Buckfast Abbey, Restored Benedictine Monastery
Working Benedictine Abbey in Devon, Offering Peace and Contemplation
Aug 19, 2008
Following the Benedictine tradition, the Roman Catholic community at the Abbey welcomes visitors and there is no charge. Buckfast shares its knowedge enthusiastically – as well as the religious work the Abbey has extensive expertise in beekeeping. The design of some of the stained glass windows is a speciality at Buckfast – chips of coloured glass are set it resin, a technique known as dalle de verre. The gardens include a sensory garden of scents and sounds for meditation, and a lavender garden with many different varieties of this herb.
Buckfast also produces a wide range of fine fruit wines called Buckfast Tonic Wine, a selection of which are available in the Gift Shop. There are three excellent shops at Buckfast Abbey. The bookshop carries a range of books on Christian topics, from theological texts through to more accessible books aimed to the public. The Monastic Produce shop is housed in an atmospheric restored water mill, and carries products made at monasteries and convents worldwide. Finally, the Gift shop by the car park carries a range of gifts and souvenirs as well as acting as the information point for visitors to find out more about the Abbey and its work.
History of Buckfast
Originally a Saxon Benedictine abbey founded before the Norman Conquest in 1018, Henry VIII of England destroyed Buckfast in the 16th century. This unique community is well worth a visit, as it is a vibrant Christian community and a working abbey is an unusual sight in England.
The Saxon monastery was rebuilt when it became a Cistercian monastery in 1147. The modern buildings largely follow the floor plan of the Cistercian abbey that fell to the ministrations of Henry VIII’s Vicar-General, Thomas Cromwell. Buckfast signed the Deed of Surrender on the 25th of February 1539, assigning the Abbey and its worldly goods to the King. However, the ruins still stood until 1800, when a wealthy landowner cleared them to build his mansion on the site. In 1872 the site came to Dr James Gale, who wanted to return the site to its religious uses, and advertised it in the British Catholic newspaper The Tablet. So it came that three and a half centuries after Buckfast was dissolved, monks were living there again.
The new occupants were a group of French monks who had been exiled from their monastery at home. The plan to build the monastery on the old foundations was mooted, and by 1884 an architect had drawn up plans. Work proceeded slowly – rebuilding of the magnificent Abbey Church only started in 1907, and the First World War interrupted progress. The church was constructed by only four to six monks working on it at any time. They used wooden scaffolding and simple manual pulley systems to hoist the stone. After thirty years, the Abbey was consecrated on the 25th August 1932, and attracted considerable interest in England – the ceremony was broadcast on the radio.
Getting to Buckfast Abbey
Buckfast Abbey can be reached from the A38 continuation of the M5 motorway, it is midway between Exeter and Plymouth. Turn off at Buckfastleigh and follow the brown tourist signs.
By rail the nearest stations are Totnes and Newton Abbot, from where a bus service goes past the abbey.
Buckfast Abbey on Google Maps
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
