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Buckfast Abbey

1018 establishments in England1539 disestablishments in England19th-century Christian monasteries19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United KingdomAnglo-Saxon monastic houses
Benedictine monasteries in EnglandBuckfastleighCharities based in EnglandChristian monasteries established in the 11th centuryCistercian monasteries in EnglandFrederick Walters buildingsMonasteries dissolved under the English ReformationMonasteries in DevonMonasteries of the English Benedictine CongregationReligious organizations established in 1882Roman Catholic churches in DevonTourist attractions in DevonUse British English from September 2015
Buckfast Abbey, Buckfastleigh, Devon 8
Buckfast Abbey, Buckfastleigh, Devon 8

Buckfast Abbey forms part of an active Benedictine monastery at Buckfast, near Buckfastleigh, Devon, England. Buckfast first became home to an abbey in 1018. The first Benedictine abbey was followed by a Savignac, later Cistercian, abbey constructed on the site of the current abbey in 1134. The monastery was surrendered for dissolution in 1539, with the monastic buildings stripped and left as ruins, before being demolished. The former abbey site was used as a quarry, and later became home to a Gothic mansion house. In 1882 the site was purchased by a group of French Benedictine monks, who refounded a monastery on the site, dedicated to Saint Mary. New monastic buildings and a temporary church were constructed incorporating the existing Gothic house. Buckfast was formally reinstated as an Abbey in 1902. The first abbot of the new institution, Boniface Natter, was blessed in 1903. Work on a new abbey church, which was constructed mostly on the footprint of the former Cistercian abbey, started in 1907. The church was consecrated in 1932 but not completed until 1938. The abbey continues to operate as a Benedictine foundation today, and is a registered charity under English law. As of 2020, the abbey has 13 monks.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Buckfast Abbey (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Buckfast Abbey
Buckfast Road, Teignbridge Buckfastleigh

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Wikipedia: Buckfast AbbeyContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 50.492777777778 ° E -3.7755555555556 °
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Abbey Church of St Mary

Buckfast Road
TQ11 0EE Teignbridge, Buckfastleigh
England, United Kingdom
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Buckfast Abbey, Buckfastleigh, Devon 8
Buckfast Abbey, Buckfastleigh, Devon 8
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Nearby Places

Hembury Castle, Buckfast
Hembury Castle, Buckfast

Hembury Castle is an Iron Age hillfort about a mile north-west of the village of Buckfast on the south-eastern edge of Dartmoor in Devon, England (grid reference SX726684). The fort is about 178 metres above sea level on a promontory between the River Dart on the east and the Holy Brook, south-west. The slope down to the River Dart is very steep and is covered by Hembury Woods which is now a Site of Special Scientific Interest.The fort is said to cover about seven acres and it is surrounded by a prominent rampart and ditch. It is one of several Iron Age forts on the eastern edge of Dartmoor, others include Holne Chase Castle, Wooston Castle, Cranbrook Castle and Prestonbury Castle. Inside the fort, on the western side, is an 11th- or 12th-century motte with a surrounding narrow inner bailey. The ramparts of the earlier hillfort may have been used as the outer bailey of the castle. The entire site has legal protection as a scheduled monument.The first documentary reference to Hembury Castle is in the 13th-century cartulary of nearby Buckfast Abbey, where it is referred to as vetus castellum quod dicitur Hembire. The name probably derives from Old English hean byrig, "at the high burh".A legend relates that the fort was held by the Danes, but it was taken from them by a stratagem. Some local women allowed themselves to be captured by the Danes and taken into the fort, but in the night when their captors were in a drunken sleep, the women rose, killed them and let in their countrymen.