The New South Range Building
After two years of hard work the ambitious South Range Project is now in a position to embark on Phase 1 of what has now been officially designated as a 2 Phase Project. The fundraising will continue as before with tangible results to be seen on the ground in 2018.
An accommodation building for 10 women on retreat to be known as “St Josephs”
The basement of “St Josephs” will become the new Abbey Library
“The Hermitage” flat will provide accommodation for families and retreatants with carers
“St Scholastica’s”, the current female retreat, will become a Heritage Centre for the Abbey
The project will require £1.8 million to complete and the foundation stone, carried from the monks’ original home at Abbaye Val-des-Choux in Burgundy by those on the “Pluscarden 1230 Pilgrimage”, will be placed at the heart of the proposed South Range.
The continuing fundraising strategy has 4 main pillars:
Pillar 1 – Bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund
Pillar 2 – Donations from charities and private donors
Pillar 3 – Money raised from the “Pluscarden 1230 Pilgrimage”
Pillar 4 – Crowd-funding, including the selling of individual items such as roof slates, windows and furniture
The monks view it not simply as placing stone on stone, but “as giving a physical expression to the life of the Gospels in the form that we are called to live it, and in particular to the way we are to share what we have with all who come here.”
