Upcoming Events

A detailed look at Honey Bee disease: diagnosis, treatment and avoidance. The day will teach you how to recognise healthy brood and how to detect when things are not as they should be. Plenty of hands on experience coupled with expert advice and tuition. Saturday 20th July from 11am to 4pm. *Bring your own lunch or dine at The Grange Restaurant on site.

Wed July 24th Private Garden Areas A garden tour with the Abbey’s Head Gardener exploring garden areas not normally open to the public. Meet outside The Grange Restaurant at 11am £3 pp

Join the Abbey Choir and Orchestra for a summer evening in the company of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. They will perform the Spätzenmesse and the Vesperae solennes de confessore. Saturday 27th July 2019. 19:30 There is a pre-concert two-course meal available in the Grange Restaurant at 18:00 for only £19.75.

Hailed as "one of the brightest stars of the organ world", Olivier Latry performs a virtuosic programme centred around the music of Bach and those who have paid him homage. The concert includes the Fantasia & Fugue in G minor (after the piano version by Franz Liszt) plus music by Widor, Schumann, Saint-Saëns and others. Known for his consummate skill in extemporisation, Latry will end the evening with an improvisation. There is a pre-concert two-course meal available in the Grange Restaurant at 18:00 for only £19.75.

Wed August 14th Herbaceous Plants and Grasses Maia Hall will accompany you on this interesting tour. Meet outside The Grange Restaurant at 11am £3 pp

Rotary Club of Ashburton/Buckfastleigh Art Exhibition at Buckfast Abbey Open 10am to 4.30pm daily and 11.30 to 4.30pm on Sundays Admission Free

Exhibition of Weaving, Spinning and Dyeing 10am to 5pm Friday 23rd to Monday 26th August 2019 FREE Entry

A rare opportunity to hear Verdi's masterful Requiem performed in this version for two organists (four hands and four feet!)

Wed August 28th Seeds & Cuttings A more practical tour taking seeds and cuttings from our grounds with the Abbey’s Head Gardener and Maia Hall. Meet outside The Grange Restaurant at 11am £3 pp

Taster Days from April to September 2019
For people thinking about taking up beekeeping.
We will be running four separate days on the following dates (this is not a four week course - each day is a self-contained unit which is repeated to allow more opportunities to attend).
Saturday 30th March
Saturday 6th July
Saturday 27th July
Saturday 7th September
The day starts at 11am and finishes at 4pm with an hour for lunch (bring your own or fine at the grange restaurant on site).
We will be giving you an overview of the basic responsibilities and commitments involved in keeping bees alongside the costs and where best to get your kit. You will have the chance to see inside a hive and experience the fascinating world of the honey bee first hand. A full information pack will be given out for you to keep.
Cost £25

*This is not a substitute for a beekeeping course. It's an attempt to let you know what you might be letting yourself in for if you decide to take up beekeeping as a hobby!

Join over 150 voices to perform Mozart's magnificent Requiem, together with other sacred music. Register with the Rotary Club of Ashburton/Buckfastleigh on 01626 437308 to sing, or just come and enjoy the concert!

Wed Sept 11th 2.30pm Plants and Pollination A talk by our Head Beekeeper. Clare has a wealth of knowledge about individual plants and how they can help the bee population. Talk includes tea/coffee & cake. £11 pp

Organist & Master of the Choristers at Westminster Abbey, James O'Donnell presents a thrilling programme including J. S. Bach's Partita diverse sopra ‘Sei gegrüßet, Jesu gütig’, extracts from Messiaen's cycle L'Ascension, culminating in Maurice Duruflé's Suite, Op. 5. There is a pre-concert two-course meal available in the Grange Restaurant at 18:00 for only £19.75.

Wed Sept 25th Behind the Scenes at Buckfast Abbey A tour up to the gardeners’ base and glasshouses with the Abbey’s Head Gardener. Meet outside The Grange Restaurant at 11am £3 pp. Please note this tour involves a lot of walking.

Rushmoor Male Voice Choir present an eclectic programme of sacred music including an arrangement of Mozart's Ave Verum corpus by Morley Glover which was commissioned by one of our baritones, Mark Sleep, to celebrate the life of choir baritone Niall Shalloe.

A programme of anthems and motets by Taverner, Byrd, Gibbons, Holst and others, together with the startlingly original mass setting, Missa Rigensis, written in 2003 by Latvian composer Ugis Praulins.

Wed Oct 9th 2.30pm Winter Bedding Plants and Techniques How to get containers ready for the 'off season'. Please bring your own containers. £11pp

David Davies gives his inaugural recital as Organist at Buckfast. His virtuosic programme includes Joseph Jongen's Sonata Eroïca, Jehan Alain's Trois Danses, and music by Saint-Saëns and Langlais. The concert concludes with Julius Reubke's mighty Sonata on the 94th Psalm. There is a pre-concert two-course meal available in the Grange Restaurant at 18:00 for only £19.75.

Wed Oct 23rd Gardening Philosophy & Organics. A tour with the Abbey’s Head Gardener. Meet outside The Grange Restaurant at 11am. £3 pp

Palestrina’s Missa Brevis is perhaps the most performed of his mass settings. Rachmaninov’s choral works are influenced by the music of the Russian orthodox church. 2018 was the centenary of Bernstein’s birth and the Chichester Psalms remain one of his most popular pieces.

Wed Nov 13th 2.30pm Garden Quiz in The Grange Restaurant This event will be no more than an hour for the questions and we have a tea break in the middle. Plants will be offered as prizes. £3 entry. (Refreshments available to purchase at The Grange)

Following closely from the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome, this concert focuses on music written by the Lateran's various musical directors during the Renaissance era, and particularly on music written for the dedication of a church. St John Lateran is the cathedral of the Diocese of Rome and the oldest public church in that city, dedicated in AD 324. It played a large part in the musical life of the Roman Catholic church in the 16th century, and its alumni include Palestrina, Lassus, Anerio, and Dragoni. There is a pre-concert two-course meal available in the Grange Restaurant at 18:00 for only £19.75.

Wed Nov 27th 2.30pm Christmas Wreath Making. A whole variety of foliage and ideas for different wreaths. Includes festive refreshments. £15 pp - includes all materials and refreshments.

Fri Nov 29th 2.30pm Christmas Wreath Making. A whole variety of foliage and ideas for different wreaths. Includes festive refreshments. £15 pp - includes all materials and refreshments.

A 'Come and Sing' Carol Service for Advent sung by associated choirs of the Royal School of Church Music.

Christmas Food & Craft Fayre at Buckfast Abbey Craft Stalls, Food and Drink Stalls, Christmas Gift Ideas, Carol Singing and Festive Fun Entertainment, Christmas Cocktails Workshop, Craft Demonstrations.

Exeter Chamber Choir present an a capella concert in celebration of the festive season.

Stanborough Chorus lead a service of popular carols, raising money for the Primrose Foundation.

Wed Dec 11th 2.30pm Christmas Table Decorations Our home made table decorations, again with copious foliage choices. £15pp includes all materials and refreshments. (If this workshop fills then it will also be offered on Thursday 12th)

Join the Abbey Choir and orchestra for a performance of Handel's great oratorio, Messiah. There is a pre-concert two-course meal available in the Grange Restaurant at 18:00 for only £19.75.

Dartington Community Choir lead a Carol Service that celebrates the efforts of all those associated with the Rowcroft Hospice, staff, volunteers, patients and their families. We would like to take time at this service to remember all these people during the busyness of preparing for Christmas.

A popular Christmas Organ Recital, given by Assistant Master of the Music Matthew Searles, showcasing the Abbey's magnificent instrument in seasonal music by Daquin, Bach, Hollins and Thomas Trotter's arrangement of Sleigh Ride!

A sequence of seasonal music and readings for Advent, sung by the Abbey Choir.