The Abbey Experience Project The development of Wymondham Abbey Introduction The Project Wymondham Abbey is the parish church of a small The Abbey Experience is a community project led by historical market town near Norwich in Norfolk. The the Abbey’s Parochial Church Council. The aim is to building is one of the ecclesiastical glories of the region, encourage everyone to make greater use of this its twin towers making a very distinctive landmark. wonderful 900 year old building, the “heritage jewel” Founded in 1107 as a daughter priory to St Albans of Wymondham. The Abbey Experience aims to raise Abbey, it became an Abbey in its own right in 1448, the profile of the town as a visitor destination and bring with a church shared between monks and townspeople. more business to the historic town centre area. New The monastery was dismantled in 1538 when Henry learning opportunities will enable local people of all VIII dissolved it, leaving behind the western half of the ages to engage with and enjoy the wonderful heritage magnificent church. This continues to serve as the on their doorstep. town’s parish church, as the founder intended. The total cost of the project is around £2.75 million, In every century since its foundation, people have of which the Heritage Lottery Fund has contributed a made significant changes to the church. They built new total of £1.7 million. The money is going towards new towers, raised the roof height, widened the aisles then, buildings and facilities, historical interpretation and in 1538, knocked down the monastery church. Later learning resources. The existing church is being they re-shaped the pillars, built a gallery, installed an extended by “filling in” the corners on opposite sides organ, and set up a magnificent screen behind the altar. of the ruined east tower. This will give enough space to Every generation has adapted the building to its own offer substantially improved facilities for the benefit of needs. Now it is the turn of the 21st century custodians. visitors, church users and the wider community. Above, Wymondham Abbey from the south west Conservation & Heritage Journal 29 Some of the aims of the project include: The foundations and main structure of the new • Build new multi-function spaces including new extensions are made from steel and concrete, a very vestries which can double up as much-needed rehearsal 21st century solution to an age old problem of making and “green room” facilities for visiting performers. a tall building strong and durable. The south east extension employs soaring elegantly tapered steel • Develop a range of displays to explain the building beams to hold up the roof. Polished concrete floors will and its role in the town through nine centuries. provide a hardwearing and very attractive surface. Under-floor heating will add comfort in a very 21st • Make the unique parish archives, some dating back century manner. over 700 years, accessible to a wider public. There is an imperative to make the extensions ‘fit’ • Offer an educational service to schools and learning visually with the old building. To this end the outside groups of all ages using the new spaces. walls will be made of Clipsham stone (looking much • Provide modern amenities such as on-site toilets, a like the Caen stone used in the original parts of the servery and meeting rooms. building, but from a quarry in Leicestershire), using traditional stonemason’s skills and techniques. The Design south-east roof will be clad with terne coated There is a temptation to think that a historical building steel - looking much like lead but without the as important as Wymondham Abbey should always use attraction for metal thieves! ‘traditional’ design and materials when being extended Progress or altered, perhaps to try and mimic the existing The project started in May 2014 with the ‘enabling building. However, a visit to the Abbey will reveal a works’. This is essentially preparation of the ground for rich variety of architectural styles. For example, in the the main contractors to start a few weeks later. The nave, the first two levels use rounded Norman arches. works included an archaeological survey. During this In contrast, the third level has Gothic style pointed phase, a lot of clearing and dismantling took place and arches. The 15th century builders who added this several pieces of important stonework retrieved, extension didn’t slavishly follow the earlier design, but including a medieval holy water stoop. The ground used the style of their day. around the Abbey is of archaeological interest, so digging for the ‘footings’ was done very carefully. Below, SE extension during construction i i Conservation & Heritage Journal 29 The main contractors were appointed in July 2014. The significant grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund meant that the project team had to conform to HLF’s rules about fairness, suitability and financial prudence. Work on the new buildings started in September of last year, with a planned completion in the summer of 2015. Due to a number of issues, not least an exciting discovery explained below, completion has been delayed until October. In the 900 year lifespan of the church, that is a mere blink of an eye! Exciting discovery Part of the design remit was to retain on view as much of the archaeology contained within the existing structure as possible. With this in mind, it was decided to unblock the former opening from the 12th-century nave north aisle into the north transept. This is to be the basis for an arched window into the north-east extension. During the operation to knock out the masonry, a substantial quantity of worked stone was discovered. More exciting, this unblocking has revealed a substantial incised architectural design on the newly exposed respond (also forming the rear of the north-western 12th-century crossing pier). This sketch is of great significance, not least due to its (as far as can be established) unrivalled completeness; it probably dates from the 13th century. Dr Roland Harris, the project’s archaeologist, explains: “The incised design measures 1.9m x 1.3m and is a scale drawing for a gable and window tracery; the window Above, Architectural inscription and graffiti combines a central rose over a pair of two-light windows, with each pair surmounted by an eight-cusped oculus. The design is largely complete.” He also comments that the design does not relate to surviving Gothic additions to Wymondham Abbey and, therefore almost certainly relates to the monastic buildings. The photograph shows the design, which Roland has highlighted in red (the scratches in the stone are quite hard to see). There is also some medieval graffiti on the wall, picked out in green. Because of the importance of this sketch, the architects are having to rethink the design of the arch window so that the sketch remains visible with the window in place. There is an additional requirement to have a panel explaining and interpreting the sketch. Once the work is completed, Wymondham Abbey will be a place that is fit not just for the 21st century but, we hope, for many more centuries to come. I For further information about Wymondham Abbey or the development project, visit www.wymondhamabbey.com Wymondham Abbey, Church Street, Wymondham, Norfolk NR18 0PH Architects – Freeland Rees Roberts, Cambridge Main contractors – Draper and Nichols Ltd, Norwich. Above, Unblocking the arch i i Conservation & Heritage Journal 29.