Cleeve Abbey, Somerset

This summer I'm living in Somerset, somewhere that I have never lived before. That means that I am able to explore an area of the country that is new to me. And that means a whole new group of historic properties to explore! Yes, that is exactly what a typical 23 year old looks forward to at the weekend.

One of the first places I visited this summer was Cleeve Abbey, an English Heritage property in the Somerset countryside.

Cleeve is a Cisterican abbey founded in the late 12th century, a relatively late foundation. Built originally in a simple style, more elaborate rooms were added over time, just as they were at other Cistercian abbeys around the country. After the Dissolution, the abbey was turned into a private house and later became a farm. But now, it is one of only a handful of English Heritage sites in Somerset.

Below are a selection of photographs from my visit. What will be very clear is how fantastic the level of preservation of wall painting is in various parts of the monastery. The First Refectory is undergoing a conservation project to protect the 13th century tiled pavement due to deterioration in recent years. Unfortunately this meant that I couldn't see it at the time but at least it is a great excuse for a return visit! The highlights of my visit had to be the Refectory (with its absolutely gorgeous roof) and the Painted Chamber.

Painting on the ceiling of the Chapter House

This series of images show the Dormitory. The dormitory is on the first floor and is amazingly preserved. Although the roof was replaced in the 17th or 18th century, it is fairly similar to how it would have originally been in the 13th century. One of the highlights of this room is the tiled window seats, of which there are several. It was certainly a surprise to see these as they are such a personal touch that survive to this day.

Downstairs is a series of rooms, including the Parlour, the Slype and Warming Room (pictured below). The Warming Room now has a modern concrete groin-vaulted ceiling, which actually gives a great idea of how light these rooms may have been at the time. Again these rooms are fairly well preserved, and although there are some clear signs of later alterations, they have survived well for rooms that were used for keeping animals in more recent centuries.

Above these rooms is the Refectory Hall, the communal dining hall. The focal point is the carved roof. There has been conservation work done here, but unfortunately, I have not been able to source any information on the dates for any of the pieces.  As you can see from one of the photographs, 1953 must have been a time of considerable change to the roof. This room would have had a large painting of the Crucifixion flanked by figures of the Virgin Mary and St John, but the painting decayed until by 1950 there was little trace of it.

What have remarkably survived are little pieces of graffiti in the gallery between the Refectory and the Painted Chamber. I have adjusted the photos to make these slightly clearer as they are now protected by a glass panel. It is not known who painted them, but it is believed that they do date from the medieval period. I love the idea of a monk doodling a little self portrait on a rainy day!

The Painted Chamber was probably the office or counting house for an abbot or his secretariat. Whilst the room can no longer be entered, the magnificent 15th century wall painting can still be viewed through a small window off the Gallery. The painting shows a double arched bridge over a river, with a man standing on the centre of the bridge praying. He is flanked by a lion and a horned dragon, and a pair of angels. To the left is the figure of St Catherine, and the right, St Margaret. It has recently been identified as the legend of the man crossing a bridge from the Gesto Romanorum, a 13th century collection of anecdotes. 

Below is an image showing a painted basin in the sacristy, that would have been used for washing the chalice used during the mass. This is another well preserved room that can not be entered due to the tiled floor that still largely remains. The sacristy would have been used for storing plates, candles, altar cloths, books and vestments used during services in the church. In comparison to other parts of the monastery, little remains of the church itself, with only parts of the south aisle and south transept remaining. Thanks to concrete edgings left by the Ministry of Public Building and Works in the 1960s, one can get a good sense of the size of the church, and its layout. 

The Gatehouse is the first, and last, thing you see of the monastery, as it is still used as the entry to the site today. Whilst it was built in the 13th century, it had extensive remodelling in the 16th century. It has certainly seen a large amount of wobbling (that's a technical term) over the centuries, and there are a number of buttresses from different years.

I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to Cleeve Abbey and was incredibly surprised by the preservation of a large amount of the site, with some of the finest examples of monastic architecture and decoration in the country. It should also be noted how friendly and welcoming the Property Steward was, even letting us eat our lunch in the education room because it had started to rain! On the day of our visit, there could not have been more than a dozen people visiting, and for a long time we were the only people there. Whilst Cleeve Abbey is quite a distance from more popular destinations in Somerset, I would definitely say that it was worth the trip, and I hope that visitor numbers pick up now that it is the summer holidays. If you do go, just remember to either take a picnic or plan for a pub lunch (there are a couple of very reasonably priced pubs in the area, so it is definitely an option).

If you do make a visit to Cleeve, please do let me know what you think. And if you have any recommendations for a medievalist like me, I would love to hear them.

Jess

If you would like any more information about Cleeve Abbey, then just take a look at the English Heritage website: http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/cleeve-abbey/. A lot of the information about the history of the site was from the guidebook of the Abbey by English Heritage.