Abingdon Abbey Revisted

On March 7, 2011 we posted an article regarding a tithe barn at Abingdon Abbey in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, England.  The building, depicted in a photograph owned by the Glessners at the time they first met with architect Henry Hobson Richardson in 1885, became a primary inspiration for the architect who took the design of the structure and made it the “keynote” of the Glessners’ new home on Prairie Avenue. 

In May 2012, members of the Abingdon Area Archaeological and Historical Society (AAAHS) found the blog article and started an interesting communication with the museum.  Unaware that the building depicted in the photograph had served as the inspiration for the internationally recognized Glessner House, they set out to find out what they could about the structure.

Most interesting of all is the fact that the building is in fact NOT the tithe barn at the Abbey.  That structure, which was converted to an Anglican church in the 1960s, has similar lines but is clearly not the same building.  Further investigation uncovered the actual building depicted in the photo, which remains standing today.  The building’s historic function was that of a carriage entrance to the stable block for the Cosener’s House (partially visible at far left), the residence of the abbey kitchener or “cuisenier,” the person at the Abbey responsible for the provision of food.  To the left of the carriage entrance was the gardener’s cottage, which was most likely rebuilt on the site of a derelict abbey fulling mill after the dissolution of the Abbey. 

Several members of the AAAHS helped unravel the mystery including Judy White, Michael Hocken, and John Foreman, who provided the photo of the building today.  A YouTube video showing the building was posted recently and may be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wceNjba6kSs

As an interesting side note, the Cosener’s House, located on an island across the River Thames from the carriage entrance structure, is operated today as a conference center with accommodation by the Science and Technology Facilities Council.  Visit http://www.stfc.ac.uk/About+STFC/44.aspx for more information.

The lingering question that remains unanswered is how the Glessners came into possession of their photograph of the building, and why they placed it on display in their home.  They never visited the site and in fact never visited England at all, focusing mostly on France, Germany, and Italy during their one and only trip to Europe in 1890.  The original photograph owned by the Glessners (with its ink blot at the corner added by Richardson during the time he had it in his possession) is not in the museum collection today, so it is unknown if any notations existed which might yield a clue to the source of the photograph that served as the keynote of the house we know today as Glessner House Museum. 

Abingdon Abbey - The Inspiration for Glessner House

The design of Glessner house by H. H. Richardson was strongly influenced by a photograph the Glessners had in their possession at the time they first met Richardson (see top image).  The photo depicted the tithe barn at Abingdon Abbey in England. In The Story of a House, written by John Glessner in 1923, he relates that during their initial meeting with Richardson at their home, he noticed the small photo of the tithe barn on the library mantel.  Richardson asked the Glessners if they liked that building and when they replied that they did, Richardson said, “Well, give it to me – I’ll make that the keynote of your house.” 

The influence of Abingdon Abbey is most striking along the 18th Street side of the house, where one can compare the gable over the coach house, the entrance to the left with recessed balcony above, and the pitch of the roof.  The fact that the house was influenced by a barn design is significant in and of itself.  As Prairie Avenue developed into the premier residential street in Chicago (and one of the finest in the country), the residents frequently looked to Europe for inspiration.  But those residents looked at the chateaus and manor houses as models for their own homes, not the barns!  It is yet another way in which the Glessner home is distinctly different from its neighbors, and speaks to the Glessners as individuals as well.

Abingdon Abbey was a Benedictine monastery also know as St. Mary’s Abbey located in Abingdon, historically in the county of Berkshire, but now in Oxfordshire, England.  The abbey was founded in 675 and it grew in importance and wealth until its destruction by the Danes during the reign of King Alfred.  The last Abbot of Abingdon was Thomas Pentecost who surrendered the monastery in 1538.  There is nothing to see today of the abbey church.  There are some “ruinous arches” in the gardens but these are actually a folly built in the 1920s.  Several other buildings do survive including the Abbey Exchequer, the Long Gallery, the bake house, the Abbey gateway, St. John’s hospitum, and the Church of Saint Nicholas.

Why the Glessners had this photo of the tithe barn is not known.  They had not traveled to England by this time, and their writings do not reveal how or why they came to own the photograph that was to have such a profound influence on the design of their Prairie Avenue home.

After Richardson’s death, his office assistants sent the photo of Abingdon Abbey back to the Glessners “with the blot of ink that had been dropped on it while using it for inspiration.”  (The ink blots are visible in the lower left hand portion of the photo).