To most of us Cowfold Monastery, and its monks, is a complete mystery, and the  support this talk received (over 80 people attended) is evidence of our curiosity. Monsignor Canon Terence Stonehill (of Corpus Christi Church, Henfield), our guide for the evening, is very familiar with the building and its inhabitants and was delighted to be able to share his knowledge with us.

The 200 foot steeple of the Monastery is a welcome landmark for miles around, although Father Terry informed us that German bombers supposedly used the steeple for navigation purposes. Most of us in the area will have seen at some time or other the monks on their Monday afternoon walk, but we have little other contact with them. So to understand the monks and their vows of poverty, chastity and obedience we have to go back to the Gospel and the beginning of Christianity.

After Jesus went out into the desert for 40 days and 40 nights, there were numerous Desert Fathers who decided they would leave the world and go into the desert to find silence and solitude, living in isolation as hermits. 

St. Bruno,  founder of the Carthusian monks, lived in Cologne but of French noble parents;  he spent his life in France, and was ordained in 1030. Eventually he became dissatisfied with his position in Riemes, and with the help of St. Hugh, Bishop of Grenoble, he established La Grande Chartreuse, the greatest monastery of all the Charterhouses.

Witham in Somerset was the first Chartelry in England and it was said that Henry II set it up as part of his penance for the murder of Thomas a Beckett. Since then, monasteries have both flourished and suffered  persecution at various times.  Before the  Reformation there were 200 Charterhouses in England. During Henry VIIIs reign, he brought about the Act of Succession, attempting to obtain the approval of the much respected Carthusian monks. However, they would not sign and 3 priors were executed and a further 15 monks were put to death. 

Even in France their existence was not always welcome. During the Revolution many Carthusian monks, including nuns, were guillotined, and later Napoleon suppressed all but 5 of their monasteries, and so they sought a place where they could build a big charterhouse to accommodate a large number of monks.

Father Dennis had already been sent to West Grinstead where he built the Church, but all the while he was looking for a suitable property for the Carthusian Monastery. Negotiations with Mr. Boxall (the Protestant owner of Picknole - later known as Parknowle - a house with 110 acres) commenced in relative secrecy and on the 6th February 1873 2 fathers and 1 brother took possession of Parknowle. By 1875 the numbers increased to 8 monks and 10 brothers. During the building of the monastery a whole army of men from various countries was employed, including at one time a resident policeman to maintain order between the different nationalities. The foundation stone was finally laid in 1877.

All the chartelries were built to much the same pattern, with a Chapel and individual cells. Downstairs each cell has a workshop and upstairs a study and bed with a paillasse and a rough pillow, and each cell also has its own garden. Although it was, and still is, a very austere existence, it attracted noblemen, generals, artisans, farmers, and even today, Parkminster's 17 monks and brothers includes professional men. It has 36 cells which could accommodate 72 monks. They rise at 6.30 a.m. and then stay in their own cell until 8.15 when they go to the chapel.  At 11.30 a.m. they have their dinner which is the first meal since 5.30 p.m. the previous evening. They rise again at 11.45 p.m. for prayers and remain in the chapel until 2.45 a.m. Even a monk's burial is austere - with no coffin, just a wooden plank, and without a name on the plain wooden cross.

Father Terry showed us various slides of inside the Monastery, including the 3,166 feet of cloister, and the magnificent library. The following Parkminster website gives an excellent virtual reality tour of the Monastery: