Craft that's lasted throughout ages (From Stroud News and Journal)

Craft that's lasted throughout ages

It was in the 13th Century BC that God is said to have instructed Moses to 'make an incense blended as by the perfumer, seasoned with salt, pure and holy'. Today - 15,000 years later - this divine recipe is still being made at Prinknash Abbey, which celebrates its centenary this year. Reporter James Davis met the monks to learn more about this age-old craft.

THE calming aroma of essential oils and frankincense perfumes the chilly air around a disused cowshed hidden away in the abbey grounds.

The workshop, in its unspoilt and quaint location, has a beautiful provinciality and entering it is like stepping through a portal to a far simpler time.

I look around and instead of seeing a spanking-new broadband-equipped laptop my eyes are drawn to an old-fashioned typewriter sitting on a battered worktop, patiently awaiting its next use.

On the wall are wooden racks on which numerous trays of drying incense are stored.

The workshop cum office is home to just one piece of machinery - the electric sieve - but on the whole there is a distinct absence of modern electronic labour-saving devices.

I am shown around and enlightened on the art of incense making by the abbot, Father Francis, who has worked here on and off for almost 25 years.

He says that in the ancient world, the incense trade was comparable to the oil industry today.

At one time it was even considered as valuable as gold - bringing immeasurable wealth to Arab traders.

And although it may not be quite as sought after in 2006, the sale of the age-old commodity is one of the most important fundraising activities at Prinknash.

The Cranham-based Benedictine monks produce a staggering six to eight tons of it by hand each year.

Arts and crafts were not an integral part of any other Benedictine monastery in England but they were integrated into the community's life at Prinknash at the turn of the 20th Century.

Incense answered the perennial question that has afflicted most monasteries since the Middle Ages - how do you find an occupation for a community that is useful and interesting and at the same time integral to its life?

Today, just three monks carry out most of the work, but volunteers are occasionally enlisted.

"We get people staying at the monastery and if it is very busy they help out," he said.

Mirroring the rustic premises, the procedure for incense production is fairly simple.

Frankincense is sieved into small, pure granules and poured into a handmade metal mixing tray.

Five varieties of incense are made so various mixtures of natural oils are precisely blended and added to the trays.

"The secret of the recipe is the oils which range from bay to cinnamon, lavender lemongrass or rosewood," says Fr Francis.

The well-soaked frankincense is poured onto metal gauzes then left to dry for a day in special wooden trays.

It is then bagged and boxed and shipped all over the world - reaching as far as Australia, North America and Africa.

"We have been doing it this way for 100 years and have barely changed a thing," said Fr Francis.

The incense is sold mainly to churches, shops and in homes but has some high profile advocates too.

It has been used in St Peter's Basilica in Rome as well as in the Church of the Holy Sephulcre in Jerusalem.

And in pride of place in the abbey's guest breakfast room is a treasured photograph of Pope John Paul II holding a box of the monks' Basilica incense.

Considering that incense has always been symbolic of prayer it is not hard to see why this ancient craft remains so appealing as a monastic activity.

And as Fr Francis says: "It's very quiet and you can get away from the telephone and computer."

In today's modern world this is a rare experience for many and should be grasped whenever possible.

Perhaps I will be volunteering my services at this beautiful and tranquil retreat sooner rather than later.

*Prinknash Incense is available from the abbey shop.