The Corpus of ROMANESQUE SCULPTURE in Britain & Ireland
St Peter (now), St Albans (now), "PRIORY CHURCH"
Parish church, formerly Augustinian house
The 12thc. Augustinian Priory church was cruciform in plan with a tower at the crossing and two further towers at the W end, flanking the W doorway. Of the original structure, the nave, N and S arcades, triforium, easternmost bays of the vaulted S aisle, parts of the W front, including the W doorway, and the N doorway survive from the 12thc. Nothing now survives of the monastic buildings.
The two W towers collapsed in December 1222, one falling onto the W front and the other falling onto the Prior's house, on the S. The NW tower was rebuilt, along with much of the W front. A lady chapel was built at the E end of the church in 1228, and dedicated in 1231 (and rebuilt in 1324). At the exterior E end of the church on the S is a tall clustered pier of c. 1370 (VCH, 3:365) set against what was the easternmost pier of the S aisle. This suggests that fairly substantial alterations were made to the E end. The W doorway was blocked in in the mid 15thc. and a smaller, square doorway, with niches for statues above, was inserted. The 12thc. clerestory was removed later in the 15thc. A new top was added to the tower, also in the 15thc. Both N and W doorways were protected by porches during the medieval period. In the 1770s the W porch was removed.
Extensive restoration work was carried out from the mid- to late-19thc. under the direction of George Somers Clark. Much of the S aisle was restored in 1851-2, and only the first two bays survive from the 12thc. The restoration of the N aisle capitals was not completed. The N doorway, which had been walled in since the Dissolution, was rediscovered in 1876, when the N wall, then in danger of collapse, was rebuilt.
The sculpture at Dunstable, particularly that on the arches and capitals of the W doorway was of the highest quality and very elaborate. Unfortunately the carving is now extremely weathered and damaged and only a few details may still be clearly seen. It is necessary to refer to early 20thc. photographs to appreciate some of the sculpture, as it is in such a poor state now.
The 19thc. font has incorporated a fragment of the orginal font, which was discovered during the 19thc. restorations, embedded in one of the nave piers.
A number of plaster casts of the capitals from the W doorway survive and there are also a number which correspond in dimensions, style and theme to those surviving on the N doorway. These casts are held by the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Parish church
The church has a nave, chancel, N and S transepts and a tower on the NW. The nave and chancel are 12thc. and round-headed windows are found on the S and W walls of the nave and the N and S walls of the chancel. All are plain apart from the interior W window. 12thc. sculpture is found on the restored chancel arch, and on the capital and base of a nook-shaft in the S wall of the chancel. There is also a 11thc. graveslab in the nave. The church was restored by Cottingham in 1841-43. Cottingham also built the the tower and probably the transepts.
Parish church
The church has chancel with N vestry, nave with clerestorey and N and S aisles, and W
tower. It is substantially 13thc., apart from the chancel and
vestry which are 14thc. There is some modern work in the
chancel. Some 12thc. masonry survives in the nave and 12thc.
sculpture is found on the reset N doorway and on a carved panel set into the exterior S
wall.
Parish church
Most features of the church date from 1858 or from the 1867 restoration by Butterfield,
but it has a 14thc. S aisle (c.1320) and W tower (c.1380), and a S porch of 1500. Late 12thc. sculpture is found on the incomplete,
re-set N doorway and on the font.
Parish church
The earliest surviving part of the church is the lower part of the crossing tower which is early 12thc. and which has two plain round-headed
splayed windows, one on the N and one on the S wall. A S aisle was added in the late
13thc. and the N aisle was rebuilt at this time. A clerestorey was also built at this
time. The chancel is 14thc. The nave and aisles were again
rebuilt in the 15thc. as was the upper part of the tower. The church underwent major
restoration in the 1950s and 60s, and the clerestorey was dismantled at this time.
The church was rededicated in 1971. Early 12thc. sculpture is found on the S doorway
to the tower.