The
monastery, built in 1865 as a presbytery
Life and Work
Unusually for a Benedictine
community, we do not have an endowment but rely on our work and the
generosity of friends and well-wishers to survive financially.
Fortunately, St Benedict saw a spiritual value in work. Whatever we
do is part of our search for God – idleness he described as "the
enemy of the soul". So, whether in choir singing the praises of
God, working for our living or carrying out some ordinary household
task, we need to be ready to welcome Christ, in whatever guise he
may come to us.
All our work is carried out at the monastery, where we run a small
design company, Veil Press Ltd. The Veil Press supplies design,
typesetting, print and web fulfilment services for publishers, the
diocese of Portsmouth and a number of private clients. A few Fine
Press commissions are accepted each year.
We also run St Cecilia's Guild, a free audio book lending library
service for the visually impaired. Most of the books are of a
religious or spiritual nature not easily obtained elsewhere. We are
constantly recording and sending out new titles. Other kinds of
work may be undertaken if anyone with the appropriate talent or
skill joins the community.
We live in a beautiful
Victorian building, originally the presbytery or priest's house, in
the lovely and historic village of East Hendred. From the terrace,
we look across to Hendred House and the private chapel of the
Eyston family, where Mass has been celebrated continuously since
1256 and where we occasionally sing Vespers.
Both house and grounds are wonderfully quiet. We try to grow as
much of our fruit and vegetables as we can, bake our own bread,
make jams and marmalades (some for sale) and generally attend to
the 1,001 tasks of the average householder.
Hendred
House in winter: the view from our terrace