Belmont Abbey, Herefordshire

Francis Wegg-Prosser, of nearby Belmont House, who had been received into the Catholic Church, can be called its founder. He decided to build a church on his Hereford estate in 1854. He later invited the Benedictines to reside there so that there would be a permanent Catholic presence in the area. In 1859, the Benedictines arrived and it became a priory. It was the Common Novitiate and House of Studies for the English Benedictine Congregation. It was also a pro-cathedral for the Diocese of Newport and Menevia. The Benedictine Thomas Joseph Brown, who was its first bishop, is buried in the church. Also here, but in the Abbots' graveyard outside the east end of the church, is buried Bishop…

The Abbey Church is a Grade II* listed building. Its construction began in 1857 and it was consecrated on 4 September 1860. The exterior is in local pink sandstone, simple and unadorned, reminiscent of many classical monastic facades of the 14th century. The interior is faced with warm Bath stone. The church is dominated by four elegant, steeply pointed, arches which support the central tower. Originally this was the crossing, but now the altar stands here at the centre of the Church. The whole church was expensive for its time costing £45,000. Under a wooden roof stands the monastic choir, where the community gathers five times a day for the Divine Office and Mass. Side altars are…