Canterbury Cathedral Priory’s Bath House and Fish Pond

Summary

Changes in monasticism in the century following the Norman Conquest may be recognized with the help of two documents. Archbishop Lanfranc’s Decreta, written c. 1077, make reference on occasion to the buildings which he had newly constructed for the monks at Canterbury. Along with the surviving remains, these references allow for a reconstruction of his ideas on monastic organization at the start of Norman rule. A second document, from the late 1150s, shows the entire precinct with the cathedral church and thirty of its surrounding buildings resulting from the extensive renovations undertaken by Prior Wibert (c. 1153–67). The depiction of the buildings, their relationships, and the disposition of the open courts is sufficiently accurate to discern the changes made to Lanfranc’s earlier design.

The usefulness of comparing the two documents may be illustrated by following one feature of monastic life: hospitality to strangers. Under Lanfranc this valued responsibility was accommodated in a single, sizeable building, the west range of the cloister. Located at the very heart of the community, this hospitality building testifies to Benedictine commitment to Christ’s injunctions in the Gospels: ‘I was hungry and you gave me food. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me’ (Matthew 24:35). What this entailed in the early Norman period is detailed in Lanfranc’s instructions about hospitality. The monks were to ‘have ready in the guest house beds, chairs, tables, towels, cloths, tankards, plates, spoons, basins, and suchlike – firewood also’. That Canterbury served as a model for Benedictine communities was confirmed at Norwich cathedral around 1100 and the royal abbey of Bury St Edmunds around 1120. Both institutions follow Lanfranc’s placement of strangers’ quarters.

Under Prior Wibert, however, provisions for hospitality shifted dramatically. The drawing indicates that the west range of the cloister lies emptied of guests. Four separate buildings provide hospitality in widely dispersed areas of the precinct. In the extreme eastern part, the nova camera (new chamber), as it is labelled in the titulus, accommodated nobles and aristocrats in what was a likely courtyard complex accessed through an imposing two-storey entry arch.