St Michael's Abbey Church

Saint Michael's Abbey is a Benedictine abbey in Farnborough, Hampshire, founded in 1881 by the Empress Eugénie (1826–1920) as a mausoleum for her late husband Napoleon III (1808–1873), Emperor of the French, and their son the Prince Imperial (1856–1879), both of whom are buried in the Imperial crypt, as is Empress Eugénie herself. This article is about the Roman Catholic order; see also Benedictine Confederation and Benedictine. ... Farnborough is a town in the Rushmoor borough of Hampshire in South East England. ... 1881 (MDCCCLXXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Maria Eugenia Ignacia Augustina Palafox de Guzmán Portocarrero y Kirkpatrick, 9th Countess de Teba, popularly known as Eugénie de Montijo (May 5, 1826 – July 11, 1920) was Empress Consort of France (1853-1871), the wife of Napoléon III. The last Empress of France was born in Granada... Napoléon III Emperor of the French (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte) (20 April 1808 – 9 January 1873) was President of the French Republic from 1849 to 1852, and then Emperor of the French under the name Napoléon III from 1852 to 1870. ... Napoleon Eugene Louis John Joseph, (March 16, 1856 - June 1, 1879), Prince Imperial, was the only child of Emperor Napoleon III of France and his wife the Empress Eugénie. ...

After the church and monastery were founded by the Empress Eugenie, they were initially administered by Premonstratensian Canons. In 1895, the Empress replaced them with French Benedictine monks from Solesmes. This community, famed for its scholarly writing and musical tradition of Gregorian chants, became depleted in numbers by 1947 and was replaced by English monks of the Subiaco Congregation from Prinknash Abbey. The last French monk died at Farnborough in the 1950's. The new Community became an independent house in 1980 and elected its first abbot - the Right Reverend Dom Cuthbert Brogan - in 2006. Solesmes (St-Pierre-de-Solesmes), a Benedictine abbey near Sablé, in the Sarthe department in France, founded in 1010. ...

In 1991 a daughter house was established at Oulton in Staffordshire. This community closed in 1996.

The Abbey Church was designed in an eclectic flamboyant gothic style by the renowned French architect Gabriel-Hippolyte Destailleur. Flamboyant is the name given to a florid style of architecture in vogue in France during the 15th and 16th century. ... Gabriel-Hippolyte Alexandre Destailleur (1822 – 1893) was a Neo-Renaissance French architect noted for his designs and restoration work for great châteaux in France and in England. ...

The Abbey Church is home to a renowned two-manual organ, installed in 1905, built by the renowned firm of Aristide Cavaillé-Coll & Company: however, by this time, Cavaillé-Coll was dead and the firm being run by his adulterous son-in-law, Charles Mutin. Organ concerts are held on the first Sunday afternoon of the month between May and October. Aristide Cavaillé-Coll (February 4, 1811–October 13, 1899) was a French pipe organ builder. ...

Church Dome

External links

• Official website of St Michael's Abbey, Farnborough
• Website about the famous Cavaillé-Coll organ in Farnborough Abbey