The Architect

The architect was Francis Pollen who died in 1987. He was responsible for most of the alterations to old buildings at Worth and for the design of most of the new ones. Pollen studied architecture at Cambridge. While still an undergraduate, he designed a beautiful chapel for a Carmelite convent which could not afford an architect. In his early days he was influenced by the ideas of a great British architect, Lutyens. Afterwards, he was a partner in the firm of Brett, Pollen and Bosanquet. Among church buildings, he designed a remarkable extension to a neo-Gothic church by Pugin at Marlowe-on-Thames. He considered Worth Abbey church his greatest achievement. He was specifically chosen by Abbot Victor who was the driving force behind the construction of the church.

The Design

Abbot Victor commissioned Pollen in 1957 to produce a design which could be completed in stages as and when money became available. The process of design went through a number of phases, each one discussed with the community, until finally Pollen came up with a design using contemporary techniques. The change of mind ran parallel with the liturgical changes of the Second Vatican General Council in the early 1960s.

The final design took account of the community's need for a permanent monastery as well as for a church. Pollen's plan was for a large roofed in central square to serve as church which was to be given an outer skin of monastic buildings. Although the design was refined and altered in detail, the general idea has been followed.

View of the Structure

The monastery (completed 1989) covers the south and east sides of the church while the north side contains a long narthex or entrance hall (completed 1984). The outer skin of the west side remains unfinished.

The unusual building consists of a square base upon which is placed a roof shaped like a cone with a central lantern drum. The base is 130 fee square; the outer ring 110 feet in diameter; the inner ring at the drum 40 feet in diameter. The basic design of the cone is that of two concrete rings between raked struts which make the roof. The circular lantern (central drum) provides strong light over the sanctuary and altar. The light in the rest of the church is supplemented by a "clerestory", a band of glass 4 feet high following the base of the cone, dividing the outer ring into upper and lower ring beams. The lower ring beam stands on eight pillars. The heavy outward thrust of struts between the drum and the outer ring is borne by the huge upper and lower concrete beams. These beams are given rigidity by stressed cables contained within concrete.

The 'front' of the church with the two main entrances and
the new piazza in the foreground

The Interior

Entering by the narthex and then descending the stairs, the church opens out impressively. Standing between the first two pillars you will see ahead of you the font and the altar, then the lectern for the reading of the Scriptures, around which is the monastic choir where the community prays and sings the Divine Office daily.

To the left is the Blessed Sacrament Chapel where a lamp burns in the little window. To the right is the Lady Chapel, containing a statue of the Virgin and Child, designed by the late Dom Ephrem Seddon of Downside, and carved in wood by Stuflesser of the Tyrol in the 1930s. The other Virgin and Child in the niche is by Arthur Pollen, the architect's father, as is the figure on the central hanging crucifix. These chapels are for private prayer or for group prayer. You will notice that there are side entrances to the church, one on the east and one on the west. Also on the east, there are two rooms. The larger is the Unity Chapel (the gift of local Anglican well-wishers)and the smaller is a sacristy or vestry.

A view of the church with the Blessed Sacrament Chapel to the left

The large central area is used for the main worship each day. The community gathers round the altar to celebrate the life, death and resurrection of Christ in the Mass. The altar therefore symbolises the source of the monk's life and is fittingly the hub of the whole church.

Uses of the Church

The church is a magnet for prayer for individuals who wish to pray or reflect alone and it comes alive in a different way when it is full of people. It will hold 700-800 people comfortably but twice that number with a little re-ordering of the seating. Besides the school and parish celebration every Sunday, Christmas and Easter brings crowds of people. Easter, the celebration of the Resurrection, is the high point of the year. Parties known as the "Worth Cross" walkers converge on the church from Canterbury, Chichester and Winchester. Each group of about twenty have set off on Palm Sunday carrying a large wooden cross. They arrive on Maundy Thursday, singing chants as they enter the church. Meanwhile, helpers from the Lay Community have been preparing for the many people who come to share and to pray for the three day celebration, the highpoint of the Christian Year.

The church serves as a centre for Diocesan events, for confirmation, for meetings, retreats and courses. Choral and orchestral converts are regularly held here.