Nunraw Abbey or Sancta Maria Abbey, Nunraw is a working

Trappist The Trappists, officially known as the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (, abbreviated as OCSO) and originally named the Order of Reformed Cistercians of Our Lady of La Trappe, are a Religious order (Catholic), Catholic religious o ...

(''Ordo Cisterciensis Strictioris Observantiae'')

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

. It was the first

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

house to be founded in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

since the

Scottish Reformation The Scottish Reformation was the process whereby Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland broke away from the Catholic Church, and established the Protestant Church of Scotland. It forms part of the wider European 16th-century Protestant Reformation. Fr ...

. Founded in 1946 by monks from

Mount St. Joseph Abbey, Roscrea Mount St. Joseph Abbey is an abbey of the Trappist branch of the Cistercians located in County Offaly, near Roscrea, County Tipperary in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The abbey was founded in 1878 by a group of 32 monks from Mount Melleray, Mo ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, and consecrated as an Abbey in 1948, it nestles at the foot of the

Lammermuir Hills The Lammermuirs are a range of hills in southern Scotland, forming a natural boundary between East Lothian and the Borders. The name ''Lammermuir'' comes from the Old English , meaning "moorland of the lambs". Geology The Lammermuir Hills a ...

on the southern edge of

East Lothian East Lothian (; ; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In ...

. The estate of the abbey is technically called White Castle after an early hill-fort on the land.

History

Originally owned by the Cistercian Nuns of Haddington, the area that they settled becoming known as

Nunraw Nunraw is an estate in East Lothian, Scotland. It includes the White Castle, a hillfort, situated on the edge of the Lammermuir Hills, two miles south of the village of Garvald, (, , OS Landranger No.67.) Nunraw House was formerly used as the Gu ...

(lit. 'Nun's Row'). The Nunnery of Haddington was founded by

Ada de Warenne Ada de Warenne (or Adeline de Varenne) ( 1120 – 1178) was the Anglo-Norman wife of Henry of Scotland, Earl of Northumbria and Earl of Huntingdon. She was the daughter of William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey by Elizabeth of Vermandois, a ...

, Countess of Huntingdon and daughter of the

Earl of Surrey Earl of Surrey is a title in the Peerage of England that has been created five times. It was first created for William de Warenne, a close companion of William the Conqueror. It is currently held as a subsidiary title by the Dukes of Norfo ...

, soon after the death of

Bernard of Clairvaux Bernard of Clairvaux, Cistercians, O.Cist. (; 109020 August 1153), venerated as Saint Bernard, was an abbot, Mysticism, mystic, co-founder of the Knights Templar, and a major leader in the reform of the Benedictines through the nascent Cistercia ...

, and the small evidence that is available suggests that Nunraw was a

grange Grange may refer to: Buildings * Grange House, Scotland, built in 1564, and demolished in 1906 * Grange Estate, Pennsylvania, built in 1682 * The Grange (Toronto), Toronto, Ontario, built in 1817 * Monastic grange, a farming estate belonging to ...

of that convent. The modern monastery was built between 1952 and 1970 (but is unfinished as the abbey church was never built) by architect Peter Rice Whiston (1912-1999). The buildings are

Category A listed Category, plural categories, may refer to: General uses *Classification, the general act of allocating things to classes/categories Philosophy * Category of being * ''Categories'' (Aristotle) * Category (Kant) * Categories (Peirce) * Category ( ...

as "a rare example of a purpose-built monastic abbey to be built in Britain in the 20th century".

List of Abbots

The modern establishment has had four Lord Abbots since its inception: * Father Michael Sherry, O.C.S.O. (d. 2003) Superior of the foundation between 1946 and its inauguration in 1948. Father Michael was the Prior, never the abbot. Nunraw was elevated from a priory to an abbey in 1948, Dom Columban Mulcahy being the first abbot. * Dom Columban Mulcahy, O.C.S.O. (1900-1971), Lord Abbot between 1948 and 1969 * Dom Donald McGlynn, O.C.S.O., Abbot-''emeritus'' and Lord Abbot between 1969 and 2003, an honorary "Chief" of the

Igbo people The Igbo people ( , ; also spelled Ibo" and historically also ''Iboe'', ''Ebo'', ''Eboe'', / / ''Eboans'', ''Heebo''; natively ) are an ethnic group found in Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, and Equatorial Guinea. Their primary origin is fo ...

in Nigeria. * Dom Raymond Jaconelli, O.C.S.O., Lord Abbot from 2003 to 2009 * Dom Mark Caira, O.C.S.O., Lord Abbot from 2009

References

External links

Website of Sancta Maria Abbey, Nunraw
* ttp://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=809222003 Dom Donald McGlynn's elevation to the chieftaincy of the Igbo {{DEFAULTSORT:Sancta Maria Abbey, Nunraw Listed monasteries in Scotland Trappist monasteries in the United Kingdom Cistercian monasteries in Scotland Christian organizations established in 1946 1946 establishments in Scotland Buildings and structures in East Lothian Category A listed buildings in East Lothian

History

List of Abbots

See also

References

External links