page_title: Pluscarden Abbey
section_title: Benedictine abbey
hierarchical_section_title: Pluscarden Abbey / History / Benedictine abbey
caption_attribution_description: Plate XLI/b - John Claude Nattes made drawings of suitable scenes on the spot; etchings are by James Fittler.
context_page_description: Pluscarden Abbey is a Roman Catholic Benedictine monastery in the glen of the Black Burn, 6 miles south-west of Elgin, Moray, Scotland. It was founded in 1230 by Alexander II for the Valliscaulian Order.
  In 1454, following a merger with the priory of Urquhart, Pluscarden Priory became a Benedictine House. The Scottish Reformation saw the decline of the priory, and by 1680 it was in a ruinous condition. Some work to arrest decay took place in the late 19th century. In 1948, the priory became a house of the Subiaco Cassinese Congregation of Benedictines, and restoration began at the hands of monks from Prinknash Abbey in Gloucestershire. In 1966, the priory received its independence from the mother-house; it was elevated to abbatial status in 1974.
context_section_description: Lord Colum Crichton-Stuart who now owned the buildings at Pluscarden gave the priory and its land to the Benedictine Prinknash Abbey in 1943. The community arrived in 1948 and within seven years the church's bell tower had been roofed. Restoration work continued and in 1966 the priory obtained its independence from Prinknash, achieving abbey status in 1974.
  In 1987, Pluscarden accepted the request of St. Mary's Monastery, Petersham, US, to attain canonical status as a dependency of Pluscarden. In 1990, Dom Anselm Atkinson of Pluscarden was appointed Superior of St. Mary's by Abbot Alfred Spencer. He remained in this office at Petersham until elected Abbot of Pluscarden on 9 August 2011. His abbatial blessing took place at Pluscarden on 3 October 2011.
  The abbey welcomes guests, and occasionally conducts formal retreats. Silence is generally observed in the church, refectory and other monastic areas. Guests often help with the manual work of the abbey.
caption: Engraving of the abbey by James Fittler in Scotia Depicta, published 1804
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