Tudor retreat house needs £1m to save from closure

A Tudor manor house used as a place of reflection and for retreats by the Church of England may be forced to close unless £1 million can be raised by September.

Launde Abbey in Leicestershire has been told that it needs to spend £2.5 million on renovations in order to meet modern health and safety requirements, or else it cannot be used, reports The Telegraph. So far the Abbey has raised £1.5 million through loans from the Church of England.

Visitors to the abbey have included the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, and former Cabinet minister Jonathan Aitken. On average the abbey has 20,000 visitors per year.

The abbey was originally built in 1119 as an Augustinian priory and later became the home of Gregory Cromwell who married Elizabeth Seymour, the sister of Henry VIII’s third wife Jane Seymour.

The medieval building now needs to update the kitchens, bedrooms and dining rooms, carry out extensive rewiring, cover exposed pipes, flatten uneven floors and provide wheelchair access.

The Archbishop of Canterbury appealed for support for the abbey saying, "Launde Abbey has been an oasis of peace, tranquillity, prayer and renewal for thousands of people over the last 50 years. Retreat houses offer a tranquil environment where we can pause and pray, finding spiritual nourishment in our otherwise hectic world. Unfortunately, retreat houses are disappearing at an alarming rate. Launde Abbey is one of the finest we have, and must be preserved."

The appeal has already generated some interest, with schoolchildren even donating their pocket money and one person leaving a cheque for £10,000.

Tim Stevens, the Bishop of Leicester, said, "It's a very fine Tudor building. We don't just want to see it shut up because of health and safety reasons, as it's so much more than just a building. It's helped thousands of people of all faiths and none get away from it all to reassess and take a closer look at their lives. It's one of the rare places today where people still have the space to think about life's deep questions. It would be a great shame if we lost this great house of retreat."