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In 1914, over 30 German men of military age were living in a Devon village. They were never interned as enemy aliens, but stayed in one building for the entirety of the war. They were monks and they lived at Buckfast Abbey.

Most of the monks had lived at the Abbey for between five to twenty years before war was declared in August 1914. But their nationality made them subjects of suspicion and surveillance.

Buckfastleigh Urban District Council campaigned to have the German monks removed, but the Home Secretary refused to officially intern them. Why? Was this a question of religion or realpolitik?

What kind of life did the wartime monks of Buckfast Abbey lead and how did their presence affect their local community?

The Abbey had been established in 1882 by Lord Clifford of Chudleigh and the Benedictine monks were tasked with rebuilding the church and serving the local Catholic community as priests.

Over the course of the war their freedoms were restricted and the German monks were prohibited from leaving the monastery without special licence.

Confined to the Abbey and its grounds the monks continued to build their Abbey church (started in 1907) and to farm 50 acres.

During World War One, they developed medicines, made cider, supplied the people of Buckfastleigh with firewood and the Abbey’s 100 beehives produced 5-10 tonnes of heather honey for the war effort.

In 1919, Abbot Vonier (German- born, but a naturalised British subject) thanked the Home Office for its consideration in dealing with the monks of the Abbey during the war.

Location: Buckfast Abbey, Devon TQ11 0EE
Image: Buckfast Abbey

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