A UNIQUE 600-year-old book once used by Buckland Abbey’s monks will be returning to the abbey this summer for the first time in nearly five centuries.

The book, on loan from the British Library, records the daily customs of the Buckland monks and even some of the music they performed at the abbey.

Visitors to the National Trust house will be able to see the Buckland Book, hear the ancient music that it preserves, and learn what life was like for the monks and musicians who used it.

‘We are really privileged to have been able to loan the Buckland Book from the British Library this summer, and we can’t wait to share it with our visitors,’ said Buckland Abbey’s General Manager, Carol Murrin.

She added, ‘It’s a great opportunity to discover what life was like at the abbey when it was a Cistercian monastery, 500 years ago.’

The new exhibition is the result of a collaboration between researchers at the National Trust and Exeter University historian James Clark, supported by a grant from the Arts & Humanities Research Council.

Experts have transcribed the centuries-old music found in the Buckland Book, which visitors can hear for the first time in nearly 500 years in a new recording by Michael Graham and the University of Exeter Chapel Choir.

Visitors will also be able to learn about the lives of the Buckland Abbey monks, choirboys, and their music master, Robert Derkeham, in the early Tudor period.

The Buckland Abbey team have partnered with local schools, St Andrew’s C of E Primary School and Tavistock Community College, to commission children and young people’s creative responses to Buckland’s monastic past.

View of the Great Barn from the garden at Buckland Abbey
View of the Great Barn from the garden at Buckland Abbey (National Trust)

These will be on display with the Buckland Book in the abbey’s Nave Gallery.

The children’s and young people’s work will also form part of an original musical composition, representing past and current generations’ relationship to the abbey.

‘500 years ago, Buckland Abbey was alive with music,’ said Daisy Gibbs, National Trust Research Officer and music historian.

‘The monks and choirboys sang in the abbey for hours on end each day.

‘Our work with Exeter University has allowed the team at Buckland to bring their voices back to life.’

The exhibition ‘Opening the Book: Music and Community in an early Tudor monastery’ will be open from July 5 until October 31.

Normal Abbey opening hours and admission charges apply.