A space for contemplation

There are few places in the whole county more suited to a little thought, contemplation and reflection than Buckfast Abbey.  On a Sunday spent soaking up the rays on the South Devon coast, Lizzie and I lurched in-land to pay a visit to this gem of a site, nestled in the foothills of the Moors.

Beautiful Buckfast Abbey

Part of a Benedictine monastery, the site was first recorded as having an abbey in 1018, and was believed to have been founded by either Aethelweard (Aylward), Earldorman of Devon, or King Cnut.  In the 1130s, King Stephen granted Buckfast to the French Abbot of Savigny, and a newly established abbey was home to Savignac monks.  The Savignac congregation merged with the Cistercians following financial difficulties, and thus Buckfast Abbey became a Cistercian monastery - at this time, the abbey was rebuilt in stone.

Buckfast Abbey's Cistercian Guest House may have looked like this (source: Buckfast.org)

The abbey became rich during the medieval period, through fishing and the wool trade, and Buckfast was known to be one of the wealthiest abbeys in the southwest.  By the turn of the sixteenth century, however, it was in decline, and when Henry VIII's infamous Dissolution was put into effect, Buckfast only had ten monks in residence.  The abbey was surrendered for dissolution on 25 February 1539, when the monastic buildings were left for ruins, and the monks granted pensions.  Following this, the Crown passed the land to Sir Thomas Dennis of Holcombe Burnell, and was then bought by Samuel Berry, who constructed a mansion house there in 1806, on the site of the abbey's former west cloister.  The house and grounds passed on to Dr. James Gale in 1872, who sold the site ten years later, advertising it as "a grand acquisition which could be restored to its original purpose."  The advert worked - in 1882, the site was purchased by a group of French Benedictine monks who had been exiled from their own monastery.  A temporary church was constructed, and between 1907 and 1938, the new abbey church was built.  Buckfast Abbey was consecrated on 25 August 1932, six years before building work was complete.

A drawing by W. Gaucci, 1830, depicting the gothic mansion with
the old abbey ruins to the left (source: The Dartmoor Trust)

There's a definite air around Buckfast Abbey.  It's an air of peace, simplicity, and spiritual contentment.  We wandered around its beautiful interior, which is surprisingly light and airy, and includes the stunning Blessed Sacrament Chapel, added later to provide a place for quiet prayer.  The stained glass here depicts Christ at the Last Supper; it measures eight metres (26 feet) across, and was designed and made by the monks in the Abbey's workshops.

Blessed Sacrament Chapel window (source: Wikipedia)

Back outside, we strolled through the lavender garden, sweet and subtle-scented even in early spring.  As we sat with a drink (and a tasty homity pie) overlooking the grounds, I quite fancied that I could throw it all in and live there. Essentially, it has everything you need - enough food to eat, a roof over your head, religious fulfilment, and a relationship with nature and people that is pure, untarnished and innocent.  So you can keep your internet, playstation and 24-hour news channel; In a weary world of unrest, a visit here is an enlightening little glimpse into another way of looking at the world.

The Abbey's lavender garden