Architecture
Hyde Abbey's architecture would have been typical of the Benedictine abbeys of Norman times. By the 12th century, a pattern had emerged in the design of abbey churches and their cloisters, dormitories, accommodation for visitors and other offices.
Consequently, the abbey church built by Henry I in Reading in the 1120s – inspired perhaps by Hyde Abbey – was very similar to Hyde in its layout.
Plain Norman architecture with its rounded arches and sturdy pillars would have been enhanced by decorated capitals and corbels. A number of examples of these are on display in St. Bartholomew's Church.
These are comparable to those from Reading Abbey (on display in Reading Museum) and may have been carved by the same craftsmen.
Construction
Whilst many of the masons, particularly the master masons, were from Normandy, the Anglo Saxons had many skilled carpenters following the tradition of mainly wooden structures in England at that time.
The builders at Hyde had no local source of building stone except for flint. Although flint could be used for foundations and infill of walls, it wasn't acceptable for the facework - and the builders were aiming to build a new abbey that would rival the best in Europe.
The vast majority of timber used in the abbey construction would have been oak. By the 12th century this would have come mainly from managed forests, many owned by the king. Gifts of royal timber were a frequent source of timber, and in the case of Hyde this is likely to have come from forests within a 30 mile radius of Winchester.
Cloisters
Very little is known about the layout of the cloister area of Hyde Abbey so the assumed outline of the cloister and buildings is based the generic design of Benedictine abbeys of the early 12th century. This appears to have changed little from that illustrated in the 9th century outline of a Benedictine monastery known as the plan of St Gall.
The architecture of the cloister arcade (as it was at the time of its build around 1130) was clarified by finds of reused stonework during the 2017 Hyde900 Community Dig.
This enabled the reconstruction of one half of the arcade using finds of early Norman voussoirs and Purbeck marble shaft from the dig, together with the capitals and springer stone from the Abbey on display at St Bartholomew's church.
The architecture of the cloister arcade as it was at the time of its build around 1130 was clarified by finds of reused stonework during the 2017 Hyde900 Community Dig.
This enabled the reconstruction of one half of the arcade using finds of early Norman voussoirs and Purbeck marble shaft from the dig, together with the capitals and springer stone from the Abbey on display at St Bartholomew's church.
Cloister Arcade
Gate House
This is where visitors were greeted and where guest rooms were provided. Benedictine rules dictated that all guests were received as if they were Christ himself.
Tiles
Inlaid tiles in Britain were popular from the 13th-15th centuries and were mostly used in monastic and royal buildings. The inlaid technique may have come from France where the encaustic tile industry was thriving from c. AD 1200.
