Mount St Bernard Abbey

Cistercian monastery founded in 1835, the first abbey to be founded in England since the Dissolution. The present buildings occupy land donated by Ambrose Lisle March-Phillips de Lisle of Grace Dieu and were sponsored by the Earl of Shrewsbury. They replace an earlier monastery, now demolished, begun in 1837 by William Railton on a nearby site.

The church, choir, cloister ranges, and centrepiece of the guest house were built between 1839 and 1844 by Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin in plain Early English style. Later extensions of the 1840s to 1860s by Edward Welby Pugin include an octagonal chapter house (1860), flanking bays of the guest house, an almshouse, and a link range to the guest house. A clock tower was added in 1871. The church was extended to the east by a central crossing and lay nave between 1935 and 1939 by Albert Herbert. Former farm buildings at the east end, partly dating from the mid-19th century, were extended around a further court in 1885 and incorporated into domestic quarters in the 1930s. The guest house was further extended in the 1970s.

The abbey is constructed of local granite rubble with ashlar dressings and Swithland slate roofs. It is arranged around four courts with the guest house at the west end and two courts of former farm buildings at the east end. The church lies along the north side, with the monastic choir at the west end. South of the choir is the original cloister with a former scriptorium along the north side, former chapter house (now sacristy), and parlour to the east. The former refectory and dormitory range lie to the south, with domestic rooms to the west. The plan is based on that of Waverley Abbey, the first medieval Cistercian foundation in England.

The church is of cruciform plan with an aisled nave and choir. The original choir features moulded parapets, seven bays of lancet windows, and triple lancets in the west end. A west door is set in a moulded arch of four orders. A niche with a statue of the Virgin and Child is positioned in the west gable. The five-bay lay nave was built in matching style to the east during the 1930s. The 1930s transepts have two bays of lancets, triple lancets in the gable ends, and narrow flanking bays with gables and lancets at the end of each aisle. An imposing central tower rises above, with triple lancets to the bell-chamber and a stumpy parapet.

The interior features double-chamfered arcades on cylindrical piers with moulded capitals. The crossing is vaulted, whilst the remainder of the church has wooden roofs with scissor trusses and wind-braces. Fittings include choir stalls of 1938 by Eric Gill (with later backs), a crucifix, and stone plaques over side altars by Father O'Malley.

The cloisters are enclosed with pairs of lancets on the north, west, and south sides, and single lights on the east side. The north side has been altered with 20th-century window renewals. The range along the west side features gabled semi-dormers with single leaded lights, one larger dormer with a two-light traceried window, and the clock tower with a slated spire. The refectory-dormitory range to the south has cusped lights, two dormers, and an empty bell-turret. The long south front of this range displays two storeys of cusped single lights and a projecting round stair tower with a conical roof. The arched doorway to the tower is a 1930s addition. The part of the range to the right of the tower, formerly kitchens, has been raised to two storeys and features a 20th-century window at the right end. The left end of the range dates to the 1850s with a 1930s rectangular projecting bay. The dormitory has been internally divided into individual rooms, and the refectory has a 20th-century partition.

The east side of the cloister has a moulded arch opposite the entry to the sacristy. The sacristy has a further arched doorway flanked by two-light traceried windows, a plate-traceried roundel in the gable end, and an original roof interrupted by 20th-century dormers. The octagonal chapter house beyond was converted to a library in the 1970s but retains a hammerbeam roof, encaustic floor tiles, and re-sited doorways. This room also houses a carved wooden figure of the Virgin and Child, probably of 15th-century Flemish origin, from Hailes Abbey in Gloucestershire.

The guest-house range has three original gabled bays to the centre with irregular groups of cusped lights. The centre bay also features a wide four-centred archway, a small statue in a niche, and an empty bellcote. The flanking bays, in matching style and dating to the late 1840s, have 20th-century windows to the ground floor right. The almshouse projects to the right with an arch in a gabled side porch. The range has been extended to the rear in the 20th century.

Much of the building work was undertaken by members of the community.