Ampleforth Abbey

Ampleforth Abbey is a monastery of Benedictine monks a mile to the east of Ampleforth, North Yorkshire, England, part of the English Benedictine Congregation. It descends from the pre-Reformation community at Westminster Abbey through the last surviving monk from Westminster, Sigebert Buckley (c. 1520 – c. 1610). As of 2024 the monastery has 41 monks, and sometimes will have 50 nuns of the monastery organization. The Abbey was founded in a house given to Father Anselm Bolton by Lady Anne Fairfax, daughter of Charles Gregory Fairfax, 9th Viscount Fairfax of Emley. This house was taken over by Dr Brewer, President of the Congregation, on 30 July 1802. Since leaving Dieulouard in Lorraine, where its members had joined Spanish and Cassinese Benedictines to form the monastery of St Laurence, the community had been successively at Acton Burnell, Tranmere, Scholes, Vernon Hall and Parbold Hall, under its superior, Dr Marsh. On its migration to Ampleforth Lodge Dr Marsh remained at Parbold and Father Appleton was elected the first prior of the new monastery. Shortly afterwards Parbold was broken up and the boys of the school there were transferred to Ampleforth. The priory was erected into an abbey in 1890 by the Bull Diu quidem est, and an important and flourishing college was founded. John Cuthbert Hedley, Bishop of Newport, was an alumnus, as was a superior of Ampleforth, Abbot Smith.