Aylesford Priory
The History of The Friars at Aylesford
Aylesford Priory, or The Friars, was founded in AD 1242 when the first Carmelites - a group of hermits from Mount Carmel - arrived from the Holy Land. They came under the patronage of Baron Richard de Grey, a crusader, who gave them his manor house, a small piece of land and the pilgrim's buildings at his manor of Aylesford.
In AD 1247 the Bishop of Rochester officially recognised the Carmelite foundation at Aylesford and the first General Chapter of the Order outside the Holy Land was held there. The Chapter effectively changed the lifestyle of the Carmelites from hermits to mendicant friars, and over the next fifty years more than thirty priories were founded in England and Wales including London, Oxford and Cambridge.
The early Carmelites took care of the pilgrims passing on their way to Canterbury and soon had to build a larger church on the site of the original one. They also cooked for and fed the pilgrims. Upstairs, over the southern cloister was the dining room, which accommodated perhaps 100 people. Below that were the storage rooms and on the western ground floor was the kitchen. All these can be seen.
During the sixteenth century a tradition developed that saint Simon Stock - died 1265 - Prior General of the Order, had had a vision of Our Lady promising her protection to those who wore Camelite habit, and the wearing of this scapular subsequently became an important Carmelite Marion devotion.
In 1538, during the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the Friars passed into the hands of Sir Thomas Wyatt of Allington Castle. The Wyatts subsequently lost their lands under Queen Mary, and later, in the rein of Queen Elizabeth I, Sir John Sedley took over the property. He made considerable alterations to the buildings in the 1590s.
In 1633 Sir Peter Rycaut, a Dutch international financier, bought The Friars from the Sedley family. The Rycauts took the Royalists side at the outbrak of The English Civil War in 1642; during the war The Friars was sequestrated by the Parliamentary Committee for Kent. However, in 1657 the Rycauts sold The Friars to Sir John Banks, a businessman who sold supplies to the British Navy.
In the 1670s he turned The Friars into a fine Carmelite mansion where his visitors included the diarist Samuel Pepys. Elizabeth Banks inherited The Friars from her father, and her husband, Heneage Finch, became the first Earl of Aylesford. He lived at The Friars, but the family then moved to Packington Hall, Warwickshire. They did not live at The Friars again, although it was at times used as a dower house and was frequently rented out to other families.
In the twentieth century Mrs Woolsey and her son-in-law, Mr Copely Hewitt, lavished care on the house. At this time The Friars became an important centre for scouting activities and Lord Baden-Powell visited on one occasion. A fire in 1930 caused immense damage, but the restoration work brought to light many original features.
In 1949, The Friars was put up for sale, so the Carmelites were able to buy back their motherhouse. Friar Malachy Lynch, the first Prior, began the task of restoring the buildings and within a short time The Friars became a flourishing pilgrimage centre. In partnership with Adrian Gilbert Scott, Friar Malachy conceived the idea of the open-air shrine, and gathered craftsmen and artists to help him.
Outstanding amomg the artists were Adam Kassowski, who made the ceramics, and Philip Lindsey Clark and his son Michael Clark, both sculptors. Friar Malacky described The Friars as "a prayer in stone". In the presence of Cardinal Heenan, Archbishop Cyril Cowderoy rededicated the Shrine in 1965, and it now serves as a centre of prayer for all Christians in Kent and a place of peace for all those who search for meaning in their lives.
The Friars Today
The Friars is home to a small community who live the Carmelite life in the same spirit as their medieval forebears. For Carmelites, prayer and work make a seamless whole: while personal and public prayer is at the core of their lives, they are also busy serving the community.
Each member of the community has their own area of work at the priory, be it in administration, maintenance or providing retreats and counselling. Some of the friars work outside in the community at large - in prison work, school and hospital chaplaincy and local radio, to name but a few areas of activity. This is the main difference between friars and monks. Friars have a community life, and the fraternity gives them the support which enables them to go out and work among people, spreading gospel values in whatever way is appropriate to the time and place.
The community is helped in the running of The Friars by a team of workers who make up the larger community that is Aylesford. Working in the recption or the tearoom, or running the conference centre, is a vital part of the work of The Friars and is crucial in welcoming the 200,000-plus people who visit each year.
Carmelite friars have other communities in Britain, ranging from an inner-city London parish to a university chaplaincy. The Order of Carmelites spreads beyond this country into the four corners of the earth, with communities in countries from Peru to Indonesia and from Poland to Zimbabwe. The wider Carmelite family also includes contemplative nuns - sisters involved in a variety of works - and lay people who follow the Rule according to their state in life.
Pilgrimages
From April to October large groups come on pilgrimages to pray at the Shrine, to seek God's blessing, and to honour Our Lady. A special pilgrimage leaflet, obtainable from the Reception Office, gives details of the main pilgrimages throughout the summer, which all are welcome to join. Anyone wishing to bring a group should contact the Pilgrimage Secretary.
Retreats
There is a programme of retreats arranged by the Carmelite community; a leaflet giving details is available on request at the Reception Office. Individuals are also welcome to come to stay and join in the prayer life of The Friars. The community is willing to cooperate in days of recollection for groups who request them, and to give help and guidance to schools organising days of recollection or residential retreats.
Guesthouse
The guesthouse can accommodate up to 100 people in single or twin rooms. Individuals seeking peace and quiet and groups coming for retreats are welcome. Business and education conferences can also be accommodated. Further details and prices are available from the Reception Office.
Conference Centre
The Friars is a well-established conference centre. Facilities include a main hall seating 100, three seminar rooms and a bar. There are also several other meeting rooms available for smaller groups. Christian and inter-faith groups, educational courses and business groups are welcome, and details are available from Conference Centre staff.
Crafts
The pottery was founded by David Leach in 1954 and the tradition of producing hand-made Japanise glazed stoneware is continuing at The Friars, though no longer by members of the community. Visitors are welcome to watch experienced potters at work, or buy their wares in the showroom. There is also a skilled upholsterer who welcomes visitors to his workshop.
The address for The Friars is: The Friars, Aylesford, Kent, ME20 7BX. Telephone: 01622 717 272. Fax: 01622 715 575. The Friars also has a Webpage and can be contacted by Email for more information. Opening times for the chapels are: Summer (May-September 9am-5pm Winter (October-April) 9am-4pm. Opening times for both the tearoom and shop are: Monday-Saturday 10am-5pm (4pm in winter) and Sunday 11am-5pm (4pm in winter).
A further selection of images from The Friary can be viewed on the Gallery link on this site.