The three moorcocks in the abbey coat of arms are a punning reference to the More family. Seventeen-year-old Helen More, St Thomas More's great-great-granddaughter, was among the first nine clothed at Cambrai, Flanders, in 1623. Her father provided the financial means for the foundation of the monastery.

For all Benedictines the search for God is paramount, but each monastery bears its own stamp, forged by the saints in its history. Dame Gertrude (Helen) More and Dame Catherine Gascoigne were twin pillars of the community in the heroic years of its foundation in exile. Father Augustine Baker trained the young nuns in a tradition of prayer, still pertinent today, that has given the community its characteristic breadth of mind and freedom of spirit.

During the French Revolution the nuns were ejected from their home at a few minutes' notice. Four of them died during the eighteen months of harsh imprisonment in Compiegne. The remainder returned penniless to England and, with the encouragement of Dom Augustine Lawson, eventually settled in 1838 at Stanbrook in the Severn Valley. Father Laurence Shepherd's years of devoted service to the community saw the building of the abbey church, designed by Edward Welby Pugin and completed in 1871. Its Gothic Revival tower is a familiar local landmark, and the navigation point for our homepage.

The eight bells in the tower belfry mark the daily round of liturgical services, from Vigils to Compline. The nuns were at the forefront of the nineteenth century movement to restore Gregorian Chant, which is still sung. In the wake of Vatican Council II they pioneered the composition of texts and musical settings for a plainsong liturgy in the vernacular.

Stanbrook is also well known for its literary work, varying from translations of St Teresa of Avila, still in print a century later, to the scholarship of Dame Laurentia McLachlan; its contribution to arts and crafts, exemplified by Dame Werburg Welch; and, last but not least, its printing. The Abbey Press, the oldest private press in this country, acquired an international reputation under Dame Hildelith Cumming.

Question

Why are the nuns called "Dame"?

Answer

"Dame" is not a title of honour but the monastic form of address, equivalent to the "Dom" used of monks. Both terms have been in continuous use since the middle ages.