoods to the left, then seven wider-spaced windows, and a pair of windows to the right of the stair lights. The basement has five broad half-round brick arches on low stone jambs of massive rock-faced stone blocks, and one narrower doorway with taller jambs to the left of the stair bay and another similar narrower arch to the right, this one with stonework of the left jamb also encompassing an arched doorway. Timber mullion and transom glazing with leaded lights appears throughout. The stair bay has two arched lights, each with a head breaking through the sill course of a main floor level and tiled hood. To the right, in the angle to the octagonal kitchen tower is a small room at ground floor level, corbelled out with a chamfered north-east angle.

The interior has long corridors with cells to each side on the first and attic levels. Plain stairs with ball-finials to newels provide access.

North-East Library Block

To the left of the main north range, the gabled library block is set back, three storeys with buttresses framing basement and ground floors. The basement has three arched windows, the first floor has a double brick string course under three tiny arched windows with tiny roundels above, while the gable has three stepped leaded arched windows as on the south gable end.

The ground floor former scriptorium has a stained glass window of St Ambrose by Dom Bede Bailey. The novices' room above has a scissor-braced roof. The stair adjoins to the north block.

Cloister Garth

The cloister garth has two broad lunette openings each side with brick arches and leaded glazing. A stone sill course runs right around, and the north range has an arched centre doorway in massive rock-faced stone and brick steps down to grass. Stone jambs of windows each side are carried down to the ground framing five small basement lights below the string course. A lavabo bay in the north-west corner has a bell-cast pyramid roof and stone small lights. Stained glass by Dom Bede Bailey appears in the cloister.

The north range has flat-roofed dormers as on the north front, paired first floor windows with a sill course and impost band linking paired hoods. The other three ranges have lean-to roofs. Some stained glass by Dom Bede Bailey is present.