Meet the Team

Fr Richard, like most Amplefordians, dismissed the idea of joining the Monastery as he regarded the monks as particularly holy people.  He studied and trained as a Mechanical Engineer and was invited back to run in an OA Athletic match where he observed several of his contemporaries, whom he regarded as perfectly ordinary and normal, who had joined the Monastery.  Three years later, aged 25 he joined the monastery himself.  He taught Physics and Christian Theology in the school, ran the Venture Scouts and then the Sea Scouts and skippered three offshore sailing cruises.  He succeeded Fr Henry as Housemaster of St Thomas’s for 21 years and ran the Fire Squad.  After a 9-month Religious Formation Course in Dublin, he joined Ampleforth’s Monastery of Christ the Word in Zimbabwe for 13 years, coming back in 2016 by sea as Chaplain to the Polish crew of a container ship and taking over from Fr Francis as Chaplain of St Cuthbert’s House for 6 years.  He followed Fr Dominic as editor of the Ampleforth Journal for its last few issues and now helps with retreats as well as being Chaplain to the Ampleforth Society.