The Abbey of St Gregory the Great is the senior Benedictine monastery of the English Benedictine Congregation. Originally founded in Douai, France in 1606, the community of St Gregory the Great settled at Downside, Somerset in 1814.

Downside Abbey Church, one of only four Minor Basilicas in England, has been designated by English Heritage as a grade I listed building. Sir Nikolaus Pevsner described the Abbey as “the most splendid demonstration of the renaissance of Roman Catholicism in England”.

Although the move away from the large and imposing buildings at Downside may seem to be a great rupture in the life of the monks of the Abbey of St Gregory the Great, it is in fact but another stage in a history that goes back to 1606. Southgate House is our fourth home in that time, and has given us the opportunity to reflect more on how we live the Rule of St Benedict in the 21^st century and how monastic life can respond to the needs of modern day, whilst remaining committed to the preservation and promotion of the heritage that remains at Downside in the abbey church and the monastery library in particular.

Our life continues to follow the principles laid down in the Rule: we gather in our chapel five times a day for Mass and the Divine Office, starting at 6am, and we are pleased that we are still able to sing the whole Office (a mixture of English and Latin) and Mass (Latin Gregorian Chant) as we did before. We continue our practice of personal prayer and lectio divina, all combined with work in our small monastery and elsewhere. We engage in a variety of work, ranging from cleaning Southgate to carpentry, writing, giving talks and retreats both here and elsewhere.

To read more about our history, click here (www.downsideabbey.co.uk)

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