A new chapel at Buckfast

MONASTIC? YES, for both old abbey church and new Blessed Sacrament chapel are largely the work of the monks of Buckfast themselves.
And the stream of visitors to Buckfast this summer will see that the same stone has been used in the building of both.
The stained-glass Christ, shown below, is the design of Fr. Charles Norris, of the Abbey. The Buckfast community too did the woodwork in the chapel, all except the sculptures (one of wifich is seen right of the picture) by Mr. David Weeks. The architect of the whole is Mr. Paul Pearn.
The abbey church was built by five monks between 1907 and 1937. The abbey was founded by exiled French monks in 1882 on the site of a medieval monastery.
On the difference in style of the two buildings, the prior Fr. Leo Smith comments, "A contemporary style springs from the modern liturgical requirements."
The church and the chapel are connected by twin staircases either side of the abbey's high altar. The new does not replace the old, but it was needed to accommodate neighbouring Catholics for whom the abbey serves as parish church.