Alton Abbey is an

Anglican Benedictine There are a number of Benedictine Anglican religious orders, some of them using the name Order of St. Benedict (OSB). Just like their Roman Catholic counterparts, each abbey/priory/convent is independent of each other. The vows are not made to ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

(founded in 1895) in the village of

Beech Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engle ...

, near

Alton Alton may refer to: People *Alton (given name) *Alton (surname) Places Australia *Alton National Park, Queensland *Alton, Queensland, a town in the Shire of Balonne Canada * Alton, Ontario * Alton, Nova Scotia New Zealand * Alton, New Zealand, ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

, England. The abbey is not far from one of Hampshire's highest points,

King's Hill Kings Hill is a civil parish in the borough of Tonbridge and Malling in Kent, England. It is one of several new villages built in Kent since the 1950s (other examples including Vigo and New Ash Green). Development started in 1989 near West Mall ...

(218 m). The community was founded by the Revd Charles Plomer Hopkins in 1884, as the "Society of Saint Paul", in Rangoon (Burma) and

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

(India) to work with destitute or distressed merchant seafarers and their

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

s. Noted for its beauty and tranquility, Alton Abbey has been described in ''The Times'' as "the best-kept secret in the Church of England",

History

The community was founded by the Revd Charles Plomer Hopkins in 1884, as the Society of Saint Paul, in Rangoon (Burma) and

(India) to work with destitute or distressed merchant seafarers and their

s. The first house was opened in 1894 in Barry Dock,

South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...

(now closed) to continue this work. A quieter house was needed and the site in Beech was acquired in 1895. This was initially used to care for retired or ill seamen in temporary wood and metal buildings. The current buildings were designed by Sir Charles Nicholson, using Tintern Abbey as a model. The first monks did much of the construction using local

flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and start fir ...

, including a flint and brick Gatehouse (1901). The Abbey church, designed by John Cyril Hawes (flint and brick, built in 1901 to 1907), is dedicated to "Our Lady and Saint John". Hawes also designed the gatehouse. Having observed the Rule of St Benedict from 1893 the community formally adopted it on 28 January 1981. In 1989 another charity undertook the society's work with seafarers. The community now runs retreats and courses for the public.Alton Abbey
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Monks

The priority of the monks is the offering of the Liturgy of the Hours and the Conventual Mass. Part of the day is set aside for work in the bakery making communion bread), in the gardens, in the retreat house, writing (painting) icons, or making

incense Incense is aromatic biotic material that releases fragrant smoke when burnt. The term is used for either the material or the aroma. Incense is used for aesthetic reasons, religious worship, aromatherapy, meditation, and ceremony. It may also be ...

. Those who wish to join the community spend time as an aspirant, postulant and novice while they consider their commitment. With the agreement of the other monks, they make Benedictine Vows of Stability, Conversion of Life, and Obedience for a period of three years. After that three-year period is complete, they may make lifelong vows with the agreement of the community. In September 2010, Dom William Hughes was elected third Abbot of Alton but in 2013 he resigned and the Rt Revd Dom Giles Hill resumed his duties as abbot. As of 2022, there five professed members of the community.

Oblates

Oblates are men (

lay Lay may refer to: Places *Lay Range, a subrange of mountains in British Columbia, Canada *Lay, Loire, a French commune *Lay (river), France *Lay, Iran, a village *Lay, Kansas, United States, an unincorporated community People * Lay (surname) * ...

and

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

, over 18 years of age), who join the community, but live outside the monastery. They commit to follow life rules similar to those followed by the monks, based on the

Rule of St Benedict The ''Rule of Saint Benedict'' ( la, Regula Sancti Benedicti) is a book of precepts written in Latin in 516 by St Benedict of Nursia ( AD 480–550) for monks living communally under the authority of an abbot. The spirit of Saint Benedict's R ...

and adapted for their specific life circumstances.

Companions

Companions are women and men who make a commitment to regular worship with the monks, either at the Abbey or in their life outside.

Prayer and church services

Except for those times when the whole monastery closes for retreat, there are six services open to the public each day: Morning Prayer (Matins and Lauds), Conventual Mass, Mid-day Office, Evening Prayer (Vespers) and Compline.

References in literature

A thinly disguised version of Alton Abbey appears in ''

Sinister Street ''Sinister Street'' is a 1913–1914 novel by Compton Mackenzie. It is a kind of ''Bildungsroman'' or novel about growing up, and concerns two children, Michael Fane and his sister Stella. Both of them are born out of wedlock, something which ...

'' (1913) by Sir Compton Mackenzie.

References

External links

Alton Abbey website
{{Authority control Anglican orders and communities Benedictine monasteries in England Alton, Hampshire 1895 establishments in England 19th-century Christian monasteries Abbeys in Hampshire Anglican monasteries in the United Kingdom 19th-century churches in the United Kingdom