Fort Augustus Abbey

St. Benedict's Abbey
Alternative names	Fort Augustus Abbey
General information
Type	Benedictine monastery
Town or city	Fort Augustus, Inverness-shire
Country	Scotland
Coordinates	57.145°N 4.676°W / 57.145; -4.676
Construction started	1876
Completed	1880 (1880)

Fort Augustus Abbey, properly St. Benedict's Abbey, at Fort Augustus, Inverness-shire, Scotland, was a Benedictine monastery, from late in the nineteenth century to 1998.

History

It owed its inception to the desire of John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute, for the restoration of monasticism in Scotland. The marquess brought the matter before the superiors of the Anglo-Benedictine Congregation in 1874, promising substantial pecuniary help in the establishment of a house in Scotland, with the understanding that when two other monasteries should have been founded they should all form a separate Scottish congregation. The suggestion was approved of, and the Anglo-Benedictine authorities resolved to incorporate with the Scottish monastery Lamspringe Abbey, in Hanover, which was manned by English monks from 1645 to 1803.

Inadequacy of funds had prevented any lasting restoration of this house, but with the help promised by Lord Bute, it seemed possible to revive it in Scotland. Dom Jerome Vaughan, a brother of Cardinal Vaughan, was appointed to superintend the work, and succeeded in collecting from rich and poor in England, Scotland, and Ireland, sufficient means for the erection of a fine monastery a cost of some £70,000.

The site at Fort Augustus was given by Simon Fraser, 13th Lord Lovat. It comprised the buildings of a dismantled fort, built in 1729 and originally erected for the suppression of Highland Jacobites. It had been purchased from the Government by the Lovat family, in 1867.

The monastic buildings begun in 1876 were completed in 1880, occupying the four sides of a quadrangle about one hundred feet square. In one wing a school for boys of the upper classes was conducted by the monks, with lay masters, for about sixteen years.

Clock tower

Up to the year 1882 St. Benedict's monastery remained under the jurisdiction of the Anglo-Benedictine Congregation, but in response to the wishes of the Scottish hierarchy, and of the leading Scottish nobility—notably Lords Lovat and Bute—Pope Leo XIII, by his Brief "Summâ cum animi lætitiâ", dated 12 December 1882, erected it into an independent abbey, immediately subject to the Holy See, thus separating it from English rule. When this step had been accomplished, Lord Lovat made over the property to the Scottish community, by signing the title deeds, which for a time had been held over.

In 1888 Dom Leo Linse of the Beuronese Benedictine Congregation, who had resided for more than ten years in England, part of that time as superior of Erdington Priory, near Birmingham, was nominated abbot by the Holy See and received the abbatial benediction at the hands of Archbishop Persico, who had been sent to the abbey as Apostolic Visitor. In 1889, special constitutions, based upon those of the Beuron Benedictine Congregation, were adopted, with the approval of the Holy See, for a term of ten years. These, after certain modifications suggested by experience, received definite approbation in 1901.

From 1893 the Solesmes version of the Gregorian melodies was used in all liturgical services. A church of large size, designed by Peter Paul Pugin, was commenced in 1890, replacing a temporary wooden one.

In 1993, owing to changing educational patterns in Scotland which caused a falling roll, Abbot Mark Dilworth took the decision to close the school. This left the monks with no form of outreach and a drastic drop in income. Inverness and Nairn Enterprise (part of Highlands and Islands Enterprise) introduced the monks to entrepreneur Tony Harmsworth, who was commissioned to install a small Heritage exhibition to provide an immediate income for the monks while he devised a rescue package. It quickly became clear that a small business could never generate sufficient income to support the monks and the rambling Victorian buildings so a major project was begun.

The business comprised the largest private heritage exhibition in Scotland, study bedrooms converted into tourist bedrooms (which could be used for retreats), a restaurant, gift shop and a number of franchised businesses including a boat operator and re-enactment centre.

The enterprises initially showed great promise, becoming a major tourism force in the Highlands, but it was discovered that the buildings needed far more spending upon them than had ever been envisaged. A larger project was being considered with finance from Historic Scotland and the Local Enterprise Company, but the business was closed down before this could be put into effect.

The heritage centre was closed in 1998 and when the monks left, the buildings, which had been leased to the monks at £5 per year, reverted to the Lovat Family and were later sold to a consortium including television presenter Terry Nutkins. They, in turn, sold the abbey to the Santon Group who have been converting the buildings into apartments. This project was due for completion in 2012 and is now complete and is called The Highland Club.

Criminal abuse

In 2013, it was reported that Scottish police were investigating allegations that pupils had been subject to physical and sexual abuse while at the abbey school in the 1950s and 1990s. This was the subject of a BBC Scotland Investigates programme, entitled 'Sins of Our Fathers'. According to the BBC, The Guardian and The Observer newspapers Fort Augustus Abbey was used as a 'dumping ground' for monks who had abused elsewhere and the authorities were not warned about them. Boys were physically beaten, verbally humiliated and sexually abused. When sexual abuse started it could be a relief to the boys that other abuse had stopped. One boy tried to complain to the headmaster but the headmaster accused him of lying. When abusive Australian monks returned to Australia again authorities were not warned about them. There is also a Sexual abuse scandal in the English Benedictine Congregation.

Notes

• Archives of Fort Augustus Abbey;
• The Nineteenth Century (October, 1884);
• The Catholic World (New York, September, 1895).

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Fort Augustus Abbey". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.