A HISTORIAN is set to reveal the intriguing history of a former Benedictine nunnery.
John Hodges will give a talk on the history of Stanbrook Abbey, originally built for Benedictine nuns, at a Kidderminster Historical Society meeting.
Stanbrook Abbey, located in Callow End, Worcester, was originally created as a contemplative residence for Benedictine nuns.
The original monastic order was founded in 1625 in Cambrai, Flanders, then part of the Spanish Netherlands, under the English Benedictine Congregation.
In 1838, Charles Day adapted and expanded the existing Stanbrook Hall to form the new monastery.
The abbey holds national significance as part of the architectural history of the Roman Catholic Revival and the development of institutional buildings in the 19th century.
The abbey church was designed by EW Pugin, son of AWN Pugin, in the late 1860s.
He and his siblings, Peter Paul and Cuthbert Welby Pugin, extended the site further, designing numerous abbey buildings in addition to those from 1838.
The English Benedictine Congregation has since relocated to Wass in the North York Moors National Park, and Stanbrook Abbey now operates as a hotel.
Mr Hodges, who was raised on his father's farm in Shropshire, is an educator who has worked in numerous schools across Shropshire and Worcestershire, as well as in Saudi Arabia and Cyprus.
He has researched and authored books on various historic houses in the UK.
The meeting will be held at the Museum of Carpet, Stour Vale Mill, on Thursday, October 22, at 2.30pm.
Visitors are welcome with a small charge but should book in advance.
More details can be found on the Kidderminster Historical Society website.
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