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Education · Retreat

Land, Labour
& Prayer

A God-centred retreat of prayer, manual work, and contemplative attention, rooted in Benedictine ora et labora and the ancient monastic land of Old Manor Farm.

The Retreat

Tending, restoring,
praying within it

This retreat offers a structured Christian programme centred on prayer, manual work, care of the land, and contemplative attention to God in creation, available as a 3-Day Core or 5-Day Advanced programme.

The governing vision is simple: the retreatant does not merely visit nature, but enters a discipline of tending, repairing, planting, restoring, and praying within it. This gives concrete expression to Genesis 2:15, humanity placed in the garden "to work it and take care of it", and resonates with the Benedictine tradition of joining prayer, reading, stewardship, and manual labour into one ordered life.

Old Manor Farm stands on the site of a former Benedictine monastery, with surviving fish ponds and a worked landscape that bears witness to generations who united devotion, land use, water management, and practical skill. The place itself becomes part of the teaching.

People of Faith Clergy & Ministers Spiritual Seekers Small Groups Conservationists
The ponds and grounds of Old Manor Farm, a landscape shaped by centuries of prayer, cultivation, and monastic stewardship
"The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it."
Genesis 2:15
How the Retreat Works

Four ways of
seeking God

Each retreat day integrates four modes of practice, not as separate activities, but as a single, unified way of attending to God through body, mind, and place.

Mode 01

Prayer & Worship

Morning, midday, evening, and night prayer offices, held in the open air, at the garden edge, by the ponds, or in a simple indoor sacred space. Psalmody, Scripture, silence, and intercession follow the Benedictine daily pattern. The landscape becomes sanctuary.

Mode 02

Bodily Labour

Manual work on the land, gardening, tree planting, dry stone walling, fence repair, water and pond care, carried out as an act of stewardship and devotion. Labour trains humility, patience, and attentiveness; it gives immediate contact with soil, weather, growth, and decay.

Mode 03

Restoration of the Manor

Participants help conserve the dwelling, outbuildings, and monastic inheritance of the estate, cleaning stone thresholds, tending courtyard planting, preparing guest spaces, caring for tools and common areas. Such work is framed as sacred hospitality in the Benedictine spirit.

Mode 04

Silence & Reflection

Lectio divina, contemplative walking, journalling, and attentive presence to the natural world, naming what is seen, heard, and touched in the landscape as a discipline of prayer. The daily examen and evening fire reflection complete each day's inner journey.

The Daily Pattern

A Benedictine
rhythm of life

Each day follows the same stable pattern, prayer, reading, labour, and rest, drawn from the Rule of Saint Benedict. The same rhythm can be maintained across a 3-Day or 5-Day retreat, with the depth of labour, silence, and study expanding over additional days.

Time Activity
Dawn Opening silence, Psalm, and intercessions outdoors
Early morning Tea or coffee, light preparation, orientation to the day's work
Morning Main outdoor labour block, gardening, woodland, walling, or pond work
Midday Sext or noon prayer, meal, short silence
Early afternoon Second labour session or manor restoration work
Late afternoon Lectio divina, journalling, or guided contemplative walk
Evening Vespers, supper, fire reflection or shared reading
Night Compline, silence, rest
Land Work

Work that teaches
by doing

The estate's working landscape provides a full range of meaningful outdoor tasks, each one suited to contemplative reflection and each naturally paired with Scripture.

Kitchen Garden

Gardening & Cultivation

Preparing beds, weeding, sowing, transplanting, composting, and harvesting, giving immediate contact with soil, weather, growth, decay, and fruitfulness. Naturally paired with Genesis 2, John 15, and Matthew 13.

Woodland & Orchard

Tree Planting & Forestry

Planting native trees, protecting saplings, coppicing, and maintaining woodland paths. The planter labours for a future that may only be enjoyed by later generations, an act of long-term hope. Isaiah 61:3.

Ponds & Streams

Water & Pond Care

Clearing pond edges, removing debris, planting marginal vegetation, and quiet observation of water movement. The monastic fish ponds of Old Manor Farm make water work an act of historical stewardship as well as prayer. Psalm 23; Isaiah 58.

Field Boundaries

Dry Stone Walling

Sorting stone, rebuilding collapsed sections, setting fence posts, repairing gates, and clearing boundary lines. Boundary work teaches patient placement, sound foundations, and communal responsibility. Nehemiah 2–4; John 10.

The House & Estate

Manor Restoration

Cleaning stone thresholds, tending courtyard planting, preparing guest and prayer rooms, ordering tools and common areas. Caring for a dwelling on a monastic site frames even simple housekeeping as an act of hospitality to God in the stranger.

Contemplative Practice

Silence & Walking Prayer

Slow contemplative walking in silence, daily examen, lectio divina, and evening journalling, integrating the day's physical work with inward reflection. Breathing practices are framed through the biblical association of breath, Spirit, and life.

Programme Options

3-Day Core
or 5-Day Advanced

Both programmes share the same Benedictine daily rhythm. The 5-Day Advanced deepens the experience with additional streams of manor restoration, Benedictine stewardship teaching, and a closing legacy act.

Core
3-Day Retreat

A complete retreat in three days, arrival and orientation, a day of labour and rootedness, and a morning at the ponds before a shared closing service. Prayer, work, and silence in a stable Benedictine pattern.

Day 1, Arrival & Orientation

Opening prayer, guided walk of manor, ponds and woodland. Introduction to the Benedictine rhythm. Afternoon gardening or light estate work. Evening fire reflection.

Day 2, Labour & Rootedness

Dawn prayer. Morning dry stone walling or fence repair. Afternoon tree planting. Late afternoon lectio divina and journalling. Evening Vespers and reading.

Day 3, Water & Sending Forth

Morning pond work. Midday thanksgiving. Quiet walking and personal reflection. Closing service and departure in silence or with a shared blessing.

Advanced
5-Day Retreat

The full programme, Days 1 to 3 follow the core structure, with two additional days that deepen engagement with the house, its monastic inheritance, and the land as a place of long-term commitment.

Days 1–3, Core Programme

Full 3-Day Core experience as above, with additional time for silence, reading, and extended labour periods.

Day 4, House, Hospitality & Memory

Morning prayer on place and inheritance. Manor restoration work, path repairs, room preparation, courtyard care, or monastic site interpretation. Evening conference on Benedictine stewardship and hospitality.

Day 5, Integration & Dedication

Final communal labour, a legacy task such as a grove planting, a repaired boundary, or a renewed pond approach. Midday thanksgiving, letters to self, covenant of stewardship, closing meal, and departure.

Theological Foundation

Scripture for
land and labour

Stewardship

"To work it and take care of it."

Genesis 2:15
Creation Praise

"The heavens declare the glory of God."

Psalm 19:1
Rootedness

"Like a tree planted by streams of water."

Psalm 1:3
Water & Renewal

"Like a spring whose waters never fail."

Isaiah 58:11
Humility in Work

"Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labour in vain."

Psalm 127:1
Creation's Longing

"Creation itself will be liberated from its bondage."

Romans 8:21
Join the Retreat

Prayer, work,
and place as one

The retreat is open to individuals and small groups. If you would like to enquire about participation, hosting a group, or supporting the programme, please get in touch.

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