This current abbey church at Buckfast Abbey was built between 1906 and 1938.
A group of just four to six monks worked on the project although the whole community had repaired the ancient foundations up to ground level.
Construction methods were primitive: wooden scaffolding was held together by ropes and no safety protection was worn by the monks. (This reminds me of the situation of the men who worked on the original Forth Bridge.)
One monk fell 50 feet but survived; and three monks fell off a hoist without serious injury in 1931.
Construction continued throughout World War I. Some of the monks were German but were not sent to an internment camp on condition that they remained confined to the Abbey grounds.
Thanks to Wikipedia for the basis of my info.
When we arrived at Buckfast Abbey, the sky was grey and a light mizzle was drifting down. After we came out of the restaurant, having enjoyed lamb hotpot and a glass of red, the sky was bright blue so I took a better shot of the church.
