Mount Saint Bernards Abbey

Shop open every weekday afternoon admission free. Disabled facilities: majority of areas accessible except Calvary, specially adapted toilet.

Located in Charnwood Forest some three miles from the centre of Coalville, Mount St. Bernard's Abbey was founded in 1835 for Cistercian monks and has the distinction of being the first Catholic Abbey to be founded in this country since the Reformation. When the idea of refounding a Catholic Order was first broached in the early years of the 19th century it caused much controversy, but this failed to blunt the zeal of Ambrose Phillips of Garendon and Gracedieu, who bought 230 acres of barren Charnwood Forest land selected for its solitary location and presented it to the Cistercian Order.
A small cottage was built to accommodate one of the Brothers, and five others soon followed. The monks then cleared the ground and built a chapel and cloister.

The site of the Abbey Church was selected by the Earl of Shrewsbury, who contributed towards its construction, and the building was designed by Pugin, the famous architect who devoted himself to the Catholic cause. Distinguished Victorian visitors included Gladstone, Wordsworth, Florence