Abbotskerswell Priory
Encyclopedia
Abbotskerswell
Abbotskerswell is a village and civil parish in the English county of Devon. The village is in the north part of the parish and is located two miles south of the town of Newton Abbot, from the seaside resort of Torquay and from the city of Plymouth...
, near Newton Abbot
Newton Abbot
Newton Abbot is a market town and civil parish in the Teignbridge District of Devon, England on the River Teign, with a population of 23,580....
, Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
, England, was the home of a community of Augustinian nuns
Augustinian nuns
Augustinian nuns are the most ancient and continuous segment of the Roman Catholic Augustinian religious order under the canons of contemporary historical method. The Augustinian nuns, named after Saint Augustine of Hippo , are several Roman Catholic enclosed monastic orders of women living...
from 1861 until 1983. It has now been converted into apartments for elderly people.
Abbotsleigh House
Abbotsleigh House was built on high ground on the outskirts of AbbotskerswellAbbotskerswell
Abbotskerswell is a village and civil parish in the English county of Devon. The village is in the north part of the parish and is located two miles south of the town of Newton Abbot, from the seaside resort of Torquay and from the city of Plymouth...
during 1847-48. The land had formerly belonged to the Abbot of Sherborne
Sherborne
Sherborne is a market town in northwest Dorset, England. It is sited on the River Yeo, on the edge of the Blackmore Vale, east of Yeovil. The A30 road, which connects London to Penzance, runs through the town. The population of the town is 9,350 . 27.1% of the population is aged 65 or...
. The house, with about 36 acres (145,687 m²) of land, was purchased by the Catholic Church in February 1860, and became the hub around which the new Priory of St. Augustine was built. During those early days it was sometimes known as Abbots Leigh Priory.
Joseph Hansom
Joseph Hansom
Joseph Aloysius Hansom was a prolific English architect working principally in the Gothic Revival style, who invented the Hansom cab and was one of the founders of the eminent architectural journal, The Builder, in 1843....
was appointed to prepare plans for buildings to accommodate 50 nuns. Hansom had recently completed work on Plymouth Cathedral
Plymouth Cathedral
The Cathedral Church of Saint Mary and Saint Boniface in Plymouth, England is the seat of the Bishop of Plymouth and mother church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Plymouth, which covers the counties of Cornwall, Devon and Dorset. The Diocese of Plymouth was created in 1850, but it has a...
, but is probably better known as the designer of Hansom Cab
Hansom cab
The hansom cab is a kind of horse-drawn cart designed and patented in 1834 by Joseph Hansom, an architect from York. The vehicle was developed and tested by Hansom in Hinckley, Leicestershire, England. Originally called the Hansom safety cab, it was designed to combine speed with safety, with a low...
s. His ground plan for the whole development is still available for inspection at the Priory and, although later details were completed by Benjamin Bucknall
Benjamin Bucknall
thumb|240px|right|Woodchester Mansion, GloucestershireBenjamin Bucknall was an English architect of the Gothic Revival in Southwest England and South Wales, and then of neo-Moorish architecture in Algeria...
, the general layout is as he originally planned it. The convent wing was completed by the autumn of 1861 and the new Church of the Holy Ghost was completed in autumn 1863. The east, or guest, wing and the north services wing were added during the next 20 years.
The nuns
In 1797 a group of English nuns living in a French community in LouvainLeuven
Leuven is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region, Belgium...
, Belgium, was driven back to England by the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
. They lived at various places in the south of England until they eventually found a permanent home in Abbotskerswell at the instigation of the Bishop of Plymouth, William Vaughan. Their experiences during the revolution may explain why Hansom was instructed to build two elaborate escape tunnels at the priory.
The nuns lived as a closed order and had very little communication with the village until about 1952. Local people were allowed to worship in a small side chapel from which they could hear services being conducted in the church, but could not see the nuns. Village residents recall that during the 1960s the nuns were given more freedom to associate and to sell produce such as honey and eggs from their small farm.
The particular work of the community was reparation for the sins of mankind
Acts of reparation
In the Roman Catholic tradition, an Act of Reparation is a prayer or devotion with the intent to repair the "sins of others", e.g. for the repair of the sin of blasphemy, the sufferings of Jesus Christ or as Acts of Reparation to the Virgin Mary...
. They prayed for the conversion
Religious conversion
Religious conversion is the adoption of a new religion that differs from the convert's previous religion. Changing from one denomination to another within the same religion is usually described as reaffiliation rather than conversion.People convert to a different religion for various reasons,...
of sinners and the spread of the faith, especially in England. The postulant
Postulant
A postulant was originally one who makes a request or demand; hence, a candidate. The use of the term is now generally restricted to those asking for admission into a monastery or a convent, both before actual admission and for the length of time preceding their admission into the novitiate...
s and novices were trained in singing and reciting the Divine Office
Liturgy of the hours
The Liturgy of the Hours or Divine Office is the official set of daily prayers prescribed by the Catholic Church to be recited at the canonical hours by the clergy, religious orders, and laity. The Liturgy of the Hours consists primarily of psalms supplemented by hymns and readings...
. Besides taking part in the domestic work of the community they were trained in various handicrafts according to their gifts and talents. Their time was largely devoted to religious exercises, daily Mass and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament and the Divine Office in Choir, the sisters each taking their appointed watch, day and night.
Among the relics which were preserved at the Priory was the hair shirt
Cilice
A cilice was originally a garment or undergarment made of coarse cloth or animal hair used in some religious traditions to induce some degree of discomfort or pain as a sign of repentance and atonement...
of Sir Thomas More
Thomas More
Sir Thomas More , also known by Catholics as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, social philosopher, author, statesman and noted Renaissance humanist. He was an important councillor to Henry VIII of England and, for three years toward the end of his life, Lord Chancellor...
, presented for safe keeping by Margaret Clements (1508–1570), his adopted daughter. The hair shirt is now preserved at Syon Abbey, near South Brent
South Brent
South Brent is a large village on the southern edge of Dartmoor, England, in the valley of the River Avon, population 2998 , 8 km north-east of Ivybridge, and next to the Devon Expressway which connects Exeter to the north-east and Plymouth to the west.-History:It was originally a woollen...
.