The
most modern buildings in the monastery stand to
the East, and comprise the East wing and, connected
to it by a bridge, the Monastery Library. They
are the work of Brett and Pollen, and are distinguished
by their bold use of concrete beams and glass.
Those familiar with Worth Abbey in West Sussex
which Brett and Pollen went on to design will recognise
something of the style in the massive, slightly
inclined sides of the base of our octagonal Library.
The Library was the earlier of the two constructions,
and was opened in 1969. It met an urgent need as
books had been stored hitherto in the attics and
corridors of the monastery. The solid two masses
of the exterior conceal a six floor interior housing
more than 150,000 books.
The East Wing completes the monastery buildings started
about a hundred years earlier and was opened in 1975.
It rises above the Weld Cloister, the last Gothic
construction at Downside, completed in 1949. Its
simple vaulted structure brings the school up to
the Abbey Church; on one side it lies below ground
level and recaptures something of the atmosphere
of a monastic undercroft. The East wing accommodates
the Monks Refectory, the Bursary and administrative
offices as well as the Guest Wing, connected in its
turn to the St Bede Centre.
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