Downside Abbey facts for kids
Abbey monastic basilica and library (left)
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 Location in Somerset
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| Monastery information | |
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| Full name | Abbey of St Gregory the Great at Downside |
| Order | Benedictine |
| Established | 1606 |
| Mother house | Valladolid |
| Dedicated to | Gregory the Great |
| Diocese | Clifton |
| Controlled churches | Basilica of St Gregory the Great |
| People | |
| Founder(s) | St John Roberts OSB |
| Abbot | Dom Nicholas Wetz, OSB |
| Important associated figures | Architects Archibald Matthias Dunn and Edward Joseph Hansom |
| Site | |
| Location | Stratton-on-the-Fosse, Somerset, England |
| Coordinates | 51°15′20″N 2°29′43″W / 51.2556°N 2.4954°W |
| Grid reference | ST655508 |
| Other information | Relics of St. Oliver Plunkett and St. Thomas de Cantilupe |
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. As of 2020, the abbey was home to sixteen monks.
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".
Images for kids
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Perspective view of Downside Abbey as envisioned in 1873, from the firm of Dunn & Hansom.
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The Abbey church
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Consecration of the Abbey: the procession of relics towards the west door
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Organ case in the gallery above the south transept
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See also
In Spanish: Abadía de Downside para niños
