Design process

Stanton Williams were appointed in 1998 to design a new building within the shell of the ruined Cholmley House.

The brief was to create a visitor centre which would link the visitor experience to the whole of the Abbey site, from Saxon times via the 17th century to the present day.

The architects' elegant response is a steel and glass frame that sits behind the 17th century facade, carefully avoiding disturbance to buried archaeology and to the fabric of the existing building.

Much has been done to retain the feeling of the original building and the initial approach across the restored 17th century cobbled gardens, dicovered in good condition during excavation of centuries of soil, gives few hints as to the true nature of what lies ahead.