The Priory’s tower and the two transepts seen from the west. The jutting, irregular masonry in the tower shows the place where the nave once stood.

The peal of bells reverberates along the wooded hillsides of the secluded Vale of St Andrew, accompanied by mellow birdsong. The melody comes from Pluscarden Abbey’s lofty tower, which stands like an imposing golden-walled sculpture half way up this peaceful vale. Here white-habited Benedictines tread lightly like ethereal bodies on their way to church.

The Abbey was resurrected from centuries-old ruins by persevering monks, who in 1948 breathed life once again into this long-abandoned place of worship. The white-habited Benedictines tread lightly like ethereal bodies on their way to church. Their smooth choral chant uplifts the heart and emphasizes the transience of earthly life and, most importantly, what lies beyond. An air of timelessness is infused everywhere — from the ancient building itself to the lush, rural stretch enclosed within the wooded fringes of the miniature glen. Pluscarden Abbey lies in the ancient north-eastern Scottish county of Moray, and is unique, being the only British medieval monastery still housing a community of monks and being used for its original purpose.

Deep in its peaceful dead-end valley, Pluscarden Abbey cannot but evoke a sense of peace. Described by Scottish historical novelist Nigel Tranter as a, ‘wide and smiling upland valley,’ the Vale of St Andrew was also known as Kail Glen, a Scots translation of Vallis Caulium, the abbey in France that was the parent house of the first monastic community in Pluscarden. The valley stands like a tapestry woven between two long ridges. Heldun hill to the north is clothed by the vast Monaughty Forest with its serried ranks of Scots pine and Douglas fir. In Gaelic, Monaughty translates as Monk’s Forest. The Hill of Wangie spells the valley’s southern confine and is wooded by the Dallas forest. The Black Burn, now dotted with farms, has been threading its way along the glen since the dawn of time.

The wall of light –stained glass in the North Transept

The Reformation brought great upheavals within monastic communities, and Pluscarden was not spared. In 1587 it was officially dissolved as a monastery and converted into a temporal lordship. The apocalypse must have appeared very imminent for Thomas Ross, the last surviving monk of Pluscarden, who during his final years saw the familiar and secure patterns of monastic life being shattered. Three hundred fifty years of Benedictine life had come to an end, and another 350 had still to go by until the monasticism would flourish once again at the Priory. As Pluscarden passed from owner to owner, decay set in, the roofs collapsed and the crumbling walls became suffocated by the dark vines of ivy.

In 1897, the ruins of Pluscarden Priory were purchased by a fabulously rich convert to Catholicism — John Patrick, 3^rd Marquis of Bute. He was a passionate antiquarian whose wish was to see the original monastic occupants installed once again in the Priory. After his death, his youngest son, Lord Colum Crichton-Stuart, inherited Pluscarden, and he fulfilled his father’s wish by donating the Priory to the Benedictine community of Prinknash Abbey in Gloucestershire.

In 1948, a nucleus of five Benedictines returned to reclaim Pluscarden as a place of worship. It was a bold, almost foolhardy move, considering that the Priory was but a pile of rubble. Yet their determination to rebuild a monastic community never wavered, spurred by their strong faith. Years of hard work followed, and in 1954, the central tower of the church was re-roofed and the three bells of Pluscarden, dedicated to Our Lady, St John the Baptist and St Andrew, rang again through the valley after centuries of silence. Their pealing must have been a tune of hope and rejoicing. In 1974, Pluscarden was raised to the status of abbey.

The new community of Benedictines restored and added new buildings on the foundations of the old. Of the original church, only the choir and transepts still stand today. The north transept, with its layers of stained glass windows, especially the great rose window at the top, appears like a translucent kaleidoscope, diffusing a warm glow into sanctuary. The ancient Lady Chapel is the place where the monks celebrate mass and the Holy Sacrament is held. The old calefactory has now become the monks’ refectory and kitchens. The newly built cloisters seem to blend effortlessly with the older parts of the abbey, the oldest of which is probably the sepulchral stone lintel on the doorway of the Dunbar sacristy. The restoration works, however, are still in progress.

The stone-vaulted refectory where the monks and guests eat in silence, listening to the word of God

As prayer is the soul’s provender, so is work the body’s balm. Pluscarden, like many other monastic communities, has a strong tradition for artistic expression. Brother Ninian, one of the founding monks, had trained at the Glasgow School of Arts. The making of stained glass is a specialty of Pluscarden, and Brother Gilbert, who passed away in 2003, was renowned for the skills in this craft and produced many pieces for churches in Scotland. The monks put their artistic talents to the service of their community, and their skills include sculpture, vestment-making, woodcarving and wood-turning, icon painting and bookbinding. Work not only exercises the body but is a means of financial support for the community. The monks try to be auto sufficient in their material needs, and most of the necessary produce is grown in the Abbey’s vegetable garden.

Pluscarden Abbey is the most northerly Benedictine abbey, and belongs to the Subacio federation, named for St Benedict’s original monastery in Italy. The secluded lives of the monks might be a far cry from today’s hectic way-of-life. Yet, more than 30,000 visitors flock each year to find solace for some time within the Abbey, intent on getting in touch with their souls; to escape from their frenzied lifestyles and renew the focus of their lives upon God. At Pluscarden, the monks are more concerned with eternity than with tomorrow, and the Abbey itself, aptly described by Nigel Tranter as “…a mellow and delightful place of pilgrimage for all, of any faith or none, who have any feeling for tradition and the enduring spirit of man,” is a monument to Faith’s defiance of death and decay.

Acknowledgement

Many thanks to Brother Paschal, the archivist of Pluscarden, for his help.