About Us

Welcome to our new website; we hope you will enjoy your visit!

We are a contemplative monastic community of nuns and monks living under the Rule of St Benedict and part of the Church of England. The Community was founded in 1941 to pray for Christian Unity, and it is a great joy to us that since the Covenant between the Church of England and the Methodist Church in England we now have a Methodist Presbyter as a member of the Community.

In 2008 we sold the house in Burford that had been our home for the previous 60 years and bought a derelict farm near Worcester. The new monastery, Mucknell Abbey, is built according to ecological principles and includes many sustainable features.  We moved into our new home, and a new Diocese, in November 2010. We have already received many messages of welcome from the Worcester Diocese and other 'bodies' and individuals in the area.

Why “Mucknell” Abbey?  This is a question many people have asked, not infrequently with a rather derogatory rider.  The name goes back at least as far as Domesday, and presumably even further. The relevant paragraph in the Domesday Book [1086] reads:

Of this manor Urse the sheriff holds 3 BEREWICKS of 7 hides, Mucknell, Stoulton,Upper Wolverton. There are 7 ploughs, and 7 villans and 7 bordars and 7 slaves, and 16 acres of meadow. For these 3 estates farm was rendered TRE, for they were always for the sustenance [of the bishop of the Church of St Mary of Worcester]. They are worth 100s.

Various suggestions have been made about the root meaning of Mucknell ~ or Mucenhil . The one which finds most favour with us is ‘hill with a large [anglo-saxon: muckle] view. The monastery stands on top of a small hill and has spectacular views!

Though our roots are in some of the 'traditional' Benedictine practices we feel very much part of the 'new monastic' movement that is happening throughout the country.  In taking seriously our Christian calling to 'love one another' we are living in a more sustainable building than our previous home, and we hope this will have a knock-on benefit for others.  In reducing fossil-fuel energy consumption, and utilising 'green' sources; in encouraging and supporting where we can the ever increasing interest in new monasticism, we hope to play our small part in working for God's kingdom here and now.  (See also Bishop David's recent article in the Worcester Diocesan Newsletter). We have a small guest wing to accommodate those wishing to make individual private retreats.

A further thought from the Abbot can be read HERE.

We are at present:

  • Abbot Stuart (elected 14th October 1996, re-elected 2001, 2011)
  • Br Philip (Prior)
  • Sr Mary Bernard (superior 1984-96)
  • Sr Sue (Novice Guardian)
  • Br Thomas (Bursar)
  • Br Anthony
  • Sr Mary
  • Br Ian
  • Sr Sally
  • Br Luke
  • Jon          (Alongsider)
  • Tim               ( " )
  • Sebastian    ( " )

Our bishop-visitor is the Rt Revd John Inge, Bishop of Worcester.

The guest wing is now open for individual retreats.