Diferencia entre revisiones de «Abadía de Bath»

[[Archivo:060529-17-BathAbbey.jpg|right|200px|Portada de la Abadía de Bath]]

La '''Abadía de San Pedro''' en Bath (Somerset, Inglaterra), más conocida simplemente como '''Abadía de Bath''' es una [[iglesia]] anglicana, y anteriormente un [[monasterio]] Benedictino. Fundada en el siglo VII, reorganizada en el siglo X y reconstruida en los siglos XII|XII y XVI, es uno de los mayores ejemplos de Gótico Perpendicular del sudoeste de Inglaterra. Se trata de una iglesia de planta [[cruciforme]], con capacidad para aproximadamente 1.200 personas. Se emplea para servicios religiosos, ceremonias civiles y conferencias.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bathabbey.org/|title=Bath Abbey|accessdate=2007-09-27|format=|work=Bath Abbey }}</ref>

==History==

===Early history===

In 675 [[Osric of the Hwicce|Osric]], King of the [[Hwicce]], granted the Abbess Berta 100 [[Hide (unit)|hides]] near Bath for the establishment of a [[convent]]. This religious house later became a [[monastery]] under the patronage of the [[Bishop of Worcester]].

[[Monarch|King]] [[Offa of Mercia|Offa]] of [[Mercia]] successfully wrested "that most famous monastery at Bath"<ref name="Poliquin"/> from the [[bishop]] in 781. [[William of Malmesbury]] tells that Offa rebuilt the monastic church to such a standard that King [[Edwy]] was impelled to describe it as being "marvellously built".<ref name="Poliquin">{{Cite web|title=Bath Abbey|url=http://www.uquebec.ca/musique/orgues/angleterre/batha.html#English | work=Robert Poliquin's Music and Musicians| publisher=Quebec University | accessdate=2007-09-18}}</ref>

[[Monasticism]] in [[England]] had lapsed by that time, but Edwy's brother [[Edgar of England|Edgar]] (who was crowned "King of the English" at the Abbey in 973<ref name="Edgar">{{Cite web |url=http://www.englishmonarchs.co.uk/saxon_12.htm |title=Edgar the Peaceful |accessdate=2007-12-08 |work=English Monarchs &ndash; Kings and Queens of England }}</ref>) began its revival on his accession to the throne in 959. He encouraged monks to adopt the [[Rule of St Benedict]], which was introduced at Bath under Abbot Ælfheah ([[St. Alphege]]).

===The Middle Ages===

Following the death of [[William the Conqueror]] in 1087, Bath was ravaged in the struggle for power between his sons. The victor, [[William Rufus]], granted the city to a royal [[physician]], [[John of Tours]], who became Bishop of [[Wells]] and [[Abbot]] of Bath.<ref name=Powicke205>{{Cite book | last= Powicke | first= Maurice | authorlink= F. M. Powicke | year= 1939 | title= Handbook of British Chronology | pages= pp. 205 | isbn= 0901050172}}</ref>

When [[Oliver King]], Bishop of Bath and Wells 1495&ndash;1503, visited Bath in 1499 he was shocked to find this famous church in ruins. He took a year to consider what action to take, before writing to the Prior of Bath in October 1500 to explain that a large amount of the priory income would be dedicated to rebuilding the cathedral. Work probably began the following spring. Bishop King planned a smaller church, covering the área of the Norman nave only. He did not live to see the result, but the restoration of the cathedral was completed just a few years before the [[Dissolution of the Monasteries]] in 1539.

===The Reformation and subsequent decline===

Prior Holloway surrendered Bath Priory to the crown in January 1539. The church was stripped of lead, iron and glass and left to rot. In 1574, [[Elizabeth I of England|Queen Elizabeth I]] promoted the restoration of the church, to serve as the grand parish church of Bath. She ordered that a national fund should be set up to finance the work.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.frommers.com/destinations/bath/A25243.html |title=Bath Abbey |accessdate=2007-09-27 |format= |work=Fromers Guide }}</ref> [[James Montague (bishop of Bath and Wells)|James Montague]] was Bishop of Bath and Wells from 1608 until 1616, during which time he paid £1,000 for a new nave roof of timber lath construction. He is buried in an [[alabaster]] tomb in the north aisle.

===Modern renaissance===

Major restoration work was carried out by Sir [[George Gilbert Scott]] in the 1860s, funded by the rector, Charles Kemble. This included the installation of [[fan vaulting]] in the nave. That was not merely a fanciful aesthetic addition, but a completion of the original design. Bishop King had arranged for the vaulting of the choir, to a design by William and Robert Vertue. There are clues in the stonework that King intended the vaulting to continue into the nave, but that this plan was abandoned, probably for reasons of cost. Work carried out in the 20th and 21st centuries included a full cleaning of the stonework and the reconstruction of the [[pipe organ]] by [[Klais Orgelbau]] of [[Bonn]].

The abbey is a grade I [[listed building]] and is an active place of worship, with hundreds of congregation members and hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.

==Architecture==

===First building===

Little is known about the first building on this site, described by King Edwy as being "marvellously built". Given the town's origins, the first church may have occupied the site of an earlier [[Paganism|pagan]] temple.

[[Archivo:Bath Abbey Fan Vaulting - July 2006.jpg|right|The nave with its fan vaulting]]

===Norman church===

With the elevation of the abbey to cathedral status in 1090, it was felt that a larger, more up-to-date building was required. The ambulatory was completed by the time of Bishop John's death in 1122. Work was set back by a fire in 1137, but was completed by about 1156. The existence of an ambulatory suggests a very large building, on a par with [[Durham Cathedral]]. This noble edifice, much larger than the current structure, fell into such disrepair following the removal of the see to Wells in 1245 that nothing of it could be preserved at the time rebuilding work started in 1500.

===Gothic church===

Rebuilding work started in 1500, but was not completed until 1609.<ref>{{Cite web | title=Bath Abbey | work=Images of England|url=http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/search/details.aspx?id=442109 | accessdate=2007-09-25}}</ref> The new church was not to be as large an edifice as its predecessor, as the abbey, having been stripped of its status as cathedral, was not required to have such space. The new church is not a typical example of the [[Perpendicular (architecture)|Perpendicular]] form of [[Gothic architecture]]; the low aisles and [[Arcade (architecture)|nave arcades]] and the very tall clerestory present the opposite balance to that which was usual in perpendicular churches. However, as this building was to serve as a monastic church, it was built to a cruciform plan, which had become relatively rare in parish churches of the time. The interior contains fine [[fan vaulting]] by [[Robert Vertue|Robert]] and [[William Vertue]], who designed similar vaulting for the Henry VII chapel, at [[Westminster Abbey]]. The building has 52 windows, occupying about 80% of the wall space,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.sacred-destinations.com/england/bath-abbey.htm |title=Bath Abbey |accessdate=2007-09-27 |format= |work=Sacred destinations }}</ref> giving the interior an impression of lightness, and reflecting the different attitudes towards churchmanship shown by the clergy of the time and those of the 12th century. The church again fell into neglect following the Reformation, but was restored and completed with the addition of the fan-vaulting in the nave in the 1860s.

===Monuments===

[[Archivo:WilliamBinghamMemorialBathAbbey20040731 CopyrightKaihsuTai.jpg|thumb|right|[[William Bingham|Bingham]] memorial]]

The Abbey is home to several notable [[memorials]], including those dedicated to [[Beau Nash]], Admiral [[Arthur Phillip]], [[Isaac Pitman]], James Montague (Bishop of Bath and Wells), Lady Waller (wife of [[William Waller]], a [[Roundhead]] military leader in the [[English Civil War]]), Elizabeth Grieve (wife of James Grieve, physician to Elizabeth, Empress of Russia), [[Sir William Baker]], [[John Sibthorp]], [[Richard Hussey Bickerton]], [[Admiral]] [[Arthur Phillip]] (first Governor of Australia), [[William Hoare]], [[Richard Bickerton]] and US Senator [[William Bingham]].

==Music==

===Main organ===

The organ was totally reconstructed in 1997 by [[Klais Orgelbau]] of [[Bonn]], retaining the existing instrument as far as was possible and restoring it largely to its 1895 condition, although the Positive division was kept.<ref name="NPOR - Bath Abbey's Klais organ">{{Cite web|title=Bath Abbey: The Klais organ|url=http://npor.emma.cam.ac.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch.cgi?Fn=Rsearch&rec_index=D03828 | work=The National Pipe Organ Register | publisher=British Institute of Organ Studies | year=1997 | accessdate=2007-09-18}}</ref> The instrument as it now stands has 63 speaking stops over four manuals and pedals.<ref name="Klais Orgelbau - Bath Abbey">{{Cite web|title=Klais Orgelbau: Bath Abbey|url=http://www.orgelbau-klais.com/m.php?tx=1 | publisher=Klais Orgelbau | accessdate=2007-09-18}}</ref> The instrument is built largely on the [[Werkprinzip]] principle of organ layout, i.e., the case being only one department deep, the only exception being that parts of the Pedal are sited at the back and not the sides of the case. New 75% tin front pipes were made and the case completed with back, side walls and roof. Pierced panelling executed by Derek Riley of Lyndale Woodcarving in [[Saxmundham]], [[Suffolk]], was provided to allow sound egress from the bottom of the case. The old console has been retained but thoroughly rebuilt with modern accessories and all-new manuals. 22 out of 83 ranks in the organ contain some pipework from the 1868 instrument. Four ranks are made up entirely of 1868 pipework. 21 ranks contain 1895 pipework. Only two ranks are entirely of 1895. 48 ranks contain some new pipework: 34 of these are entirely new. Old wind pressures have been used wherever possible. The old wind reservoirs have also been restored rather than replaced. The instrument has [[Tracker action|tracker key action]] on the manuals, with electrically assisted tracker action to the pedals. The stop action is electric throughout.

===Continuo organ===

A four-stop continuo organ was built for the abbey in 1999 by [[Northampton]]-based [[organ builder]] [[Kenneth Tickell]].<ref name="NPOR - Bath Abbey's Tickell continuo organ">{{Cite web|title=Bath Abbey: The Tickell continuo organ|url=http://npor.emma.cam.ac.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch.cgi?Fn=Rsearch&rec_index=R00041 | work=The National Pipe Organ Register | publisher=British Institute of Organ Studies | year=2000 | accessdate=2007-09-18}}</ref> The instrument, contained in a case of dark oak, is portable, and can be tuned to three [[Pitch (music)|pitches]]: A=440&nbsp;Hz (modern concert pitch), A=415&nbsp;Hz and A=486&nbsp;Hz. A lever pedal can reduce the stops sounding to only the 8' stop and, when released, returns the organ to the registration in use before it was depressed. A page about similar instruments on the builder's website can be found [http://www.tickell-organs.co.uk/gallery20.htm here].

===Choir===

The choir has broadcast [[Evening Prayer (Anglican)|Choral Evensong]] on [[BBC Radio 3]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=Choral Evensong from Bath Abbey|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/choralevensong/pip/v2b4z/ | work=[[BBC Radio 3]] webpages| publisher=[[BBC Online]]| accessdate=2007-09-27}}</ref> and has made several recordings. It performed at the [[The Three Tenors|Three Tenors]] concert for the opening of the [[Thermae Bath Spa]].

===Bells===