Dame Laurentia McLachlan, OSB, ''née'' Margaret McLachlan, (11 January 1866 – 23 August 1953) was a Scottish

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

Abbess An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa''), also known as a mother superior, is the female superior of a community of Catholic nuns in an abbey. Description In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Copt ...

Stanbrook Abbey Stanbrook Abbey is a Catholic contemplative Benedictine women's monastery with the status of an abbey, located at Wass, North Yorkshire, England. The community was founded in 1625 at Cambrai in Flanders (then part of the Spanish Netherlands ...

, and an authority on church music. She became posthumously known to a wide public when portrayed on the stage in a 1988 play, '' The Best of Friends''.

Life and work

McLachlan was born in

Coatbridge Coatbridge ( sco, Cotbrig or Coatbrig, gd, Drochaid a' Chòta) is a town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, about east of Glasgow city centre, set in the central Lowlands. Along with neighbouring town Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, Airdrie, Coatbrid ...

Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark ( gd, Siorrachd Lannraig; sco, Lanrikshire), is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the central Lowlands of Scotland. Lanarkshire is the most populous county in Scotl ...

, Scotland, the youngest of seven children of Henry McLachlan, an accountant, and his wife, Mary ''née'' McAleese. In 1884 she joined the Benedictine abbey at

. In 1931 she was elected

of Stanbrook. Dame Laurentia, as she became known, served the wider

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

community as a member of the commission, set up that same year with the aim of modernising the various constitutions that governed the conditions of monastic life for women in England. She was a pioneer in the restoration of the

Gregorian chant Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song in Latin (and occasionally Greek) of the Roman Catholic Church. Gregorian chant developed mainly in western and central Europe dur ...

in England and a leading authority on music and medieval manuscripts. In 1934 her work was recognised by Pope

Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City f ...

who bestowed on her the ''Bene Merenti'' medal for her contribution to Church music.Johns, Laurentia
"McLachlan, Laurentia Margaret (1866–1953)"
''The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, online edition, May 2005, accessed 4 November 2012 Dame Laurentia died in 1953, at the Abbey, having spent seventy of her 87 years within the strictly enclosed

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...

. She was one of five figures chosen to represent one thousand years of "the inspired Christian life" at

Worcester Cathedral Worcester Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Worcester, in Worcestershire, England, situated on a bank overlooking the River Severn. It is the seat of the Bishop of Worcester. Its official name is the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Bless ...

's "Window of the Millennium". A 1988 stage play by Hugh Whitemore, '' The Best of Friends'' (based on a book entitled: ''The Nun, the Infidel and the Superman'' by Dame Felicitas Corrigan), provides a window on the friendship of McLachlan with Sir Sydney Cockerell and

Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

through adaptations from their letters and writings. McLachlan was first played by

Rosemary Harris Rosemary Ann Harris (born 19 September 1927) is an English actress. She is the recipient of such accolades as a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Tony Award, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award. In ...

; in a 2006 revival at the

Hampstead Theatre Hampstead Theatre is a theatre in South Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden. It specialises in commissioning and producing new writing, supporting and developing the work of new writers. Roxana Silbert has been the artistic director since ...

Patricia Routledge Dame Katherine Patricia Routledge, (; born 17 February 1929) is an English actress, singer and broadcaster. For her role as Hyacinth Bucket in the BBC sitcom '' Keeping Up Appearances'' (1990–1995), she was nominated for the BAFTA TV Awar ...

played the part.Nightingale, Benedict
"Don't fret: revel in this graceful treat"
''The Times'', 11 March 2006, p. 39

References

*D. Felicitas Corrigan, ''The Nun, the Infidel & the Superman: The Remarkable Friendships of Dame Laurentia McLachlan with Sydney Cockerell, Bernard Shaw and others'' (John Murray, 1985) *The Benedictines of Stanbrook, ''In a Great Tradition: Tribute to Dame Laurentia McLachlan, Abbess of Stanbrook'' (John Murray, 1956) {{DEFAULTSORT:McLachlan, Laurentia 1866 births 1953 deaths Benedictine nuns People from Coatbridge Scottish Roman Catholic abbesses Scottish music historians Scottish antiquarians 20th-century British Roman Catholic nuns 19th-century British Roman Catholic nuns