Downside Abbey
Abbey monastic basilica and library (left) | |
| Monastery information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Abbey of St Gregory the Great at Downside |
| Order | Benedictine |
| Denomination | Roman Catholicism |
| Established | 1606 |
| Mother house | Valladolid |
| Dedicated to | Gregory the Great |
| Diocese | Clifton |
| Controlled churches | St Benedict's Church, Stratton-on-the-Fosse Church of the Holy Ghost, Midsummer Norton |
| People | |
| Founder(s) | St John Roberts OSB |
| Abbot | Dom Nicholas Wetz OSB |
| Prior | Dom Anselm Brumwell OSB |
| Important associated figures | Architects Archibald Matthias Dunn and Edward Joseph Hansom, Cardinal Gasquet, Ambrose Barlow |
| Architecture | |
| Style | Gothic revival |
| Completion date | 1935 |
| Site | |
| Location | Southgate House, Buckfastleigh, Devon, England (temporary) (until 13 March 2022 – 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 |
| Website | www |
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 11 to 18. 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 of Downside Abbey was home to fifteen monks. In 2022, the community moved to Devon.
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".
As of 2024, the monastic buildings in the north of the Downside site are vacant, while the school continues to operate in the buildings to the south.