Other names Parkminster Established 1873 Dedicated to Hugh of Lincoln Mother house Grande Chartreuse | Order Carthusian Public access Only to chapel Heritage designation Listed building | |
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Location Parkminster,
near Cowfold, Horsham, West Sussex, England | ||
St. Hugh's Charterhouse, Parkminster is the only post-Reformation Carthusian monastery in the United Kingdom. It is located in the parish of Cowfold, West Sussex, England.
The monastery was founded in 1873, when the property formerly known as Picknoll was acquired for its construction in order to accommodate two houses of continental Carthusians in exile. Building took place between 1876 and 1883 to designs by a French architect, Clovis Normand, who had at his disposal a generous budget. The number of monks has varied: 30 in 1883, 70 in 1928, 22 in 1984 and there are currently 26 monks as of January 2017
The buildings are in a French Gothic Revival style described by some as "weak", although Pevsner's judgement was that "The plan is magnificent and can only be properly seen from the air". The church has relics of Saint Hugh of Lincoln, Saint Boniface and the Virgin Mary; and an unusually tall (203 ft) spire. It stands in the centre of buildings including a library with a collection of rare books and manuscripts and a chapter house decorated with images of the martyrdom of the monks' predecessors.
The Great Cloister, more than a kilometre long and one of the largest in the world, connects the 34 hermitages to the church and the other buildings, embracing four acres of orchards and the monastic burial ground.
It is a Grade II* listed building
