The Centenary Project 2026

2026 marks 100 years since the opening of the Retreat House in 1926. To celebrate this important milestone, we are launching the CR2026 Centenary Fundraising Campaign as part of the broader CR Future Campaign.

The CR Centenary Project

The CR Centenary Project will secure the future of the Monastery by addressing significant deficiencies in our Main House and Retreat House and creating a sustainable, accessible, and welcoming environment for the future.

We are not alone in facing the challenges of ageing Victorian buildings. Some have chosen to sell and redevelop in a new location, and others (like us) have decided to renovate their existing buildings. We have already successfully renovated our Church and College buildings.

Without this investment, our ability to remain at Mirfield—and to sustain the many ministries that flow from it—will be at serious risk.

Key elements of the project include:

• Full renewal of essential infrastructure, including electrical systems, plumbing, insulation, and windows

• Reconfiguration of internal spaces to improve efficiency and expand the Library

• Improved entrance, parking, and pedestrian safety

• Enhanced infirmary facilities, enabling elderly and infirm Brethren to remain fully integrated in community life

• Conversion of all Retreat House bedrooms to en-suite facilities

• Creation of four fully accessible guest rooms with wet rooms

• Installation of lifts to ensure full accessibility, including access to the Library and Retreat House

• Development of a dedicated Guest Refectory to improve hospitality

• Implementation of a Heat Decarbonisation Plan, replacing outdated gas systems with environmentally sustainable energy solutions

Why This Project Is Needed Now

Demand for our ministry has grown significantly. The number of individuals and groups coming to Mirfield—for retreats, spiritual direction, study, and formation—has increased to the point where we are frequently unable to accommodate requests. At peak times, even individual guests must be turned away.

At the same time, the needs of our partner organisations on site—including the College of the Resurrection, St Hild College, and Church Army (a new partner in 2026)—have expanded. These institutions play a vital role in training ordinands, ministers, and evangelists, and they increasingly rely on shared space for teaching, study, hospitality, and community life.

There is now a clear and pressing need to invest in our buildings so that we can continue to support these growing demands and sustain the wider ecosystem of Christian formation and vocation that has developed at Mirfield. We believe that the opportunity for formation in the context of daily prayer and communal life here is ever more necessary for today’s church and so makes a significant contribution to meeting the needs of the world in God’s name.

Impact

Sustaining Religious Life and Hospitality

The refurbishment will make the Monastery fit for purpose for current and future generations of Brethren. It will also enable us to welcome far more guests.

At present, the lack of en-suite facilities significantly limits occupancy—our Retreat House occupancy rate is currently less than one-third of our B&B (which is all en-suite). Many potential guests are deterred by shared bathrooms, directly affecting both access to our ministry and our financial sustainability.

By modernising accommodation and ensuring full accessibility, we will remove these barriers, increase occupancy, and establish a stronger and more reliable income stream.

A Community Looking to the Future

As we approach the centenary of the opening of the Retreat House in 1926—and look ahead to the centenary of our founder Charles Gore’s death in 2032—we do so with renewed hope.

We are currently the largest Anglican male monastic community in the UK, with 11 professed Brethren aged between 39 and 91, alongside a Brother in first profession and two novices. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, we have welcomed five new members, a strong sign of renewed vocation and growth, with others currently enquiring.

At the heart of all this is our daily rhythm of prayer in the Benedictine tradition, which sustains and underpins everything we offer.

This project represents a decisive and necessary step in securing the future of the Community of the Resurrection and the many ministries rooted at Mirfield.

We are not seeking to expand for its own sake, but to sustain and strengthen a living monastic and apostolic tradition of prayer, hospitality, and formation that is already serving the Church widely—and increasingly in demand.

Your support plays a vital role in enabling this vision to become reality.

If you would like to support this project, please click here to view our giving page.