About Chilswell House:
Nestling in woodlands on Boar’s Hill overlooking Oxford’s famous ‘dreamy spires’, Chilswell House was built in 1907 for the Poet Laureate Robert Bridges, his wife Monica – an accomplished pianist and composer – and their three children.
The house and its beautifully landscaped 17 acres played host to some of the most renowned literary and intellectual figures of its day – including W.B. Yeats, Ezra Pound, and George Santayana.
A separate barn-style structure alongside the main house was home to Robert Bridges extensive library of rare books and his manuscript collection.
In the late 1920s the house was severely damaged by fire and and was substantially rebuilt.
After Robert Bridges’ death the property passed through several ownerships, and its architectural composition suffering further when a third floor was added in the 1960s.
About the Carmelite Priory at Chilswell House:
The property eventually came into the hands of the Discalced Carmelite Order in 1958, who have been running the site as a popular center for residential and day retreats, lectures, seminars and presentations.
The library building is currently the priory’s chapel, and several standalone structures have been added over the years providing accommodation, dining and educational facilities. Another small outbuilding serves as the priory’s book and gift shop and is also home to the friars’ Teresian Press publishing house. However, most of these buildings are tired and need upgrading.
The priory is renowned as an oasis of peace and stillness, offering peaceful and green spaces that are an ideal place for quiet prayer, meditation and walks. In recent years the retreat center has been welcoming a rapidly increasing number of residents and visitors, and the range of spiritual services the friars have been asked to provide have also expanded significantly.
A request from the Priory:
As much as possible has been done to ensure that the high standard of the priory and its buildings and facilities are maintained, but it has become clear that a point has now been reached where a more fundamental re-ordering of the site and its structures is needed if the friars are to be able to continue their mission into the future.
Traveling to the Carmelite Priory at Chilswell House:
Address: Carmelite Priory, Chilswell Ln, Boars Hill, Cumnor, Oxford OX1 5HB, UK
email: priory@carmelite.org.uk
Click here for the official website of the Carmelites in the United Kingdom