News & Views from a Modern-day Monastery

News

The Monastery Wins Leading Live Event Venue at the 2025 This Is Manchester Awards

The Monastery has officially been crowned Leading Live Event Venue at the prestigious This Is Manchester Awards 2025! In a glittering ceremony held at The Point, Lancashire Cricket Club, our beloved Monastery stood tall among some of the region’s biggest names in hospitality, live entertainment, fashion, tech and community impact. Hosted by television personalities Jenny […]

Heritage & Culture

News

Securing the Future: Heritage Funding to Celebrate 30 Years of The Monastery

£249,650 Grant Awarded to the Monastery 26/07/2025 There’s a deep stillness to summer at the Monastery – the kind that allows for both reflection and quiet celebration. This year, that stillness carries something new: a sense of joyful momentum. We’re delighted to share that The Monastery has been awarded a transformational £249,650 grant from The […]

Heritage & Culture

The High Altar of Gorton Monastery (Church of St Francis, Manchester)

Design and Original Construction (1860s–1885) The former Church of St Francis (Gorton Monastery) is a High Victorian Gothic masterpiece designed by Edward Welby Pugin in the 1860s. The church’s crowning feature is its high altar and towering reredos at the north end of the nave, which became the focal point of the interior. Notably, the […]

Health & Wellbeing

News

Growing Together: A Greener Future at the Monastery

There’s something truly inspiring about watching life bloom in unexpected places. Here at the Monastery, our re-greening project is blossoming into something extraordinary. Thanks to the passionate efforts of our Men’s Shed volunteers, the green team, and the incredible support of the Greater Manchester Environment Fund (GMEF) and Groundwork Manchester, our historic site is being […]

Health & Wellbeing

News

Monastery Launches Green Spaces Project After Successful Funding Bid

The Monastery is delighted to announce a successful funding bid in the fifth round of the Mayor of Greater Manchester’s Green Spaces Fund. This bold re-greening project will bring the community together and encourage local residents to get involved in nature recovery, from volunteering opportunities and building green skills, to learning how to grow our […]

Spirituality

Following the Tug | Walking the Labyrinth

Editors note: This article about walking the labyrinth was written by Nicola Smalley, who, together with her husband Jason, form The Way of the Buzzard, with an indigenous approach to spirituality that is native to the British Isles. Nicola and Jason run regular shamanic ceremonies here at the Monastery and all over the UK. In […]

Uncategorised

Celebrating the Super Listeners Who Quietly & Humbly Transform Lives

Words | Dr Jeannine Goh 5-minute read It’s a typical rainy day in Manchester, the type of grey skies that lean heavy on your mood, and that incessant rain that makes leaving the warm, cosy house so hard. The Monastery is opening up to the public for the day. A candle is lit (as it […]

Philosophy

Spirituality

What Is A ‘Modern-Day Monastery’? | Dr. Jeannine Goh

Here at Manchester’s modern-day Monastery, we are only too aware of the global environmental crisis, the escalating rise in mental distress, the rising gap between the wealthy and those in poverty, the gulf between science and spirituality (that has lead to deep rooted confusion) and now the collective trauma of the Covid-19 pandemic. These are […]

Heritage & Culture

News

TRUST: The Story of Gorton Monastery by Elaine Griffiths OBE

Subject: Victorian Manchester; Manchester architecture; Manchester history; Manchester heritage; well-being; Franciscan history. First edition, hardback, Monastery Publications, 1 December 2021, 176 pages & 304 images. ISBN 978-0-9571484-6-8 A history of the restoration of Manchester Monastery When Elaine Griffiths stepped over crumbling masonry into the derelict nave in 1996, she was overcome with the power of […]

Heritage & Culture

The History of Manchester Monastery: It’s Quite a Story

A piece of Manchester History A 10-minute read. It’s a story of new communities working together to overcome adversity. It’s a story of the people. Read on to explore the extraordinary story of Manchester Monastery and its part in Manchester history. A monastery in Victorian Manchester The Monastery started life with a different name, it […]

Spirituality

The Monastery Prayer

The Monastery Prayer The Monastery is built on a beautiful, perennial truth that we all share.   We invite those who hear and feel our call to come, gather, belong and celebrate with us. We recognise that the time has come to turn away from egocentricity.   For each of us to take personal responsibility […]

Health & Wellbeing

News

Music Matters | BBC Radio 3 interviews Manchester Camerata & Elaine Griffiths

BBC Radio 3’s Music Matters have broadcasted a beautiful feature all about Manchester Camerata’s move to The Monastery and how they are making a difference to our local community of Gorton. Tom Service speaks to local Councillor Julie Reid, HideOut youth zone’s CEO Adam Farricker, and Elaine Griffiths, OBE, chief executive of The Monastery about the positive change […]

Heritage & Culture

News

Gorton Monastery’s Senior Tour Guide, Grahame Birtles, Shortlisted for the Heritage Hero Awards

The Monastery is proud to announce that long-standing volunteer and Senior Tour Guide, Grahame Birtles, has been shortlisted for the Heritage Hero Awards—a prestigious recognition of individuals who go above and beyond to protect and promote the UK’s heritage. A Passionate Storyteller and Dedicated Volunteer As a key figure in Gorton Monastery’s visitor experience, Grahame […]