Featured The Abbot of St Bernard's Abbey

Discussion in 'Ephemera and Photographs' started by Batman_2000, Oct 10, 2019.

  1. Batman_2000

    Batman_2000 Well-Known Member

    I bought an old photograph album some time ago, and have already shared one the photos (https://www.antiquers.com/threads/photo-of-eastern-costumes-what-do-you-think.23503/). Most of them are monuments and churches, probably bought as souvenirs, but some are more unusual such as these, so I thought I'd share :).

    The first one below is labelled St. Bernard's Abbey, and a quick search brings up Mount St Bernard Abbey in Leicestershire (UK). A clock tower can be seen in this photo, which looks the same but from a different angle:

    st bernards abbey.jpg

    But the photo I love most is on the opposite page to this, of 'The Abbot' himself. Dressed in full regalia:

    the abbot.jpg

    And if you look closely at the window on the left, there are two other faces. I imagine it was a big event to have photographs taken and the two monks couldn't resist looking! An early photo bomb?!

    the abbot a.jpg
     
    Last edited: Oct 10, 2019
  2. Bronwen

    Bronwen Well-Known Member

    Think it was a big deal to have a bishop come visit. Unless Trappist abbots have much snazzier wardrobes than I ever would have imagined.
     
  3. Batman_2000

    Batman_2000 Well-Known Member

    I did try to identify which Abbot this might have been, but couldn't find many photos to compare him with. Not surprisingly, I suppose! According to Wikipedia, Wilfred Hipwood was Abbot from 1890 to 1910.
     
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  4. Figtree3

    Figtree3 What would you do if you weren't afraid?

    I love when that kind of thing happens!

    One of the big things they do nowadays is make Tynt Meadow English Trappist Ale. http://www.mountsaintbernard.org/ I suppose that helps to support them financially.
     
  5. Bakersgma

    Bakersgma Well-Known Member

    Whoa! That's his beard, not part of his collar, right? :eek:
     
  6. Batman_2000

    Batman_2000 Well-Known Member

    Me too! It's an added bonus!

    I found a few modern photos of the monks at work (brewing?), all smiles & far from the formality of this particular photograph :).
     
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  7. Batman_2000

    Batman_2000 Well-Known Member

    :D The Abbot? It'a bit overexposed, but I think he has a beard and a high collar too *hmm*. The men in the window look like they have beards too, plus there's a reflection, I think.
     
  8. silverthwait

    silverthwait Well-Known Member

    Does this Bishop seem particularly diminutive, or does he really hold an extra tall crosier? Somehow I don't remember them being that high...
     
  9. Bronwen

    Bronwen Well-Known Member

    Maybe it's because Halloween is coming, but for some reason he reminds me of Korob from Star Trek episode Catspaw:

    [​IMG]
     
  10. Batman_2000

    Batman_2000 Well-Known Member

    The abbot does look small, doesn't he? His eyes are sunken, and his hat looks too big. The monks did have a pretty restricted diet according to this article from the Derbyshire Times & Cheshire Herald 12 Aug 1882:

    Derbyshire Times and Chesterfield Herald - Saturday 12 August 1882.png

    It says further on that there was only one daytime meal in winter, and two in summer.

    Love the Star Trek reference, Bronwen! :D
     
  11. Jivvy

    Jivvy the research is my favorite

  12. Jivvy

    Jivvy the research is my favorite

    Manchester Courier 23 October 1900
    temp05.jpg
     
  13. Jivvy

    Jivvy the research is my favorite

    http://self.gutenberg.org/articles/Mount_St_Bernard_Abbey
    "In 1890, Dom Wilfred Hipwood became abbot. Described as a gentle and scholarly man, his twenty years as abbot were marred by almost constant ill-health and a decline in numbers; by the time of his death in 1910, the community numbered fewer than thirty monks."
     
  14. Batman_2000

    Batman_2000 Well-Known Member

    Jivvy, the reference you've found to Hipwood's ill-health certainly fits the appearance of the Abbot in the photo, thank you!
     
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  15. Jivvy

    Jivvy the research is my favorite

    I think this is zero evidence of anything, but I found it and I'm posting it. :p
    Leicester Daily Post, 21 August 1890


    temp05.jpg
     
  16. Batman_2000

    Batman_2000 Well-Known Member

    Well found, Jivvy! It's frustrating not being able to find a photo - but I did find this advertisement, which suggests photos did exist? This would have been at the time of the previous Abbot (Rev Anderson):
    Leicester Chronicle - Saturday 29 August 1885.png
    Leicester Chronicle - Saturday 29 August 1885
     
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  17. Figtree3

    Figtree3 What would you do if you weren't afraid?

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  18. liz Devers

    liz Devers New Member

    Wow this information is brilliant, my grandad was named after this man he was my grandad’s great uncle!
     
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  19. Fid

    Fid Well-Known Member

    Elvis wouldn't have looked better with wooden hip.
     
  20. Bev aka thelmasstuff

    Bev aka thelmasstuff Colored pencil artist extraordinaire ;)

    My niece gave everyone in the family these Batman masks. ;)
     
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