Downside Abbey

Downside Abbey
picture of the abbey church and monastic library
Abbey monastic basilica and library (left)
Downside Abbey is located in Somerset
Downside Abbey
Location within Somerset
Monastery information
Full nameAbbey of St Gregory the Great at Downside
OrderBenedictine
DenominationRoman Catholicism
Established1606
Mother houseValladolid
Dedicated toGregory the Great
DioceseClifton
Controlled churchesBasilica of St Gregory the Great
St Benedict's Church
People
Founder(s)St John Roberts OSB
AbbotDom Nicholas Wetz, OSB
PriorDom Anselm Brumwell, OSB
Important associated figuresArchitects Archibald Matthias Dunn and Edward Joseph Hansom, Cardinal Gasquet, Ambrose Barlow,
Architecture
StyleGothic revival
Completion date1935
Site
LocationSouthgate House, Buckfastleigh, Devon, England (temporary)
(until 13 March 2022 – Stratton-on-the-Fosse, Somerset, England)
Coordinates51°15′20″N 2°29′43″W / 51.2556°N 2.4954°W / 51.2556; -2.4954
Grid referenceST655508
Other informationRelics of St. Oliver Plunkett and St. Thomas de Cantilupe
Websitehttps://www.downsideabbey.co.uk/

Downside Abbey is a Benedictine monastery in England and the senior community of the English Benedictine Congregation. Until 2019, the community had close links with Downside School, for the education of children aged eleven to eighteen. Both the abbey and the school are at Stratton-on-the-Fosse, between Westfield and Shepton Mallet in Somerset, South West England. In 2020, the monastic community announced that it would move away from the present monastery and seek a new place to live.[1] In October 2021, the monastic community further announced that as part of their transition they would move in Spring of 2022 to the temporary accommodation of "Southgate House, in the grounds of Buckfast Abbey, Devon, where we will live as the Community of St Gregory the Great".[2] As of 2020, the monastic community of Downside Abbey was home to fifteen monks.[3]

The Abbey Church of St Gregory the Great, begun in 1873 and unfinished, is a Grade I listed building. Sir Nikolaus Pevsner described its Gothic style as "the most splendid demonstration of the renaissance of Roman Catholicism in England".[4]

  1. ^ Dodd, Liz (28 August 2020). "Benedictines to leave Downside Abbey". The Tablet. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  2. ^ "Community Update". Downside Abbey. 27 October 2021. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
  3. ^ The Benedictine Yearbook. London: English Benedictine Congregation Trust. 2020. p. 26. ISBN 978-0-901089-58-8.
  4. ^ Amery, Colin (3 December 2011). "Amazing Grace: Review of Downside Abbey: An Architectural History, edited by Dom Aidan Bellenger". The Spectator. Archived from the original on 30 September 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)

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