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Monument Types

• CLOISTER (MEDIEVAL - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• CLOISTER GARTH (POST MEDIEVAL - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)

Associated Events

• Refectory Undercroft (Ref: WCM100344)
• South Passage (refectory) (Ref: WCM100768)
• College Green (adjacent to refectory) (Ref: WCM100769)
• Cathedral Cloister (Ref: WCM101737)
• GPR survey, cloister garth, Worcester Cathedral (Ref: WCM102354)

Protected Status

• Listed Building

Full description

The monastic cloister walks and cloister garth (garden).

A multi-period monument, mainly dating from Wulfstan's rebuilding of the 1080s onwards, with some possibility of earlier fragments remaining from a pre-Conquest predecessor or other buildings (see below), and with later vaulting, fenestration and other additions. The walks, each of nine vaulted bays, are lit by 5-light Perpendicular-character windows onto the garth, the door to the garth being in the central bay of the western walk. The cloister fenestration was restored by Perkins in 1862. Each walk has lierne vaults over, with decorative bosses at the rib intersections; the bays are marked by deep internal buttresses. The inner walls of the cloister walks are of varied character, reflecting the varied building chronologies of the surrounding ranges. The north walk has six plain square buttresses against the Norman south aisle wall. The first (western) bay contains the monks' doorway to the church under a four-centred arch. The ninth (eastern) bay contains the second (prior's) doorway to the church under a pointed arch. A continuous wall bench runs between the buttresses. The eastern walk is reckoned to be the earliest; the first two bays contain masonry of very mixed character (see below); bay three gives access to the slype or east parlour (WCM 96374). Bay six gives access to the Norman and later chapter house (WCM 96372). The first (eastern) bay of the south walk gives access to the passage from the south, at the eastern end of the refectory. Access to the refectory hall (WCM 96377) is from a doorway off bay eight. The monastic lavatorium is nearby in the second and third bays of the western walk, north of the doorway through to no.14 College Green (WCM 96366), formerly the sub-prior's accommodation. Further north, the outer wall of the western walk contains the Norman and 15th-century doorways that formerly gave direct access to the dorter (WCM 96379). The last bay gives access to the former western parlour or Infirmary Passage, now in use as the cathedral shop {1}.

Willis (1863) characterised the cloister chronology in terms of outer walls of mainly Norman date with arcades and vaults of wholly 14th-century date, belonging to the episcopate of Bishop Wakefield; Willis quotes Dr Hopkins' notes asserting that the refectory and cloister were built, or in progress, in 1372. Willis suggested that the Norman cloister probably had a wooden roof resting on an arcaded stone wall towards the central garth. The glazing of the windows closing the arcades facing the garth was destroyed in the Civil War, when the tracery itself was damaged. The glazing had been heraldic on the north, west and east sides, with the miracles of St Wulfstan in the south side. The original tracery was wholly removed and replaced by 'miserable substitutes' in 1762. All of the piers separating the cloister bays are pierced by a small opening, at the same height above the floor; the function of these was not known to Willis, who referred to them as aumbries but suggested that they may have been devices to lighten the piers. Willis also comments on some of the fine detail of the vaulting, including irregularities in the planning of the cloister walks and the accommodation of these in the vaulting design and at the chapter house door {2}.

Cathedral documents show that masons were constantly at work in the cloister in the first quarter of the 15th century. Stone was brought from Ombersley by boat in 1420-21 'and no doubt at other times as well'. Monastic officials donated sums of money to be set aside for treats etc on certain festivals 'ad edificandum claustrum'. Frequent payments were made for repairs to the water pipes feeding the lavatorium, and in 1395-6 a new well (fons) was constructed with much new leadwork. There are occasional references to monastic burials in the cloister: a monk in 1444-5, a prior in 1272, and a layman 'at the entrance to the chapter house' {3}.

Philip Barker tentatively proposed that some elements of the cloisters are of pre-Conquest date. Parts of the west wall of the west cloister walk are, he suggested, pre-Conquest, because of his perception that the early Norman main door to the dorter was cut into the surrounding masonry. The masonry in question seems however to consist of the alternating narrow and wide courses identified by Harold Brakspear as characteristic of the early Norman dorter range (see WCM 96379). A more promising candidate may be a three-voussoir fragment of a semi-circular arch above and apparently replaced by another Norman door in the west wall. Rubble masonry forming the west wall of the cathedral transept in the east cloister walk was also suggested to be of Anglo-Saxon date, pre-dating the turret at the corner of the transept and the prior's door to the north. Similarly, a section of rubble masonry in the south wall of the south walk (part of the north wall of the refectory) was suggested to be of different character to, and earlier than, the adjacent masonry, and therefore also of possible pre-Conquest date (see WCM 96377) {4}.

Barker's Research Design for the cathedral precinct noted two geophysical surveys within the cloisters. A ground probing radar survey found 'very strong anomalies' at the north end of the east cloister walk (WCM 101227) possibly representing 'large and potentially important structures'. Further strong anomalies were detected by GPR survey in the north-east corner of the cloister garth (WCM 101228) {5}.

The cloister garth is densely occupied by burials, some of recent date.

Cross-reference to: 96371, cathedral church

COLLEGE STREET (South West side) Cathedral of St Mary: Cloister range, Chapter House & Undercroft with Refectory (Formerly Listed as: Cathedral of St Mary)

620-1/3/706
22/05/54
GV I

Cloister group S of cathedral church, remains of Benedictine monastery domestic buildings. Parts of undercroft probably pre-Norman, cloister laid out at the time of Wulfstan's rebuild, 1084 onwards, E slype and W passage remain from this time; Chapter House c1100-1110, central column replaced c1224, whole refaced after 1336. Refectory mid C14. Cloister fenestration restored by Perkins, 1862. Many stones used, including Highley and Alveley sandstones and some Cotswold oolite, vault severies in tufa. Lead roofs, slate to Refectory. CLOISTER: in four walks of 9-bays each, the S walk not at true right angles to the remainder, resulting from layout of pre-Norman abbey buildings. To the garth the bays are identical, with a large 5-light 'Perpendicular' traceried window above a continuous plinth and under a moulded string to crenellated parapet; the bays are divided by square buttresses with gables offset and crown, and the central bay to the W walk has a door opening. Inside all walks have lierne vaulting, with many varied decorative bosses. The interior faces of the bays have deep buttresses, with panelled intrados, pierced laterally except in the W walk, which was the last one constructed; the corner piers are bolder than the remainder. The inner walls are generally plain, with much mixed masonry, the vaults being corbelled at their springings. The N walk has 6 plain square buttresses, part of the Norman wall to the nave S aisle. The first bay (W) has steps to a central pair of plank doors in a 4-centred arch on responds, and bay 9 has fine C19 doors with strap hinges in a richly moulded pointed arch, approached by a C20 ramp. A continuous bench runs between buttresses, and the vault corbels to the middle bay are carved with a donkey with panniers and an angel, respectively. The E walk, probably the earliest, has 2 plain bays, with very mixed masonry, the third bay having glazed doors in a pointed arch to the Slype; the next 2 bays have a deep bench below very heavy voussoirs, with a plain door in bay 6, and early arched openings in the last two. The first bay in the S walk has a vaulted throughway under the refectory, with a low door, right, to the undercroft. The rest of the walk has several early square buttresses, steps and landing to a door in 4-centred arch in bay 2, and a large door in moulded early English arch to bay 8; various earlier elements are visible in the masonry. The W walk has a C19 door in a roll-mould pointed arch to bay 1, with the lavatorium recess in the next 2 bays, and a blocked Norman doorway under remnants of a flush arch to bay 4. The central bay has a throughway, previously to the dormitory (now disappeared), in a flat arch within moulded surround, and in the next 2 bays are varied blocked openings, including wide 4-centred arches. The last bay contains glazed doors (to the Cathedral shop) in a pointed opening with chevron mould, on nook shafts. The W passage, now the shop, has 4 bays of heavy quadripartite ribbed vault, in part to a Norman blind arcade, with a 3-light opening at the W end. The E slype, immediately adjoining the S transept is of very early work, probably of the time of Wulfstan, but with some detail looking earlier, in 2 groined bays carried on blind arcading to monolithic half-columns on primitive looking bases and caps; a plain high pointed arch leads through to the exterior at the E end, and a lesser arch to a passage parallel with a side of the Chapter house. CHAPTER HOUSE: a circular building of approx 18.3m (60ft) diameter, with central column, but rebuilt externally to octagonal form. The exterior, mainly in pink sandstone, has 4-light windows set deep, in flush surrounds, below a small window slit; bays are divided by square buttresses with stepped inset near the head, under a hollow-mould string to plain parapet and saddle-back coping. The N side is linked to the S transept by 2 storey C14 buildings, the upper level with treasury. Entrance is centred to the mid bay of the E cloister walk, the C14 door flanked by niches, and with tracery above. Inside, the central column, in limestone on a Purbeck base, carries 10 ribs to the plastered groined vault over the main windows, those abutting the transept being in blank tracery. The lower half is early masonry in alternate green and brown bands, with a series of 7 very shallow niches to each bay having interlaced round arched heads under a continuous string course; the bays are divided by Norman pillars with cushion capitals supporting the (later) vaulting. Formerly a continuous bench was carried all round, but this was cut away to accommodate the shelves of the Cathedral Library, in 1641. The door bay has a pair of C19 doors in a moulded surround with 4-centred head, and, slightly offset to its left are the remains of the round head to the original doorway, before the remodelling of the cloister. REFECTORY AND UNDERCROFT: this runs the full length of the cloister S walk. To the S it is completely exposed, the main hall having 5 large 3-light Decorated windows to stopped drips, under a moulded string and plain parapet. The lower area has, at the left-hand end, a doorway in rich moulded pointed arch, on 6 steps, then a series of flat Norman buttresses under a continuous offset sill band, and, far right, a fine Norman door in recessed cloister through a barrel vaulted passage having a low doorway, left, to arched heads to deep set windows between buttresses, lighting the undercroft. The ends have corner buttresses with 2 offsets, and the E wall has a square window with curvilinear tracery set deep to a moulded surround with 4-centred head; an offset string with 2 flat buttresses corresponds with the undercroft level, and the W end has a flying buttress, and large C14 window. The low pitched gables are simply coped, with a crowning finial. On the N side, rising above the cloister S walk, are 4 large C14 windows, a broad external stack between bays 2 and 3 and smaller stack at 4/5, with octagonal corner turret. The undercroft has been later subdivided, and is in part inaccessible; it has a central row of bold Norman columns carrying crudely formed groined vaults in 6-bays. The upper hall, former refectory and now King's School College Hall, has a wooden vaulted ceiling to stone corbel capitals, windows in reveals with fluted nook-shafts. The walls to sill height have C19 wood panelling, and at the W end is a complex C19 screens with gallery; parquet floor. At the E end, built into the wall below a high window, is a fine early C13 carved Christ in Majesty, unfortunately much damaged by Reformation defacement; also in the N wall, near the E end, the window rere-arch has some vaulting, associated with a former reading desk. HISTORY: there was a Benedictine house on the site in Saxon times, but an almost complete rebuilding took place under Wulfstan, starting in 1084, and some fragments remain in the domestic ranges. The layout at Worcester was unusual, in that the monks' dormitory was not in the customary position, over the E cloister range, but projected westward from the centre of the W walk, and was at the level of the cloister; other elements were under the dormitory, as the ground falls away rapidly here, and 3 further levels, including the necessarium, could be built below it - fragments only of these works remain (qv Monastic Ruins). Also on Map 16. {1}

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