Cloister Cats. Richard Surman

Copyright

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      First published in Great Britain in 2007 by HarperCollins Publishers

      Copyright © Richard Surman

      Richard Surman asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

      A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

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      Source ISBN: 9780007232109

      Ebook Edition © APRIL 2015 ISBN: 9780008144609

      Version: 2015-04-09

Dedication

      For Blanca

      Contents

       Cover

       Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Introduction

Society of St Francis, Alnmouth Friary

Anglican Order of St Benedict, Alton

Poor Clare Monastery, Arkley

Anglican Order of St Benedict, Burford Priory

       The Order of Preachers, Blackfriars Cambridge

       Community of the Holy Name, Derby

       The Community of St Mary at the Cross, Edgware

       Forde Abbey

       Glenstal Abbey

       St Monica’s Priory, Hoxton

       The Iona Community, Iona Abbey

       Convent of the Poor Clares, Lynton

       Mottisfont Abbey

       All Saints Convent, Oxford

       Holy Hill Hermitage, Skreen

       The Order of Buddhist Contemplatives, Throssel Hole Buddhist Abbey

       The Ty Mawr Community, Society of the Sacred Cross

       The Society of Saint Margaret, Walsingham Priory

       St Hilda’s Priory, Whitby

       Keep Reading

       Acknowledgements

       Other Books By

       About the Publisher

Introduction

      Oscar of St John’s, All Saints Convent

      Cloister Cats are, on the whole, modest creatures: eschewing the high profile of Cathedral Cats, Cloister Cats do not bask in public view, neither do they get much attention from the public, for the simple reason that by the very nature of the cats’ surroundings, they are set apart.

      The cloister cats featured in this book live in very distinctive surroundings: some live in monasteries with fine traditional cloisters – others are part of communities that remain entirely set apart from the outside world. Yet others live in places that only used to be monastic buildings. But for the most part they are united in the sense of being part of a community in which there is an element of religious seclusion and contemplation. The places in which they live are extraordinarily varied; from modest surroundings like St Monica’s Priory in London’s Hoxton, to the grandeur of Mottisfont and Forde Abbey, and from the rural simplicity of Holy Hill Hermitage to the antiquity of Iona: places as different as the cats who live in them.

      Many of the cats featured herein are foundlings, who, like pilgrims of old seeking sanctuary, have come in need of help, shelter, food or companionship (and sometimes all four). Often the cats have chosen the communities. Others, Leo at Blackfriars in Cambridge for example, have been sought out by the community. Other cats have arrived at a community with their human companions, like Bonnie at Walsingham Priory, and Splash at the Iona Community.

      Life in a religious community can be very intense. Pressures of harmonious co-existence, of following vows of obedience, chastity and poverty, all have to be dealt with. Looking in from outside, many people have a rather rosy perception of the monastic religious life, but in some ways it must be pretty tough. Maybe