About Launde Abbey

Launde Abbey is the residential Retreat House and Conference Centre serving the dioceses of Leicester and Peterborough. Set in beautiful parkland of 450 acres on the border of Leicestershire and Rutland, the Abbey has 45 bedrooms, sleeping 77 people in total, full conference facilities, comprehensive dining facilities, extensive cultivated gardens and the 12th Century Chapel.

The Chapel is the only part left of the original Priory Church and dates mainly to the 12th and 13th centuries. The original Priory Church was three and a half time the width and extended a chapel’s length into the gardens and then along the side of the house and half way up the drive. The Priory Church was knocked down mainly by Gregory Cromwell and his son, Henry, in the 1540’s and 1550’s.

Items to note are the stained glass windows -  the three large windows above the altar and the small windows on the south side wall date to about 1435. The monument to Gregory Cromwell, which is to the left of the altar, dates to 1551. It is said to be one of the finest examples of early English Renaissance sculpture in the country. The paintings to the back of the chapel are very fine examples of English cubism and date to the 1950’s.

Together the Launde Community recites the Daily Offices and celebrates a daily Eucharist keeping alive the monastic tradition started here so long ago. Others from the wider Launde community come to say the Midday Office on certain days of the week. This provides the unique ethos of spirituality sought out by many people who come here. Guests are welcome to join the regular prayer life of the Community.