Chapter Seven

VII

PRIOR CLEMENT FOWLER

THE NEW Cathedral Prior of Belmont was a marked contrast

to his predecessor. Without the historical and 'romantic'

streak that was prominent in Prior Cummins, his was a

much quieter and less belligerent type of character, and

consequently he was less likely to arouse opposition or

animosity. In this respect he was well suited to the task of

guiding and strengthening the young men under him, while

his gentleness and humility, and abhorrence of all display,

sprang from a deep spirituality which made his conferences

to the monks of inestimable value and real practical assist-

ance. Clement Fowler had been clothed at Belmont in 1870

by Prior Vaughan at the age of nineteen. A native of West

Bromwich, he was educated at Downside, and was ordained

priest in 1878. That he had very marked abilities is proved

by the fact that within a year of his ordination he was

appointed Prefect of Studies (i.e. Headmaster) of the school

at Downside, a position which he held for nine years, at the

end of which time he was at once made Sub-Prior by Prior

Ford. But troubles were about to come upon him, for Down-

side at that period was in the throes of the great movement

for constitutional reform in the Congregation which filled

the years 1880-1900, and Clement Fowler was in this matter

a conservative, i.e. he did not throw in his lot with the ardent

young reformers led by Gasquet and Ford, but preferred the

maintenance of the existing Provincial System. It happened

that in 1885 the Priorship of Downside had fallen vacant

through the resignation of Prior Gasquet, and as this occurred

in the middle of a 'quadriennium' (i.e. the period between

two General Chapters) the election of a new Prior devolved

on the community ofSt Gregory's instead of, as was normally

118

PRIOR CLEMENT FOWLER 119

the case, on the General Chapter. This latter body would not,

of course, have selected one of the 'reformers' for the post,

for most of the Chapter were bitterly opposed to the proposed

constitutional changes, but now the Downside Community

had a golden opportunity to put in office the leader of the

reforming movement, which it promptly did, and so Edmund

Ford became Prior. But this election would only hold good

until the next General Chapter, which was due to meet in

1888, and at that Chapter Prior Ford, as was inevitable, was

not re-appointed. In his place the Ghaptermen chose

Clement Fowler who, as mentioned above, had only a few

months previously been made Sub-Prior, who had been a

priest only ten years, and was only thirty-seven years old.

As one of the few Gregorians who did not want changes in

the Constitution, Prior Fowler soon found his position a very

uncomfortable one. None the less he held office for six

stormy years until at last he resigned on June 8, 1894, again

in the middle of a quadriennium, and thereupon the Down-

side Community re-elected Prior Ford. There followed for

the ex-Prior some ten years of life 'on the mission', mostly at

Coventry, during which he had a chance to forget the distur-

bances and upheavals of monastic politics. Then, in 1905,

came his unexpected appointment to be Cathedral Prior of

Belmont, and thenceforth his troubles were mostly of the

financial variety.

Prior Fowler was a man capable of inspiring great

affection and admiration amongst those who served under

him, and these appear to have been the feelings towards

him of almost all who were at St Michael's during his ten

years of office there. The present writer has solicited the

opinions of a number of the few remaining survivors of those

days (only one of them a Downside man) and the replies are

uniformly enthusiastic in his praise. Here is a brief selection

from them:

'Prior Fowler was a lovable man, for whom we (novices) had a

real affection. Kindness to one and all was his great characteristic,

anything savouring of favouritism being alien to his nature. His

very idiosyncrasies were enjoyed by us. When approached for a

permission, his immediate reaction was always this: "You are

always wanting that"; we however always knew that this was

I2Q THE HISTORY OF BELMONT ABBEY

only the prelude to his saying "Yes", when the request was

reasonable. He often joined in our recreations as Juniors, especi-

ally in the summer months when we sat in front of the monastery,

and he was always welcome, for between him and us, the relations

were mutually most friendly. We were certainly very happy under

his gentle sway; and we really did love him.'

Another monk writes:

'Fr Prior Fowler was a wonderful man, and a great example to

all of us We all loved him. He was so kind, so helpful, so under-

standing, and yet very strict.' He adds: 'I was very happy at

Belmont, and I love to recall those happy days .

And, for a last opinion of Prior Fowler:

'You have asked for my impressions of Dom Clement Fowler.

This gives me great pleasure. He was certainly one of the most

wonderful Superiors in my own experience. One can never forget

the example he gave, in his own quiet way, to all, both young

and old. He was deeply religious and spiritual in all his official

duties, and no one could have been more regular in his obser-

vance He was the essence of kindliness, always having a personal

interest in every one, particularly the younger brethren. Above

all he possessed the wonderful gift of always being approachable.

From my own personal experience I knew (as others must have

known) how understanding and helpful he could be.

He and Dom Joseph (Colgan) were a perfect team. They

typified all that could be best in a Common Noviciate and Junior

House. To them, personally, I owe the pleasant memories of

four of the happiest years in my religious life.'

To which we can only say: happy the man who can leave

such memories and such a reputation in the hearts of those

who recall him after fifty years.

Throughout the period of Prior Fowler's rule Dom Joseph

Colgan who already had behind him so many years of life

at Belmont, combined the offices of Sub-Prior and Procurator,

and for most of that time he was also Junior Master. One

imagines that his hands must indeed have been full! The

Novice Master was Dom Bernard Hayes of Ampleforth. Of

him, this description was recently written by one of the

Downside novices of that time:

'Our Novice Master was the Laurentian Dom Bernard Hayes,

whom anyone, at first sight, would have recognised as a saintly

monk. For him we had a very great respect, and are greatly in

his debt for the truly monastic training he gave us. He was kindly,

and easily approachable, and thoroughly understood youth; in

many ways he was a youth himself in our midst. We were never

PRIOR CLEMENT FOWLER 121

afraid of him, which is saying a great deal, and his interest in,

and affection for, his novices, remained until his death.'

The same monk thus concludes his letter:

'Speaking for my own time, life at Belmont was both happy and

inspiring. There was a great deal of life there. It was a goodly

sight to see the Choir full of young men: not an empty stall to be

seen. The ceremonies were well carried out, and a spirit of peace

and friendliness reigned throughout the House. [In writing this]

I am merely fulfilling a duty in paying a tribute of gratitude for

all that was given me during my three years of residence there.

Such was the Belmont of Prior Fowler's time, and indeed

there seems to be no doubt that much the same might be

said of it throughout the existence of the Common House.

It was a full life, a busy life, a strict life, a happy life, and it

was something to which generations of monks looked back

with gratitude and nostalgia. Despite all its difficulties and

not a few failings, the Belmont of those days performed a

very great work for the Congregation as a whole, as well as

for the individual souls of those who were committed to its

care, and who were indebted to it for their training.

It was typical of Prior Fowler that his first work on

coming to Belmont was to set on foot negotiations for the

building of a worthy memorial to his great predecessor and

fellow-Gregorian, Abbot Raynal. After much consideration

it was decided that at once the most impressive, and at the

same time the most useful, form that this could take would

be the erection of a large and beautiful sacristy, which was

greatly needed, and for which there was ample space on the

west side of the passage connecting the monastery with the

church. Hitherto this passage itself had been used as a

sacristy, but it was most inconvenient for the purpose. Work

began on the new sacristy in 1906, and it was duly opened

by Bishop Hedley on May 20, 1907, and was later decorated

with the arms of the old Cathedral Priories of England by

Dom Ildefonsus Barton of Ampleforth. At this same time,

also, another much-needed improvement was made: the

extension of the heating system. The primitive central

heating then in use had been installed in 1869 and consisted

of ten large pipes encircling the nave of the church, but

with no provision for the choir and sanctuary which re-

122 THE HISTORY OF BELMONT ABBEY

mained unheated. The monastery also was unheated, till in

1870 another coil was installed at the foot of the stairs. But

the refectory, calefactory, and all the cells were still without

heating of any kind, and the chief effect of the pipes at the

foot of the stairs was to create a multiplicity of draughts

without any noticeable warmth, while in their cells the

students pursued their studies in winter wrapped in blankets.

Prior Fowler and Fr Colgan now took this matter in hand,

and between November 1906 and May 1907 a Bristol firm

connected the existing system with a new set of pipes running

throughout the house, and in the choir and sanctuary. Most

of the cost was met by a legacy of £400 from Br David

Slaughter, a laybrother oblate who died that year.

A third undertaking in this same May of 1907 was the

purchase of the grounds surrounding the monastery which

had hitherto been held on a 999 years' lease at an annual

rent of ,£54. The land on which the church stands, together

with the cemetery, had been conveyed by Mr Wegg-Prosser

by Deed of Gift in 1857. That on which the monastery stands

was leased from him at a peppercorn rent if demanded for

999 years. What was now bought outright was the remainder

of the monastery premises, namely the garden of over seven

acres, the wood of over ten acres, the farm and adjacent

land of nearly four acres, and the field of more than nine

acres. All these were now purchased in fee simple for £2,000.

The School House (i.e. the present Library) and its land

were not included in this sale. It was at this time run as a

village school and belonged to the Wegg-Prosser estate. It

was not till 1917 that it began to be used by the monks, it

having been struck off the list of elementary schools by the

Board of Education in 1916. From March 1, 1917, it was

leased by the monastery at the nominal rent of one shilling a

year, and was used as the school of the monastic alumnate

which was started in that year. It was not until the end of

1948 that it was eventually purchased by the monastery for

-£2,500 from Major Wegg-Prosser. It may here be mentioned

that it was also in Prior Fowler's time that the present altar

rails were presented by Mr Walter Pilley in memory of

Prior Raynal, and they were set in position in October, 1908.

PRIOR CLEMENT FOWLER 123

This year, 1908, was a crucial year for Belmont, and had

much bearing on the future fate of the House, for it was now

that the eight years for which authorisation of the Common

Noviciate had been extended by Pope Leo XIII expired,

and there was much speculation as to what the future might

hold. For a long time Downside had desired to set up its

own noviciate, and it now took advantage of the expiry of

the authorisation of 1899 to do so, and this was a heavy blow

to Belmont. Thus the 1907 batch of novices was the last set

to come to St Michael's from Downside, although both

Ampleforth and Douai continued to use the Common

House for another ten years. But plainly the writing was on

the wall so far as a Common House was concerned. This

action on the part of Abbot Butler of Downside was but a

further step towards the fulfilment of the policy which had

produced the new Constitutions of 1899, by which the

monasteries became Abbeys and were largely freed from the

control of General Chapter. It was also in line with the

views of Leo XIII who had himself inspired these Constitu-

tions And this applied not only to the Common Noviciate,

but also to the House of Studies, for the Papal Decree of

1900 confirming those Constitutions declared that the object

of Leo XIII's policy was to remove all features in the

legislation of his predecessors out of harmony with 'the

pristine customs of the Benedictine Order', and he therefore

reversed the policy of Pius IX who had ordered the setting

up of the Common House. Furthermore, only in the previous

year (1907), at the Congress of Presidents of the Black Monks

Congregations held in Rome, it was decided that a Common

House of Studies was not desirable in a Congregation except

where Abbeys are not able to provide an adequate course of

theology for their own students. Thus the whole trend of

official opinion was at that time against the continuance of a

Common House. It is therefore not surprising that many

questions were being asked as to what was to be the future

of St Michael's, and in fact that was to remain a constant

subject of anxious discussion for the next ten years. And the

position became the more acute during the year now under

discussion (1908), for whereas the licence for eight years for

124 THE HISTORY OF BELMONT ABBEY

Belmont to be the sole noviciate for the Congregation had

expired in July, a Rescript from Rome, dated November 24,1

renewed its licence until 1918, but now it was to be merely a

common house of studies, not the common house, because

the Declarations to the Constitutions now gave General

Chapter the power of designating other Common Houses of

Studies. Nor was it any longer the Common Noviciate, for

this same Rescript went on to state that each Abbey not only

might, but must, establish its own noviciate as soon as the

President should consider the time ripe for this. This the

President (Abbot Gasquet) had decided in the case of Down-

side, which now, as already stated, set up its own noviciate.

Writing four years later on the then still burning question

of the future of St Michael's, Abbot Butler stressed all this,

and pointed out that, apart from the new Conventus there,

Belmont's only prospect now was to become merely one out

of various alternative Houses of Studies, and that in that

case it would become a grievous burden on the other Houses,

who would have to staff it and to pay for its upkeep, and to

man it with students, and that this the other monasteries

would certainly decline to do. It would also, as such, be an

obstacle to the attainment of what Pope Leo desired for us:

the restoring of our pristine customs; in which case the

inevitable practical solution would be to allow it to lapse

altogether. But it would be a grave slur, he said, on the

Congregation to close down such a monastery, with such a

church and buildings, and the obvious way to avoid that

was to ensure that the new young Belmontese Community

took a firm foothold there, and therefore the Capitular

policy of 1901 and 1905 (that of letting Belmont take novices

for itself) must be maintained, even with the implication

that this involved ceasing to be a Common House. From this

statement, then, we see that the arguments for founding a

new community at St Michael's (whether these were thought

of in 1901, or realised only later) were fourfold: i. To avoid

the closing down of the monastery; 2. to lighten the burdens

of the other Houses; 3. to secure the permanent existence of

Belmont as a monastery of the English Congregation; and

1 The text is given on p. 138.

PRIOR CLEMENT FOWLER 135

4. to bring into existence a new Mother-house, a new source

and centre of life in the Congregation.

In this way the battle for Belmont was waged, and

meanwhile, as stated, the existence of the Common House for

another ten years had been authorised by Rome. Here it

may be stated that one year later, at the General Chapter

of 1909, the Capitular Fathers approved a statement proposed

by Abbot Butler that 'It will be for the good of the Congrega-

tion that Belmont become a distinct house, with its own

Community, and serious efforts be made to secure this': a

statement that went considerably further than those of 1901

and 1905, and foreshadowed the campaign for independence

for Belmont which was to begin six years later.

Meanwhile life went on as usual at St Michael's, in fact

the students were probably ignorant of the storm that raged

above their heads, and now they had something else to

think of, for 1909 was the year of the Golden Jubilee of the

opening of the House, and it had been decided that this

auspicious occasion was to be celebrated as elaborately as

possible. Already, on November 21, 1908, the beginning of

the Jubilee Year had been marked by a solemn Mass of

thanksgiving, followed in the evening by Pontifical Vespers

and a procession to the Lady Altar while the Litany of

Loretto was sung. It may be mentioned here that this weekly

procession had been promised to the Bishop of the diocese

for the spread of the Faith in Wales from the very foundation

of Belmont, and has been faithfully observed ever since on

each Saturday of the year. In this connection Bishop Brown,

then Prior of Downside, had recorded as far back as 1839

that 'on the first Sunday of every Quarter a solemn Votive

Mass of Our Lady, preceded by the Litany of Loretto, and

followed by Benediction of the Holy Sacrament, was enjoined

by Bishop Walmesley in this District (i.e. the Western

District) for the conversion of our unhappy country'. Bishop

Walmesley, O.S.B., was, of course. Vicar Apostolic of the

Western District from 1770 to 1797, and his injunction is

still carried out in the Archdiocese of Cardiff, but upon the

first Saturday of the Quarter.

But the main celebrations of the Jubilee were held on July

126 THE HISTORY OF BELMONT ABBEY

ii, 12 and 13. On the first of these days, the Solemn Com-

memoration of St Benedict, the Mass was sung by the Abbot-

President, Abbot Gasquet, and the sermon was preached by

Bishop Hedley. In the afternoon Vespers were sung by

Bishop Austin O'Neill of Port Louis (who has already been

mentioned several times in these pages), and the sermon was

by Fr Placid Whittle, Cathedral Prior of Rochester, who

had been the first monk to take his vows at St Michael's. On

the Monday (July 12) the celebrants at Mass and Vespers

respectively were Bishop Rearing of Northampton (a personal

friend of Prior Fowler) and Bishop Burton of Clifton, the

successor of the Vicars Apostolic of the old Western District.

But the climax of the celebrations came on the third day

when the Office was, by special permission, that of the

solemn commemoration of St Michael, and Pontifical Mass

and Vespers were sung by Bishop Hedley before a very large

gathering of clergy and laity whose names occupy much

space in the lengthy account given by the Hereford Times.

Two other facts made this day particularly notable: the

Vatican edition of the Plain Chant, only recently published

and superseding the old Ratisbon Chant, was sung for the

first time at Belmont on this day (after an intensive period of

practising); and secondly the celebrations were attended by

the venerable founder of the monastery church, Mr F. R.

Wegg-Prosser, then in his eighty-sixth year, who was feted

at the subsequent luncheon, at which Abbot Gasquet

presented him with a letter of thanks from Pope St Pius X

together with the Papal Blessing, written in the Pope's own

hand and on his personal notepaper which bore a watermark

photograph of the Pope on one side and his coat of arms on

the other. That he should live to see the Golden Jubilee of

the foundation that he had made must have been a source

of immense satisfaction to our great benefactor. It is note-

worthy also in this connection that of those who made up the

original community at the opening of the House in 1859,

seven were still alive, and six of these were present at the

Jubilee celebrations.

But these three days did not conclude the period of

celebrations, for in the following year (1910) was kept the

PRIOR CLEMENT FOWLER "7

Jubilee of the Consecration of the church on September 4,

at which Bishop Hedley again sang Pontifical Mass and

Vespers. On this occasion a striking and characteristic

sermon was preached by the former Prior, Dom Ildephonsus

Cummins, who spoke eloquently of the foundation and ideals

of Belmont, whence new inspiration had been given to the

whole Congregation. Speaking of Mr Wegg-Prosser, he

asked whether there had ever before been a man who began

by building a domestic chapel and beheld it grow into a

cathedral. And he did not fail to point out that Bishop

O'Neill, who was also present, had, as a postulant, played

the organ at the actual consecration of the church fifty years

before. It happened that this jubilee day fell on a Sunday,

and so for the convenience of those who were not able to be

present on that day, a further celebration was held two days

later, at which there was again a very large gathering. All

this excitement and liturgical splendour had been very

widely reported, not only in the local press, but also in the

Catholic papers throughout the country, with the result

that Belmont received much publicity during these two

years, and very detailed accounts of the proceedings may be

read in the files of those days.

It has been mentioned above that at the Jubilee the

Vatican edition of the Plain Chant was sung at St Michael's

for the first time, and a word of explanation should here be

added. To the modern generation Plain Chant and a

monastic choir seem to be inextricably and inevitably

connected, but it was not always so. Before the middle of the

last century, i.e. up to about a hundred years ago, our

monasteries were strangers to the Gregorian Chant. Instead

there was a tradition of extremely florid church music with

endless embellishments and repetitions, including a certain

famous Credo with seventy-two Amens. But by the middle of

the century news of the Belgian effort to return to the lost

art of liturgical chant had begun to reach England, and Mr

Wegg-Prosser had heard of the Mechlin Chant, published

in 1846, which was then considered the last word on the

subject. It will be remembered that at the foundation of

Belmont he had made it an absolute condition that only

128 THE HISTORY OF BELMONT ABBEY

Plain Chant should be sung there, and it was the heavy

Mechlin Chant that the monks of St Michael's, for long

under the tuition of Sir John Lambert, sang in choir. This

Sir John was a close friend of Mr Wegg-Prosser, and no doubt

it was his influence that led the latter to insist on the singing

of the Chant at Belmont. Besides being an expert musician,

he was also a lawyer and the first Catholic Mayor of Salisbury

since the Reformation, while furthermore he was a member

of the Queen's Privy Council. He had introduced the Chant

at Downside a few years earlier, but by his teaching of it at

Belmont he influenced all the rising generation of the

Congregation, and it was declared in 1892 that 'It is not

rash to affirm that St Michael's was very greatly instrumental

in spreading the use of Plain Chant through the country. For

many years it was quoted as the pattern for the treatment

and rendering of that form of music.' But after some thirty

years the Mechlin Chant was itself superseded by the

Ratisbon Chant which was considered much superior, and

this was duly adopted at Belmont. Indeed soon after 1870,

when the two future bishops, Cuthbert Hedley and Austin

O'Neill, together with Dom Bruno Kengelbacher (all first-

class musicians) were together at St Michael's, the Plain

Chant was harmonised so successfully that many years later,

in 1897, it was in demand at the Ebbsfleet celebrations of the

thirteenth centenary of the landing of St Augustine. But just

as the Ratisbon Chant had superseded that of Mechlin, so

after another thirty years a further edition of the Chant was

published according to the theories of the Solesmes school

under Dom Pothier, the copyright of which was held by the

Vatican Press which accordingly issued the Gradual edited

by Pothier's pupil, Dom Mocquereau. It was this Vatican

edition that Prior Fowler and the Choir Master, Dom

Bernard Hayes, decided to adopt to signalise the Jubilee

Year at Belmont. The instruction of the Community in the

art of singing Plain Chant in the new style (much smoother

and softer than the old robust style) was in the hands of a

certain Dominican, Fr Houtmann, who came over from the

Clifton Diocese for frequent lectures and practices; and on

March 23, at the funeral at Rotherwas of Count Bodenham-

PRIOR CLEMENT FOWLER I2Q

Lubienski, the requiem Mass was sung by the Belmont

choir in the new style for the first time. On the following Easter

Sunday the Common of the Mass was sung from the new

Kyriale, and finally, after further intensive practice, the full Mass

was sung from the Vatican Gradual on the third

day of the Jubilee celebrations. From that day on, the new book

was used always. But it was not until September 3, 1910, that

the new Antiphonal, published by Solesmes, was first used.

And as three months previously, i.e. in June, the monks had

adopted the Stanbrook Hymnale, compiled from manuscripts at

Worcester of the old Worcester and Sarum Hymnals in the English

style, the change-over was thus complete. The reward of the

monks for all the work they had

put into this was to hear in the following year a public declaration

by Dom Wilfrid Corney, who had been Choir Master at S. Anseimo

and at Downside, that for efficiency and rhythm the Belmont choir took

the first place in the English Benedictine Congregation, an opinion

that was endorsed by Abbot Butler.

After the excitement of the two Jubilees the Community

had to settle down again to the routine of monastic life,

and those of them who belonged to the new Belmont Conventus

of St Michael's doubtless resumed their speculations as to

what form of work was to fall to them in the coming years, after

the Common House should be disbanded. We have seen that

the continued existence of the house itself was a matter of

discussion; but so also was the nature of the work to be

ndertaken by the new conventus if Belmont were actually to continue.

For it was generally held that the found-

ing of the usual type of school would not be possible

owing to the absolute bar placed upon such an undertaking by

Mr Wegg-Prosser, and also because of the expense of erecting

the necessary new buildings for such a school. Some thought

the monks should be trained to become professors who could

carry on the place as a house of studies not only for Benedictines,

but also for secular students for the priesthood; others favoured the

idea of making it a Retreat House. There were in fact several

plans put forward, but none of them were very practical.

But meanwhile they had until 1918 to come

130 THE HISTORY OF BELMONT ABBEY

to a decision, for in that year the Papal licence for the

existing Noviciate and House of studies would expire.

And at this point it will be well to give some idea as to the

state of the Belmont finances. It happens that there is

available a 'Report on the Financial Status of St Michael's'

drawn up in August 1908 by the Congregational Inspector

Rei Familiaris, and the state of affairs in that year may be

taken as fairly typical of the condition of the finances for

many years past. Fr Romuald Riley's statement shows that

the total amount of invested money belonging to St Michael's

was £5,700, producing interest of £240 a year. To this was

added an annual allowance from the funds of the defunct

Provinces (i.e. the missionary Provinces of Canterbury and

York) of ^100; also ^35 from the farm, and finally .£150 a

year 'paid by the Belmont Conventus for its five subjects'.1

Thus the total income of the House was .£543. On the other

hand the annual expenditure was .£1,931 (of which 'Pro-

visions' accounted for ^946), thus leaving a deficit of

3(£1,388, which of course had to be made up by the other

three houses. The arrangement was that in order to meet

the annual deficit the other Houses paid £50 for each subject

they had at Belmont, and then made up by equal portions

any deficit still remaining. This no doubt goes far to explain

the lack of enthusiasm over St Michael's shown by Superiors

and Procurators of the other Houses. It also illustrates the

difficulties that would face Belmont if the Common House

were disbanded and the new conventus left to stand on its

own feet. But this was the financial background that had

haunted St Michael's from its very inception.

Only one year after the conclusion of the Jubilee celebra-

tions Mr Francis Richard Wegg-Prosser, founder of the

Pro-Cathedral and munificent donor of the monastery lands,

was at last called to his reward, dying on August 16, 1911, at

the age of eighty-seven. Many years before he had intended

that a sum of money should be set aside to provide a small

endowment for the Belmont Community, but his affairs had

later become so embarrassed that he had not been able to

fulfil his wish. But after his death his eldest son donated a

1 i.e. as distinct from the Common House.

PRIOR CLEMENT FOWLER I31

sum of ,^5,000 for the carrying out of this intention, and in

return Prior Fowler and the Community drew up a formal

letter to Major Wegg-Prosser in which they officially recog-

nised him as co-founder with his father.1

By 1912 the problem of the status and the future of the

growing Belmont Conventus (which now numbered eleven

professed monks and one novice) had become one of urgent

gravity, and the more so because the next General Chapter

was due to be held in 1913. Plainly it would have to make

decisions of far-reaching importance regarding St Michael's.

But before it could do so certain hotly contested dubia would

have to be resolved by Roman authority. For instance, it

must be decided whether the so-called 'St Michael's Conven-

tus' had any right to be considered the Community of St

Michael's, Belmont (which was strongly denied in Fr

Bermard Murphy's famous and formidable document

'Narration: Belmont'); whether the place was the joint

property of the other three Houses, or of the Congregation

in general; and what was the proper procedure for putting

the Belmontese monks in effective possession of the monastery.

And if the Belmontese monks were ever left in sole possession

of the place there was also the problem of finding occupation

for them. Writing in this year. Abbot Butler (the chief

mover in the campaign for Belmont's independence) con-

fessed ruefully that the barring of a school by the foundation

deed was a serious difficulty, and he could only suggest

half-heartedly that some would find occupation in the

administration of the house, and a few on the teaching staff

(if the place remained a house of studies); as for the rest,

well, there were always the missions, and he 'would gladly

see some of the missions gradually attached to Belmont'.2 In

fact the very simple declarations of the Chapters of 1901 and

1905 now needed elaboration, for 'there was now a professed

community and ... there seems no reason now why it

should be subject to the President and his advisers in the same

way as was the tyrocinium. . . . Again the Community

» It may be mentioned here that, so great had been his generosity, that at

his death Mr F. R. Wegg-Prosser left estate valued at only £979 '4S. gross,

with net personalty ,£625 gs. 7d.

* 'Belmont Narration: Comments. 1912, p. 14.

I q2 THE HISTORY OF BELMONT ABBEY

should have some influence in the selection of its Superior.'1

Plainly the next few years were going to be critical ones for

Belmont.

The General Chapter of 1913 met on June 17 at Ample-

forth, and at first there was some objection to the Belmont

delegate (Dom Joseph Colgan) being admitted. Eventually

this objection was over-ruled, and during the Chapter the

Prior and the Sub-Prior of Belmont submitted a memoran-

dum stressing the vagueness of the present state of the

Belmont conventus and asking for official clarification of it;

and there ensued a discussion which resulted in a Capitular

Declaration that 'The General Chapter of 1901 authorised

the Newport Chapter to profess novices with the purpose

that there should be a self-propagating conventus at Belmont.

This General Chapter of 1913 has the same purpose in view.'

To meet the difficulties that had arisen from the growth of

the Belmont Community the Chapter also passed a series of

resolutions to supersede those of the Chapters of 1905 and

1909. These stated:

(a) That the Belmont Gonventus consists of those professed for

it since 1901, and of the Prior, the Resident Canons, the Sub-

Prior, Procurator, Novice-Master, and Prefect of Studies. The

Abbot-President and his Council, with consent of the Conventus,

can aggregate to it any other monks residing at Belmont.

(6) The Conventus is to be officially described as the Conventus

of Belmont, or Belmont Priory, and the Chapter recognises it as a

duly constituted family of the E.B.C. Its relation to the E.B.G.

shall in no way be altered by the removal of the Newport

Diocesan Chapter.

ventus shall be acquired for the Belmont Priory.

(d) The conventus is put into possession, for its use, so long as it

remains at Belmont, of the Church, buildings, lands, and funds

now commonly spoken of as 'Belmont', in so far as they are vested

in the E.B.C., provided that the said Conventus accepts and

carries out all trusts and obligations connected with these lands,

buildings, and funds, and that it administers them as they have

hitherto been administered.2

(e) A Committee consisting of Abbot Ford, Fr Riley and Fr

'S'The Narration Belmont and the General Chapters.' Anon. 1912, p. 6.

'}This was the first attempt by a General Chapter to make any statement

regarding the material property at Belmont.

PRIOR CLEMENT FOWLER ^3

Golgan is to enquire into the nature of the trusts and obligations,

and to report to the next General Chapter.

The year 1913 was also marked by a reform of the calendar

throughout the Benedictine Order, as a result of Pope Pms

X's famous reform of the liturgy. The ancient ideal for the

recital of the Divine Office had been that so far as possible

the whole of the Psalter should be recited each week, but this

had been made impossible by the constant addition of

festivals and saints' days each with its own Office. Also these

were often made up of the same psalms and prayers. In

consequence the full range of psalms and canticles and

lessons could seldom be read, and there had long been a

feeling that these accretions to the calendar should be

pruned. Accordingly there was now made a considerable

change, many feasts being eliminated from the monastic

calendar, and others relegated to a more normal type of

Office But at the same time encouragement was given to the

observance of local feasts, and in 1914 most of the local and

diocesan feasts were added to the Belmont calendar.

At this time, too, a notable event was the holding ot the

great Catholic Congress at Cardiff on July 10, 1914, at

which Cardinal Bourne made a striking and significant

speech on the development of the Hierarchy as a source of

religious progress, with special emphasis on the claims of

Welsh Catholicism. This aroused especial interest because

for some time past there had been a movement for the restora-

tion of the ancient Welsh sees ofCaerieon and Llandaff, or at

least for the removal of those districts from the Metropolitan

iurisdiction of the Province of Birmingham; and it was well

known that Bishop Hedley was alive to the growing strength

of Welsh feeling on this matter, and that he favoured the

taking of some such step. As a fact, there had been talk for

some years past of the possibility of changes being made in

the boundaries of the western dioceses. Since 1895 the diocese

of Newport had consisted of Glamorgan, Monmouthshire

and Herefordshire, while the whole of Wales, except

Glamorgan, was from the same date the Vicanate of Wales

until 1898, when it became the diocese of Menevia. But

certain people hoped that all Wales might form one diocese

I04. THE HISTORY OF BELMONT ABBEY

by the transference of Glamorgan from the Newport diocese,

in which case, it was suggested that Herefordshire and

Monmouthshire might together form a new diocese, or else

that they might be joined to the Shrewsbury diocese. If

anything of that sort should happen, there would certainly

be drastic repercussions for the Benedictine Chapter of

Newport, and therefore the whole matter was one which

might vitally affect Belmont. This question had been very

much to the fore five years earlier, and the General Chapter

of that year (1909) had been sufficiently concerned to send

a communication to Bishop Hedley on the subject. Fortu-

nately the bishop's reply is available, and it is of sufficient

interest to warrant reproduction here. It is dated June 18,

1909, and is addressed to Dom Wilfrid Corney of Downside,

who was a member of the Chapter.

My dear Fr Wilfrid,

In reply to the communication from General Chapter, 1 can

only say, in the first place, that nothing has been said to me,

either on the part of the Holy See, or on that of the Archbishop

or any of the Bishops, to the effect that there was any intention

or proposal, after my death, to alter, divide or re-arrange this

diocese.

At the same time, I know that some Bishops, now deceased,

have spoken as if, after me, Glamorganshire and probably Mon-

mouthshire, would be added to Menevia; that is, one Welsh

diocese be formed out of the 12 counties of Wales, and Monmouth-

shire; and that Herefordshire would be joined to Shrewsbury. I

am disposed to think that this may be the view of some members

of the present hierarchy—but this is only a surmise.

For my own part: i. I would always be against adding even

Glamorganshire, much more Monmouthshire also, to Menevia,

for the reason that the conditions of Catholicism in Glamorgan-

shire are quite different from what they are in the other eleven

counties of Wales. The eleven counties are to a far larger extent

missionary— comprising a very wide area, with very few missions,

which are widely scattered. No Bishop who had to administer

Glamorganshire could give adequate attention to the eleven

counties; and this would be still more true if he had Monmouth-

shire as well. The idea of putting all Wales (with Monmouthshire)

into one diocese is a mere sacrifice to geographical symmetry,

and would work ineffectively.

2. I should also oppose the handing over of Herefordshire to

Shrewsbury. To say nothing of the probable fate of the Bene-

PRIOR CLEMENT FOWLER 135

dictine Chapter, Herefordshire would be far too far from Birken-

head, which is certain to be the usual residence of the Bishops of

Shrewsbury.

I really do not think that, for effective administration, there

could be anything better than the present arrangement. The only

thing to do, for the moment, is to be prepared with a reasoned

protest, backed by statistics, which could be handed to the Con-

sistorial Congregation when the crisis arrives. For although, as I

have said, nothing has been said to me, I should not be at all

surprised if the attempt were made, perhaps by the Bishop of

Menevia,1 perhaps by the Archbishop2 and other Bishops (with

the best intentions) to have the rearrangement described above.

The normal seat of the Benedictine Chapter of the diocese of

Newport is, by the rescript of the Holy See, Newport: Belmont

having merely a provisional sanction. The Benedictine Chapter

would not therefore be affected unless Monmouthshire were

added to Menevia. But if Glamorganshire goes, even if Mon-

mouthshire were left, that county would not suffice, with Here-

fordshire, for a diocese: and therefore further disturbance would

certainly follow.'3

That was in 1909, but now in 1914 Bishop Hedley had his

own plans, and in November he formulated a scheme for the

translation of the diocese from Newport to Cardiff. The see

was at the same time to become an Archdiocese, and to have

Menevia as its suffragan; but it was understood that he had

asked that nothing be done in the matter during his life-

time. The Archbishop of Birmingham put forward a similar

plan, except that he wished Herefordshire and Monmouth-

shire to be excluded from the proposed Cardiff Archdiocese.

Thereupon Abbot Butler convoked the Regimen in order to

consider: i. Are we to defend the territorial integrity of the

present Diocese of Newport? 2. Are we to try to maintain it

as a Benedictine diocese, and if so, with what concessions to

the secular clergy? 3. Would a Benedictine diocese of Here-

fordshire and Monmouthshire be desirable ? He held it to be

certain that Bishop Mostyn of Menevia and not 'any un-

appointed Benedictine' would be the Archbishop, and he

drew up a Memorial in support of Bishop Hedley's scheme,

and opposing that of the Archbishop of Birmingham. As it

happened. Bishop Hedley had only one more year to live,

1 Dr Mostyn, later Archbishop of Cardiff.

* i.e. Archbishop (later Cardinal) Bourne of Westminster.

* This possibility was ardently canvassed later on, see p. 155, infra.

136 THE HISTORY OF BELMONT ABBEY

and the fact that the changes which he had proposed were

put into effect less than three months after his death suggests

that they had already been approved while he was yet alive.

But more will be heard of this subject of diocesan changes a

few years later.

But of course 1914 means in the minds of most people the

outbreak of war, and even monastic seclusion is not immune

from the shocks, the changes, the disorganisation, and the

hardships which war ever produces. At first the war did not

noticeably affect the Community, though in fact for the

nation it was the end of an era, the extinction of a whole way

of life that was never to come again. The first rude shock was

the death of one of the Monastic Chapter on active service.

Canon Basil Gwydir of Douai, though nearly fifty, volun-

teered to serve as a naval chaplain, and was in the hospital

ship Rohilla when, on October 30, she was driven on to the

rocks of the East coast. He was on deck and might have

saved himself, but he went below to the sick-bay to help a

seaman who had a broken leg, and before they could get

away the ship broke up and both were drowned. A week

later the body was washed ashore, and was brought to

Belmont for burial. He was the first chaplain to lose his life

in that war, and he had the distinction of being one of the

very few priests who have been admitted to the circle of the

Welsh Bards.

But the war soon brought its changes to St Michael's, at

first in the form of refugees. As early as September large

numbers of these were reaching England from Belgium in a

state of destitution, and were billeted in various parts of the

country. On September 7 the Prior received a note from the

Dean of Hereford to the effect that there were two priests in a

party which he had received, and suggesting that they would

be more at home in the monastery. These were accordingly

given hospitality, and soon afterwards the monastery also

welcomed fourteen other refugees. Later these were moved

to other quarters, but one of the priests remained at St

Michael's till almost the end of the war. A month later, on

October 21, there arrived from the Belgian Abbey of

Maredsous Dom Boniface de Marmel with six Juniors, and

PRIOR CLEMENT FOWLER 137

they remained for two months, leaving just before Christmas

for Ireland, where Abbot Marmion was trying to found a

monastery. Nor was this all, for during 1917 there arrived

seven German laybrothers from Fort Augustus, whence they

had been removed by the military authorities, and they

stayed until after the end of the war, and proved most useful

in the house. They undertook all the cooking and housework,

as well as carpentry and bootmaking, and gave an insight

into the life and spiritual status of the Benedictine laybrother

which was most useful when in 1921 Belmont began once

more to have a body of laybrothers of its own.

But 1914 was to bring one more great change to the

monastery. At the General Chapter of 1913 Prior Fowler

had been re-elected again for a third term of office as

Cathedral Prior. But his nine years of office had proved a

great strain for him, and the coming of the war had multiplied

his problems. Added to this was the fact that tempera-

mentally he was not fitted to cope with the intricate 'monas-

tic polities' of the Congregation as they affected Belmont,

particularly the attacks made on the constitutional position

of the new Belmont, so that the Community, as well as many

members of the other Houses, felt that he was too timid and

compromising in defending their cause. Moreover, he always

refused to allow the members of the new Conventus to have

any share in the administration of the House, and in con-

sequence of all these facts he resigned his office at the end of

the year, and left the house on January 5, 1915. During his

term of office he did much to win for Belmont the approval

of those who had been inclined to regard the new Conventus

as an unwanted innovation, and his training of its members

through his excellent spiritual conferences, and even more

through his own gentle and humble ways, left a lasting

impression on all who passed through his hands. He had

always made a special point of cultivating cordial relations

with the Bishop and the secular clergy of the diocese, and

these were always sure of a welcome at the Priory, and of

help when necessary on their missions. He also gave the local

Catholic gentry an opportunity of seeing and becoming

interested in the life and work of the monastery to which they

138 THE HISTORY OF BELMONT ABBEY

were often invited, and he included in this hospitality the

civic authorities of Hereford. But he was unfitted for the

hard controversial knocks which were the inevitable portion

of a Prior of Belmont at that juncture, and he resigned his

office in sorrow. He was made titular Abbot of St Alban's,

and on leaving Belmont he took charge of the mission at

Redditch, where he remained for eleven years until, in

1926, at the age of seventy-five, he retired at last from active

parochial work, and became chaplain to the Benedictine

nuns of Oulton Abbey. These he served for the remaining

three years of his life, and by these he was greatly loved and

revered. He died there rather suddenly in his seventy-ninth

year on July 26, 1929.

APPENDIX VIII

THE DEGREE OF 1908, CONTINUING THE COMMON

HOUSE FOR A FURTHER TEN YEARS

Ex Secretaria Sacrae Congregationis de Religiosis

Reverendissime Domine Abbas Praeses,

Quum Rev. adm. D. Gleinens Fowler, O.S.B. Congr. Anglicae,

et Prior Cathedralis Monasterii S. Michaelis de Belmont, ad

sedanda dubia hinc inde orta circa sententiam in Const. Apost.

'Diu Qyidem' (29 Junii 1899) contentam, quae sic sonat: 'De

unica tirocinii domo, quod jam sancitum est, idjussum ratumque

esto ad octennium', authenticam a S. Sede interpretationem

laudabiliter expostulaverit; perpensis relationibus Rmi. D.

Abbatis Primatis, Rmae. Paternitatis tuae, necnon Rmi. D.

Abbatis Monasterii S. Gregorii de Downside, haec S. Congre-

gatio de Religiosis sequentia respondenda judicavit:

Facultas servandi tirocinii communis in Belmont protrahatur

ad decennium a praesenti die connumerandum.

In singulis autem Abbatiis congreg. Anglicae complete

ordinatis, tirocinium proprium juxta indolem Familiarum

Benedictinarum insdtuatur, quando Rmus. D. Abbas Praeses

ejusdem Congregationis, de intelligentia Rmi. Dni. Abbatis

Primatis adjuncta, sat matura esse judicaverit.

Porro si quid forte, turn in jam aperto tirocinio proprio in

Downside, tum in communi ultra octennium in Belmont servato,

THE DECREE OF 1908 139

bona quidem fide, actum sit, quod sanatione indigeat, vifacul-

tatem huic Congregationi a SS.D. concessarum, sanatum habea-

^atum Romae, ex Secretaria S. Gongregationis de Religiosis,

die 24 Nov. 1908.

D. Laur. Janssens, O.S.B. Secret.

R'lverendissimo D. Aidano Gasquet, O.S.B. Congreg. Anglicae

Abbati Praesidi.