St Augustine's Abbey or Ramsgate Abbey is a former

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') , found ...

abbey in

Ramsgate Ramsgate is a seaside town in the district of Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2001 it had a population of about 40,000. In 2011, according to the Census, there was a population ...

. It was built in 1860 by

Augustus Pugin Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin ( ; 1 March 181214 September 1852) was an English architect, designer, artist and critic with French and, ultimately, Swiss origins. He is principally remembered for his pioneering role in the Gothic Revival st ...

and is a Grade II listed building. It was the first Benedictine monastery to be built in England since the Reformation. In 2010, the monks moved to

St Augustine's Abbey St Augustine's Abbey was a Benedictine monastery in Canterbury, Kent, England. The abbey was founded in 598 and functioned as a monastery until its dissolution in 1538 during the English Reformation. After the abbey's dissolution, it underwent ...

in Chilworth, Surrey. The site is now owned by the Vincentian Congregation from

Kerala, India Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South Canar ...

. The church of St Augustine, across the road from the abbey site, belongs to the Archdiocese of Southwark and is a shrine of St Augustine of Canterbury.

History

had built his home, The Grange, in Ramsgate, and St Augustine's Church next door. He donated the church to the Catholic Diocese of Southwark before his death in 1852, and The Grange remained in private hands. In 1856, the Bishop of Southwark, Thomas Grant, invited the

Subiaco Cassinese Congregation The Subiaco Cassinese Congregation is an international union of Benedictine houses (abbeys and priories) within the Benedictine Confederation. It developed from the Subiaco Congregation, which was formed in 1867 through the initiative of Dom Pietr ...

of the Benedictines to form a monastic community in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces the ...

and take over the running of the church. The abbey was built across the road from the church and this was designed by

Edward Pugin Edward Welby Pugin (11 March 1834 – 5 June 1875) was an English architect, the eldest son of architect Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin and Louisa Barton and part of the Pugin & Pugin family of church architects. His father was an architect a ...

and

Peter Paul Pugin Peter Paul Pugin (1851 – March 1904) was an English architect. He was the son of Augustus Pugin by his third wife, Jane Knill, and the half-brother of architect and designer Edward Welby Pugin. Life and career Peter Paul Pugin was only a ...

. The monastery became independent in 1876, a

priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of monk ...

in 1881 and was raised to the status of an

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The conc ...

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...

in 1896. In 1865, a school was established by the monks which lasted until 1995.Chilworth Benedictines
retrieved 25 February 2014 In 1936, in nearby

Minster-in-Thanet Minster, also known as Minster-in-Thanet, is a village and civil parish in the Thanet District of Kent, England. It is the site of Minster in Thanet Priory. The village is west of Ramsgate (which is the post town) and to the north east of C ...

, a group of Benedictine nuns arrived and set up a priory on the remains of a 7th-century abbey and named it St Mildred's Abbey.

Departure of the Monks

On 15 October 2009, it was decided by the monks to relocate to a smaller property which would be easier to maintain. On 23 December 2010, they agreed to move to a former Franciscan friary in Chilworth, Surrey. When they moved in 2011, they named the friary

maintaining continuity between the abbey in Ramsgate and their new home. St Augustine's Church was returned to the care of the Archdiocese of Southwark. On 1 March 2012, the Archbishop of Southwark, Peter Smith established the church as a Shrine to St Augustine of Canterbury. On 20 May 2012, the church was inaugurated as a shrine at Solemn Vespers and a relic of

St Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Afri ...

, donated by the

Oxford Oratory The Oxford Oratory Church of St Aloysius Gonzaga (or Oxford Oratory for short) is the Catholic parish church for the centre of Oxford, England. It is located at 25 Woodstock Road, next to Somerville College. The church is served by the Congreg ...

, was placed in the church. The abbey was sold by the monks to the Vincentian Congregation in 2014. It is now Divine Retreat Centre UK, and hosts charismatic Catholic retreats.Divine UK
retrieved 26 February 2014

Gallery

File:St Augustine's Abbey by N Chadwick Geograph 3117091.jpg, View of the abbey

References

External links

Divine UK site

Shrine of St Augustine site

Ramsgate and Minster Parish site

Chilworth Abbey site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Augustine's Abbey, Ramsgate Monasteries in Kent Benedictine monasteries in England Grade II listed buildings in Kent 1852 establishments in England Roman Catholic churches in Kent Gothic Revival church buildings in England Roman Catholic churches completed in 1852 Gothic Revival architecture in Kent Grade II listed Roman Catholic churches in England 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom

History

Departure of the Monks

Gallery

See also

References

External links