Beaulieu

The Abbey Church: Patterns of Worship

Although little beyond one wall and the pillar bases remain today, the Church was the largest and most important building of the Abbey complex. Beaulieu Abbey Church was the largest of all Cistercian churches in England, with an overall length of 336 feet and a width of 182 feet. It was situated on the north side of the site to protect the Cloisters from the cold winds. Special permission had to be obtained to build the tower with its bell chamber, for the Cistercian rule stated 'let there be no towers of stone for bells, nor of wood, to an immoderate height, which are unsuited to the simplicity of the Order' The bell it contained was rung to call the monks to prayer.

A monk's life was one of discipline and routine. His time was divided between worship, work, private prayer, study, meal times and sleep, with each day's pattern determined first by the sequence of services and second by the hours of daylight. The availability of daylight meant that the monk's day altered slightly with the changing of the season.

The monks' religion was Catholicism. At this time any deviation from this form of worship in Western Europe was regarded personally as the act of the eccentric, and politically as heresy. The Divine Office, the p ublic prayers of the Church, provided the framework for the day, which was divided into 'hours'. The first hour at sunrise (c. 6am) was the two-part Prime, followed by Terce, Sext and None during the 3rd, 6th and 9th hours respectively. The 'Evening office' of Vespers and Compline followed at around 6pm and 8pm, whilst the 'Night Office' began with Nocturns at 2am and ended with Matins an hour later.

Each service consisted of hymns, psalms, scripture readings and prayers sung in Gregorian chant or Pl ainsong. The division between choir monks and lay brothers was continued in the Church; the choir monks used the stalls in the transepts, the lay brothers the nave. Each had their own separate entrance, entering through different doors from the Cloisters during the day, and the choir monks using a passage and steps which led into the Church from their dormitory during the night. Above these 'night steps' was a gallery used by aged and infirm monks. The monks sat in order of seniority, the abbot or the prior leading the prayers unless a visiting church dignatory was present.

Evidence suggests the Church was partially heated using charcoal, but it would have been nevertheless a cold and draughty place. Light was provided by oil lamps and candles made f rom wax produced by the bees in the Abbey hives. Overall responsibility for the Church was held by the Sacristan, from the security of valuable service vessels and the relics of the Holy Land contained on all the altars, to the provision of sufficient can dles. Service books were the responsibility of the Precentor. Ironically, it was the Monastic devotion to their worship that eventually led to their dissolutiion and the End of their Era.