Guest accommodations, worker homes, a new shop and upgrade to the water supply and sewage systems were all completed under the Dom Aelred’s imaginative but somewhat over-ambitious planning.
The Dom has a vast circle of friends who were involved in the funding of the construction and restoration of Caldey, including Lord Halifax. It was Lord Halifax and others who provided the funds for Caldey and this has spur interest, publicity and more donations to the island.
The population of the monastery increased to 40 monks during this heyday. A new monastery was built, having been designed by Coates Carter, providing work for 100 mainlanders, which in turn boosted the local Welsh economy.
But the increasingly non-secular activities of the monastery were causing some concern with Church of England officials. In 1913 a representative of the Archbishop of Canterbury came to the island and insisted that the monks change their lives to conform with the standards deemed by the church.
Dom Aelred and 22 of his monks concluded that they no longer wished to be associated with the Anglican Church and were received into the Catholic Church. These monks remained on the island for about 20 more years before they moved to Pricknash.
The island was sold in 1925 to the Reformed Cistercians and in early 1929 a group of monks from the Abbey of Chimay in Belgium took up residence on the island. The last millennium has brought many changes to Caldey. The future is looking bright for this beautiful island in the 21st century and the monks who have made it their home.
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