Belmont Abbey, Herefordshire

Belmont Abbey stands on a small hill east of Hereford, overlooking the city and the Black Mountains in Wales. A 19th-century Benedictine monastery, it also serves as the parish church. The abbey was founded by Francis Wegg-Prosser, who invited the Benedictines to settle on his estate in 1859. It became a priory and later a pro-cathedral for the Diocese of Newport and Menevia. Two bishops, Thomas Joseph Brown and Bernard Collier, are buried here, along with Bishop Laurence Youens. The Abbey Church, designed by Edward Welby Pugin, is built in decorated early English style. Its exterior is of pink sandstone, while the interior uses warm Bath stone. The church features fine sculpture and stained glass, including windows of angels and English Martyrs. The monastic choir gathers five times a day for the Divine Office and Mass. Side altars honour the Blessed Virgin Mary, St Joseph, and war dead, while St Benedict’s chapel shows the founder in its reredos. The monks follow the Rule of St Benedict and run Hedley Lodge as a retreat and guesthouse. They also maintain a foundation in Peru, the Monastery of the Holy Trinity. The abbey churchyard holds three Commonwealth war graves. The monks continue pastoral work in Herefordshire, Worcestershire and South Wales, alongside educational visits and retreats.