Island Life Magazine Ltd August/September 2014 | Page 56

FEATURE

Visitor Centre opens its doors

T

he newly refurbished Visitors’
Centre at Quarr Abbey has
opened its doors, providing
an inspiring and informative
introduction to the monastic way of life
and the Quarr estate.
There are a number of displays, as
well as an introductory film about the
Benedictine tradition. Supported by the
National Lottery through the Heritage
Lottery Fund, the Visitor
Centre is part of a bigger
development project
to repair the Abbey
church, stabilise
the medieval ruins
and provide greater
volunteering
opportunities.
Dom Xavier Perrin,
Prior Administrator
at Quarr, said: “We are
delighted to welcome
people to our new Visitor
Centre. We hope that it will give our
guests a better understanding of the
monastic tradition and our way of life,
and inspire them”.
Sophia Mirchandani, a Founder of
Cultural Consulting Network, worked
with Quarr Abbey to put the bid
together. She said: “The first thing we
did was to go and speak to a number
of visitors and to local people. Working
alongside the community, we started
thinking about how we could enable
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people to understand more about the
history of Quarry Abbey and the life of
the community. The result is the new
visitor centre.
“There are a number of other things
happening on site. We are creating a
new family explorer pack, for families
to borrow free from the café to go out
and find out more about the plants and
animals and environment of Quarr
Abbey. There is a new woodland
walk so we are opening up
new parts of the ground at
Quarr Abbey.”
She added: “In
September, the
archaeologists will
be back on site at the
medieval ruins. The
Southampton City
Council Archaeology
Unit will be working with
the Isle of Wight Natural
History and Archaeological
Society who have very kindly agreed to
help. They will also be training volunteers
including young volunteers so we can
discover more about the medieval site.”
Tours of the Abbey can be booked online.
They include full visits to the pilgrim
chapel and the church, and tell you
about Saint Benedict, the history of the
community, the architecture of the church
and the daily life of the monks. Booking is
essential. Group visits are also possible. For
more details visit www.quarrabbey.co.uk