Stratton-on-the-Fosse, Somerset, United Kingdom
The English Benedictine community of St Gregory the Great, long settled at Downside in Somerset beside Downside School.
The community left Downside in 2022 and since July 2025 has been living at Belmont Abbey on a two-year trial. The monastic buildings at Downside stand largely vacant; in August 2024 the C20 Society reported a recent sale of part of the abbey site and said the Downside Abbey General Trust was preparing a strategy for the future of the monastic buildings.
Before you act. No appeal for funds was found. The community says it continues to work with Historic England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund on the heritage it is still responsible for at Downside; the Library and East Wing were listed Grade II and II* in 2024.
Last checked 9 November 2026.
Linton, Wetherby, United Kingdom
With only four nuns left, the community has decided to close. The sisters are being dispersed to other Carmels, and the monastery and grounds have been offered for sale, with offers invited for the freehold; in November 2026 the agent showed the property as under offer.
Chilworth, United Kingdom
For 2026 the monks are running the Abbot Paulinus Silver Jubilee Thanksgiving Appeal, aiming to raise £6,000 to fund six months of accompanying young men from poorer parts of South America who are discerning a Benedictine vocation (travel, pastoral visits and practical support), so that poverty does not decide whether someone can test a vocation.