long, and is sometimes, as at Llanthony and Christ Church
(Twynham), shut off from the aisles, or, as at Bolton, Kirkham,
&c., is destitute of aisles altogether. The nave in the northern
houses, not unfrequently, had only a north aisle, as at Bolton,
Brinkburn and Lanercost. The arrangement of the monastic
buildings followed the ordinary type. The prior's lodge was
almost invariably attached to the S.W. angle of the nave.
Bristol Cathedral.
The annexed plan of the Abbey of St Augustine's at Bristol,
now the cathedral church of that city, shows the arrangement
of the buildings, which departs very little from the
ordinary Benedictine type. The Austin canons' house at
Thornton, in Lincolnshire, is remarkable for the size
and magnificence of its gate-house, the upper floors of
which formed the guest-house of the establishment, and for
possessing an octagonal chapter-house of Decorated date.
Premonstratensians.
The Premonstratensian regular canons, or White canons, had
as many as 35 houses in England, of which the most perfect
remaining are those of Easby. Yorkshire, and Bayham, Kent.
The head house of the order in England was Welbeck. This order
was a reformed branch of the Austin canons, founded, A.D.
1119, by Norbert (born at Xanten, on the Lower Rhine, c.
1080) at Premontre, a secluded marshy valley in the forest
of Coucy in the diocese of Laon. The order spread widely.
Even in the founder's lifetime it possessed houses in Syria and
Palestine. It long maintained its rigid austerity, till in
the course of years wealth impaired its discipline, and its
members sank into indolence and luxury. The Premonstratensians
were brought to England shortly after A.D. 1140, and were
first settled at Newhouse, in Lincolnshire, near the Humber.
The ground-plan of Easby Abbey, owing to its situation on the
edge of the steeply sloping banks of a river, is singularly
irregular. The cloister is duly placed on the south side of the
church, and the chief buildings occupy their usual positions
round it. But the cloister garth, as at Chichester, is not
rectangular, and all the surrounding buildings are thus made
to sprawl in a very awkward fashion. The church follows
the plan adopted by the Austin canons in their northern
abbeys, and has only one aisle to the nave--that to the
north; while the choir is long, narrow and aisleless. Each
transept has an aisle to the east, forming three chapels.
The church at Bayham was destitute of aisles either to nave or
choir. The latter terminated in a three-sided apse. This church
is remarkable for its exceeding narrowness in proportion to its
length. Extending in longitudinal dimensions 257 ft., it is
FIG. 11.--St Augustine's Abbey, Bristol (Bristol
A. Church. H. Kitchen. S. Friars' lodging.
B. Great cloister. I. Kitchen court. T. King's hall.
C. Little cloister. K. Cellars. V. Guest-house.
D. Chapter-house. L. Abbot's hall. W. Abbey gateway.
E. Calefactory. P. Abbot's gateway. X. Barns, stables, &c
F. Refectory. R. Infirmary. Y. Lavatory.
G. Parlour.
not more than 25 ft. broad. Stern Premonstratensian canons
wanted no congregations, and cared for no possessions;
therefore they built their church like a long room.
Carthusians.
The Carthusian order, on its establishment by St Bruno,
about A.D. 1084, developed a greatly modified form and
arrangement of a monastic institution. The principle of this
order, which combined the coenobitic with the solitary life,
demanded the erection of buildings on a novel plan. This
plan, which was first adopted by St Bruno and his twelve
companions at the original institution at Chartreux, near
Grenoble, was maintained in all the Carthusian establishments
throughout Europe, even after the ascetic severity of the order
had been to some extent relaxed, and the primitive simplicity
of their buildings had been exchanged for the magnificence
of decoration which characterizes such foundations as the
Certosas of Pavia and Florence. According to the rule of
St Bruno, all the members of a Carthusian brotherhood lived
in the most absolute solitude and silence. Each occupied a
small detached cottage, standing by itself in a small garden
surrounded by high walls and connected by a common corridor or
cloister. In these cottages or cells a Carthusian monk
passed his time in the strictest asceticism, only leaving
his solitary dwelling to attend the services of the Church,
except on certain days when the brotherhood assembled in the
refectory. The peculiarity of the arrangements of a Carthusian
monastery, or charter-house, as it was called in England,
from a corruption of the French chartreux, is exhibited
in the plan of that of Clermont, from Viollet-le-Duc.
Clermont.
The whole establishment is surrounded hy a wall, furnished
at intervals with watch towers (R) . The enclosure is divided
into two courts, of which the eastern court, surrounded by a
cloister, from from which the cottages of the monks (I) open,
is musch the larger. The two courts are divided by the main
buildings of the monastery, including the church, the sanctuary
(A), divided from B, the monks' choir, by a screen with two
altars, the smaller cloister to the south (S) surrounded by
the chapter-house (E), the refectory (X)---these buildings
occupying their normal position--and the chapel of Pontgibaud
(K). The kitchen with its offices (V) lies behind the
relectory, accessible ftom the outer court without entering the
cloister. To the north of the church, beyond the sacristy
(L), and the side chapels (M), we find the cell of the sub-prior
(a), with its garden. The lodgings of the prior (G) occupy
the centre of the outer court, immediately in front of the
west door of the church, and face the gateway of the convent
(O). A small raised court with a fountain (C) is before
it. This outer court also contains the guest-chambers (P),
the stables and lodgings of the lay brothers (N), the barns
and granaries (Q), the dovecot (H) and the bakehouse (T).
At Z is the prison. In this outer court, in all the earlier
foundations, as at Witham, there was a smaller church in
addition to the larger church of the monks.) The outer and
inner courts are connected by a long passage (F), wide enough
to admit a cart laden with wood to supply the cells of the
brethren with fuel. The number of cells surrounding the great
A. Church.
B. Monks' choir.
C. Prior's garden.
D. Great cloister.
E. Chapter-house.
F. Passage.
G. Prior's lodgings.
H. Dovecot.
I. Cells.
K. Chapel of Pontgibaud.
L. Sacristy.
M. Chapel.
N. Stables.
O. Gateway.
P. Guest-chambers.
Q. Barns and granaries.
R. Watch-tower.
S. Little cloister.
T. Bakehouse.
V. Kitchen.
X. Refectory.
Y. Cemetery.
Z. Prison.
a. Cell of subprior
b. Garden of do.
FIG. 12.--Carthusian monastery of Clermont.
cloister is 18. They are all arranged on a uniform plan.
Each little dwelling contains three rooms: a sitting-room
(C), warmed by a stove in winter; a sleeping-room (D),
furnished with a bed, a table, a bench, and a bookcase; and
a closet (E). Between the cell and the cloister gallery (A)
is a passage or corridor (B), cutting off the inmate of the
cell from all sound or movement which might interrupt his
meditations. The superior had free access to this corridor, and
through open niches was able to inspect the garden without being
seen. At I is the hatch or turn-table, in which the daily
allowance of food was deposited by a brother appointed for that
purpose, affording no view either inwards or outwards. H is the
garden, cultivated by the occupant of the cell. At K is the
wood-house. F is a covered walk, with the necessary at the end.
The above arrangements are found with scarcely any variation
in all the charter-houses of western Europe. The Yorkshire
Charter-house of Mount Grace, founded by Thomas Holland, the
young duke of Surrey, nephew of Richard II. and marshal of
England, during the revival of the popularity of the order,
about A.D. 1397, is the most perfect and best preserved English
example. It is characterized by all the simplicity of the
order. The church is a modest building, long, narrow and
aisleless. Within the wall of enclosure are two courts.
The smaller of the two, the south, presents the usual
arrangement of church, refectory, &c., opening out of a
cloister. The buildings are plain and solid. The northern
court contains the cells, 14 in number. It is surrotmded by a
double stone wall, the two walls being about 30 ft. or 40 ft.
apart. Between these, each in its own garden, stand the cells;
low-built two-storied cottages, of two or three rooms on the
ground-floor, lighted by a larger and a smaller window to the
side, and provided with a doorway to the court, and one at the
back, opposite to one in the outer wall, through which the
monk may have conveyed the sweepings of his cell and the refuse
of his garden to the ``eremus'' beyond. By the side of the
door to the court is a little hatch through which the daily
pittance of food was supplied, so contrived by turning at an
angle in the wall that no one could either look in or look
out. A very perfect example of this hatch---an arrangement
belonging to all Carthusian houses--exists at Miraflores, near
Burgos, which remains nearly as it was completed in 1480.
A. Cloister gallery.
B. Corridor.
C. Living-room.
D. Sleeping-room.
E. Closets.
F. Covered walk.
G. Necessary.
H. Garden.
I. Hatch.
K. Wood-house.
FIG. 13--Carthusian cell, Clermont.
There were only nine Carthusian houses in England. The
earliest was that at Witham in Somersetshire, founded
by Henry II., by whom the order was first brought into
England. The wealthiest and most magnificent was that of
Sheen or Richmond in Surrey, founded by Henry V. about A.D.
1414. The, dimensions of the buildings at Sheen are stated
to have been remarkably large. The great court measured
