Downside Abbey is a Benedictine Abbey of 25 men who follow the Rule of St Benedict. The great neo-Gothis Abbey Church is dedi ... cated to Pope St Gregory the Great: the Pope who sent St Augustine of Canterbury to England in 597 to evangelise the peoples of Britain. The Abbey has a school and a world class library. It is the mother house of the English Benedictine Congregation - a federal framework of independent abbeys and priories. The Abbey, whose architects include Dunn and Hansom, Garner and Sir Giles Gilbert Scott is equidistant between Bath and Wells at the edge of the Mendips. Anyone interested in finding out more about a monastic vocation at Downside Abbey can use this page to make contact. read more