Abbey of St Gregory the Great

Senior house of the English Benedictine Congregation and one of the few minor basilicas in the British Isles. The Abbey Church is a gem of neo-Gothic architecture. The Monastery Library is one of the largest private theological libraries in the British Isles and is open for consultation by appointment.

The monastery was founded in 1606 at Douai (now France) in the wake of the Reformation by English men who had become monks in Spanish monasteries. The monks started a school for English Catholic boys, and monks returned to England to help the Catholic community. Six of them were martyred, of whom two have been canonised and four beatified. Following the French Revolution, it became difficult to be a Catholic in France, while active persecution had stopped in England. As a result, the community returned in 1793 and finally purchased a farmhouse and land at Downside in 1814. Over time, the buildings were expanded, and the church was built in stages between 1880 and 1925. The monastery was elevated to the status of an abbey in 1899. The monks have been involved in parish work, education, academic, and craft work throughout our history and to the present. Following a period of discernment about the future, including the suitability of the buildings, the community left Stratton-on-the-Fosse in 2022 and, after spending three years with the monks of St Mary’s at Buckfast Abbey, is now based at Belmont Abbey, outside Hereford.