Destroyed in the Dissolution of the Monasteries this Abbey, originally Cistercian, was re-built in the 20th. century.
Commentary.
This Benedictine Monastery and Abbey Church,
founded as early as 1018, reputedly by King Cnut,
served under Savignac and later Cistercian rule in medieval times.
It suffered the consequences of religious persecution in the 16th. Century, when the Dissolution of the Monasteries, by direction of King Henry VIII, saw it ransacked and ultimately demolished.
The site was bought by French Benedictine monks in the nineteenth century and dedicated to St. Mary. Not until 1907 did a re-build commence followed by consecration in 1932 and completion in 1938.
Prayer and worship is only one part of a monk’s daily life.
What always strikes me is how active they are in supporting their community and earning their keep.
Vegetables, honey, beeswax, pigs, cattle, wine, fudge, publications and many other products are sold near and far.
Monks built the building, help to maintain it, design stained-glass windows for new chapels, farm the land, tend the gardens and benefit from the thousands of paying visitors that come to enjoy, this thriving, yet spiritually uplifting and inspirational place.
Indeed, healthy income enables continuous development.
For example a magnificent new pipe-organ, sourced from Italy, was successfully installed in 2017.
The vibrant, ongoing work of this highly committed
and faithful community is complemented by the incredible beauty of its setting.
Nestling as it does on the edge of Dartmoor,
in the exquisite Dart Valley, where it is,
and what it does, evokes the peace, solace, tranquillity
of the spirit of God, to his honour and glory.
A thousand years, 1018-2018 is only the beginning!
Destroyed in the Dissolution of the Monasteries this Abbey, originally Cistercian, was re-built in the 20th. century.
Commentary.
This Benedictine Monastery and Abbey Church,
founded as early as 1018, reputedly by King Cnut,
served under Savignac and later Cistercian rule in medieval times.
It suffered the consequences of religious persecution in the 16th. Century, when the Dissolution of the Monasteries, by direction of King Henry VIII, saw it ransacked and ultimately demolished.
The site was bought by French Benedictine monks in the nineteenth century and dedicated to St. Mary. Not until 1907 did a re-build commence followed by consecration in 1932 and completion in 1938.
Prayer and worship is only one part of a monk’s daily life.
What always strikes me is how active they are in supporting their community and earning their keep.
Vegetables, honey, beeswax, pigs, cattle, wine, fudge, publications and many other products are sold near and far.
Monks built the building, help to maintain it, design stained-glass windows for new chapels, farm the land, tend the gardens and benefit from the thousands of paying visitors that come to enjoy, this thriving, yet spiritually uplifting and inspirational place.
Indeed, healthy income enables continuous development.
For example a magnificent new pipe-organ, sourced from Italy, was successfully installed in 2017.
The vibrant, ongoing work of this highly committed
and faithful community is complemented by the incredible beauty of its setting.
Nestling as it does on the edge of Dartmoor,
in the exquisite Dart Valley, where it is,
and what it does, evokes the peace, solace, tranquillity
of the spirit of God, to his honour and glory.
A thousand years, 1018-2018 is only the beginning!