Downside Abbey

#2793 among destinations in the United Kingdom

Monastery

Gallery (2)

Map

Gallery

Facts and practical information

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 eleven to eighteen. 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 announced that it would move away from the present monastery and seek a new place to live. On 27 October 2021, the monastic community further announced that as part of their transition they would move in Spring of 2022 to the temporary accommodation of "Southgate House, in the grounds of Buckfast Abbey, Devon, where we will live as the Community of St Gregory the Great". As of 2020, the monastic community of Downside Abbey was home to fifteen monks. ()

Alternative names: Established: 1606 (418 years ago)Architectural style: Gothic revivalCoordinates: 51°15'21"N, 2°29'44"W

Location

EnglandUnited Kingdom

Contact

+44 1761 235100

Website

Social media

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Day trips

Downside Abbey – popular in the area (distance from the attraction)

Nearby attractions include: Kilver Court, Midsomer Norton, St Andrew's Church, Fairy Cave Quarry.

4.8 miS
Garden, Park, Cafe
Kilver Court, Shepton Mallet
123 min walk • Kilver Court is an historic house and gardens in Shepton Mallet in the English county of Somerset. The River Sheppey powered textile mills and it later became a factory, the headquarters of the Showerings brewing business, and then the headquarters of a leather-goods manufacturer, Mulberry. It is now used as a shopping centre.
2.2 miN
Town, Hotel, Church
Midsomer Norton
57 min walk • Midsomer Norton is a town near the Mendip Hills in Bath and North East Somerset, England, 10 miles south-west of Bath, 10 miles north-east of Wells, 10 miles north-west of Frome, 12 miles west of Trowbridge and 16 miles south-east of Bristol.
4.6 miE
Church, Sacred and religious sites, Monuments and statues
St Andrew's Church
118 min walk • St Andrew's Church is a Church of England parish church located in the village of Mells in the English county of Somerset. The church is a grade I listed building.
1.9 miS
Nature, Natural attraction, Cave
Fairy Cave Quarry
50 min walk • Fairy Cave Quarry is between Stoke St Michael and Oakhill in the limestone of the Mendip Hills, in Somerset, England. Quarrying was first started on the site in the early 1920s.
3.3 miNE
Museum, History museum, Town
Radstock Museum
85 min walk • Radstock Museum in Radstock, Somerset, England has a range of exhibits which offer an insight into North Somerset life since the nineteenth century.
1.8 miN
Museum, Specialty museum
Somerset & Dorset Railway Heritage Trust
47 min walk • The Somerset & Dorset Railway Heritage Trust is a UK-registered charity which owns the museum and railway at Midsomer Norton railway station.
2.1 miN
Church
Church of St John the Baptist
55 min walk • The Anglican Church of St John the Baptist in Midsomer Norton, Somerset, England, is a Grade II* listed building. St. John's is part of the Diocese of Bath and Wells.
1.9 miSW
Church
Church of St James
48 min walk • The Church of St James in Ashwick, Somerset, England, is a church dating from 1881. It is a Grade I listed building, adjacent to Ashwick Court. It also houses a tower that dates back from 1450.
4.8 miNW
Nature, Natural attraction, Lake
Litton Reservoirs
122 min walk • Litton Reservoirs are two reservoirs near the village of Litton, Somerset, England. They are operated by Bristol Water. They lie on the boundary between Bath and North East Somerset and Mendip districts.
4.9 miN
Church
St. Mary's
125 min walk • The Anglican Church of St Mary The Virgin in Timsbury within the English county of Somerset is a Grade II* listed building. An old church on the site had fallen into disrepair by the 1820s. The church was rebuilt in 1826–32 and the east end added in 1852 by Sir George Gilbert Scott.
3.8 miE
Park
Ammerdown House
97 min walk • Ammerdown House in Kilmersdon, Somerset, England, was built in 1788. It has been designated as Grade I listed building. It was built as a country house with stables and an adjacent formal garden within landscaped parkland in emparked landscape by James Wyatt for Thomas Samuel Jolliffe.