Lamspringe Abbey

Lamspringe Abbey stands near Hildesheim in Lower Saxony, a former Benedictine monastery founded in the 17th century by English monks. The site had earlier housed a medieval convent of canonesses and later a Lutheran priory before the exiled English community took it over. Under Abbot Maurus Corker and his successor Joseph Rokeby, the abbey was rebuilt in grand style between 1691 and 1731. The complex included an imposing church, extensive monastic quarters and productive estates. The abbey became the only English Benedictine house abroad and supported a small school for Catholic boys from northern England. Wealthy patrons in England and Germany enabled the monks to maintain large farms, woodlands and fishponds. Relics of St Oliver Plunkett and St Thomas of Hereford were kept here until moved to Downside Abbey in the 19th century. The library once held the famous St Albans Psalter, now in Hildesheim. Today the abbey church serves as the parish church, while the monastic buildings house the town council and community facilities. The remaining abbey garden attracts visitors, and an annual festival on the last Saturday of August celebrates St Oliver. The solid stone walls and orderly layout still reflect the Benedictine way of life practised here for over a century.