Lamspringe Abbey
Description
Lamspringe Abbey was originally founded around 850 by Count Ricdag as a house for Augustinian canonesses, later becoming a Benedictine convent by 1130. After turning Lutheran in 1571, it returned to Catholic hands in 1629.
In 1630, English Benedictine monks in exile were granted the derelict site and rebuilt it as the only English Benedictine abbey abroad, dedicated to St. Adrian and St. Denis. From 1671 they ran a small school for English Catholic boys, supported by northern gentry and German princes. Wealthy estates, a brewery (1717), and fine buildings reflected its status, with major works completed by abbots Maurus Corker and Joseph Rokeby. The abbey also housed relics of St. Oliver Plunkett and St. Thomas of Hereford.
The abbey was secularised in 1803, its library dispersed (including the St. Albans Psalter). The school was transferred to Ampleforth Abbey, forming the basis of Ampleforth College. Monks later regrouped in England, with the last survivors joining Fort Augustus Abbey in 1876.
Today the abbey church serves the parish, the buildings house local services, and the gardens remain a local attraction. An annual St. Oliver Fest is held each August.