Sing Praises to God

The roof is set to be raised on a historic Dorset abbey this month at a special ‘Songs of Praise’ event.

Milton Abbey is currently undergoing a major restoration and transformation. The first phase has been largely funded by a grant from Viridor Credits, and is now complete. The next phase is partly funded by a generous £1.2 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. That still leaves nearly half a million pounds to be raised from other sources, including the generosity of the general public.

The Songs of Praise event gives members of the public a chance to see this magnificent and ancient building, as well as to sing some of their favourite hymns. It will take place at Milton Abbey at 4 pm on Sunday 20 November, and will be led by the Bishop of Salisbury, the Rt Revd Nicholas Holtam.

The Revd John Simmons, Chair of the Milton Abbey Standing Committee, encouraged people to attend the event, saying: 

“Milton Abbey is rarely more beautiful than it is as dusk falls on a Dorset midwinter afternoon. This is a wonderful opportunity to see the Abbey in is spectacular Capability Brown landscape, and to see some of the work that has already begun. 

“Milton Abbey was once a centre for scholarship and pilgrimage whose influence, led by its community of Benedictine monks, reached across England and beyond. The restoration and transformation scheme is about more than restoring the physical side of the building, important as that is, but restoring the spiritual character of the Abbey as a place of hospitality, learning and dialogue in the Benedictine spirit.  

“While there is no charge for the event, members of the public will have a chance to contribute to the restoration they have seen through a retiring collection.”