THE CISTERCIAN ABBEY OF MOUNT SAINT BERNARD (fn. 3)
The Abbey of Mount Saint Bernard owes its
origin to the generosity of Ambrose Phillipps
de Lisle, (fn. 4) a Roman Catholic gentleman living at
Grace Dieu, who in 1835 offered to purchase
an estate in Charnwood Forest and to present it
to the Cistercian Order. The offer was accepted,
and De Lisle bought 222 acres of land with the
aid of a loan from Dr. Walsh, the Vicar Apostolic
of the Midland District. (fn. 5) Only 35 acres of the
land were then under cultivation. (fn. 6) Before the
end of 1835 six monks, led by Father Odilo
Woolfrey as Superior, were established at Mount
Saint Bernard. The mother house of the new
monastery was the Irish abbey of Mount Melleray. (fn. 7) At first the monks lived in a four-roomed
cottage, but before long temporary domestic
buildings and a chapel were constructed. The
chapel was consecrated in 1837 by Dr. Walsh. (fn. 8)
De Lisle's resources were largely exhausted by the
initial expense of establishing the monastery, and
work on the permanent buildings was delayed for
lack of money. (fn. 9) With the assistance of the Earl
of Shrewsbury, (fn. 10) who gave £3,000, and of other
benefactors, the most essential domestic buildings
and the church were completed, at a cost of over
£5,000, by 1844, (fn. 11) when the church was solemnly
blessed and the new buildings were occupied. (fn. 12)
Local stone was used for the monastery, and the
buildings were designed by A. W. N. Pugin. (fn. 13)
The monksy who by 1846 numbered more than
thirty, themselves assisted in the building of the
monastery, and were also busy in cultivating the
land given by de Lisle. (fn. 14) In 1848 the monastery
became an abbey, with Dom Bernard Palmer as
its first abbot. (fn. 15) The new abbey obtained in 1849
a papal brief uniting it with the Cistercian congregation in France. (fn. 16)
The abbey continued to experience difficulties.
The rule of the second abbot, Dom Bernard
Burder, who was elected in 1853, led to various
misunderstandings, and Dom Bernard resigned
in 1858. (fn. 17) Under his successor progress was
resumed, and various buildings, including the
chapter house, were completed. (fn. 18) The abbey
continued to suffer from financial difficulties,
and from a lack of recruits to the community, for
the rest of the 19th century. (fn. 19) Both difficulties
were eventually overcome. Under Father Louis
Carew, who was the Superior from 1910 to 1927,
the material position of the abbey was much improved, and under his successor, Dom Celsus
O'Connell, the number of monks was increased
to more than seventy. (fn. 20) A visible sign of the
monastery's progress was the building between
1935 and 1939 of the enlarged abbey church.
The old church completed in 1844 became the
choir of the new building, (fn. 21) and a nave, transepts,
and a great tower above the crossing were added. (fn. 22)
Although the new church was finished in 1939,
it was not until 1945 that the church was consecrated by the Bishop of Nottingham. (fn. 23)
Abbots And Superiors Of Mount Saint
Bernard
Odilo Woolfrey, appointed Superior 1835. (fn. 24)
Bernard Palmer, appointed Superior in succession to Odilo Woolfrey, (fn. 25) became Abbot
1848, (fn. 26) died 1852. (fn. 27)
Bernard Burder, elected Abbot 1853, resigned
1858. (fn. 28)
Bartholomew Anderson, appointed provisional
Superior 1859, (fn. 29) elected Abbot 1862, (fn. 30) died
1890. (fn. 31)
Wilfrid Hipwood, elected Abbot 1890, (fn. 32) died
1910. (fn. 33)
Louis Carew, appointed provisional Superior
1910, (fn. 34) died 1927. (fn. 35)
Celsus O'Connell, appointed Superior 1927, (fn. 36)
elected Abbot 1929, (fn. 37) became Abbot of
Mount Melleray 1933. (fn. 38)
Malachy Brasil, elected Abbot 1933. (fn. 39)