A retreat is your chance to step aside from life for a while, to rest and just 'be' in a welcoming, peaceful place.
Franciscan Centre Ladywell
Franciscan Centre Ladywell, Ashstead Lane, Godalming GU7 1ST, UK
Contact Details
Contact Name:
Franciscan Centre Team
Email:
Telephone:
01483 675575
Retreat Centre Description
The Franciscan Centre Ladywell is the dream of the Franciscan Missionaries of the Divine Motherhood, who are an international missionary congregation of Catholic women who seek to proclaim with their lives the joy and freedom of the Gospel in the spirit of Francis and Clare of Assisi.
Our programme of events offers participants the opportunity to experience the Beauty, Goodness and Generosity of God in a reflective hospitable Franciscan environment. Through retreats, quiet days, workshops and programs, guests can take time alone or with others to enjoy the gift of the sacred book of creation entrusted to us by a personal and loving God. We offer our facilities to individiuals and to groups who can choose to come residentially or non-residentially.
We offer a place of welcome and safety that allows for a deepening of your relationship with God. Take quiet time away from the haste and hurry of everyday life to listen deeply to your heart’s desires. All are welcome here.
Accommodation on Offer
Accommodation
Stay in our beautifully decorated single, twin, and double rooms, each with ensuite bathrooms. For those who prefer a self-catering experience, we also have apartments. For guests with accessibility needs, we have three accessible rooms with wet bathrooms (one self-catered apartment on the ground floor, one double room on the ground floor, and one triple room on the first floor accessible via a lift).
Facilities
The Franciscan Centre Ladywell is a house of quiet with a number of prayer spaces, communal spaces and meeting rooms, which include our Main Chapel, Creation Chapel, Tau Prayer room, Parlour rooms and Lady Jacoba (tea and coffee room, and gift shop). The Dun Scotus Conference Room, Greccio Room and Br Rufino Rooms all have AV facilities that can sit up to 100 guests, 40 guests and 14 guests respectively. Exterior grounds include Ladywell grounds, Carceri Walled Garden, the Shrine Field and large woods. We have walks on our grounds that are fully wheelchair accessible. Our Main Conference Room has state of the art IT facilities with surround sound and loop systems in place and is fully accessible for anyone with mobilitiy needs.
Retreat Centre Facilities
Please see website for retreat centre facilities
Types of Retreat Offered
Please see website for retreats offered
2024 Events
14th - 21st January. 6 Day Individually Guided Retreat. Suggested offering £520.
11th - 18th February. 6 Day Individually Guided Retreat. Suggested offering £520.
15th - 17th February. Lent Retreat led by Fr. Caoimhín Ó Laoide OFM. Suggested offering £180.
15th - 17th March. Praying the Passion - Living the Gospelled by Brian Purfield. Suggested offering £180.
17th - 24th March. 6 Day Individually Guided Retreat. Suggested offering £520.
28th - 31st March. Easter Tridum Retreat led by FCL Team. Suggested offering £255.
5th - 7th April. Becoming Easter People: Living in faith, hope and love led by Christopher Chapman. Suggested offering £180.
7th - 12th April. Icon Workshop – Painting and Prayer led by Sr. Annette Lawrence. Suggested offering £450.
10th - 12th May. Learning to Speak from a Franciscan Heart: 21st Century Language led by Br. William Short OFM. Suggested offering £180.
19th - 26th May. 6 Day Individually Guided Retreat. Suggested offering £520.
14th - 16th June. Reflections in the Mirror - Clare's Letters to Agnes of Prague led by Brian Purfield. Suggested offering £180.
20th - 24th June. Ecofluency Experience: Rediscover your ability to communicate with Nature led by Saskia von Diest. Suggested offering £395.
23rd - 30th June. 6 Day Individually Guided Retreat. Suggested offering £520.
14th - 21st July. 6 Day Individually Guided Retreat. Suggested offering £520.
5th - 13th August. St Bonaventure's "The Souls Journey into God" led by Fr. Andre OFM and Josef OFS. Suggested Offering £680.
22nd - 29th September. 6 Day Individually Guided Retreat. Suggested offering £520.
18th - 20th October. Embracing an Ecological Spirituality to Nourish Us led by Jane Mellett. Suggested offering £180.
20th - 27th October. 6 Day Individually Guided Retreat. Suggested offering £520.
8th - 10th November. Love is his meaning: At prayer with Julian of Norwich led by Christopher Chapman. Suggested offering £180.
24th November - 1st December. 6 Day Individually Guided Retreat. Suggested offering £520.
6th - 8th December. Advent Retreat led by FCL Team. Suggested offering £180.
2025 Events
Individually Guided Retreats (IGRs) 2025
19th to 26th January 2025
16th to 23rd February 2025
23rd to 30th March 2025
18th to 25th May 2025
15th to 22nd June 2025
17th to 24th August 2025
14th to 21st September 2025
27th October to 3rd November 2025
30th November to 7th December 2025
Private Retreats available throughout the year.
March 21, 2025 @ 4:00 pm - March 23, 2025 @ 2:00 pm
Lent Retreat 2025
The Franciscan Centre Ashstead Lane, Godalming, United Kingdom
“The Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness. (Mark 1:12)”
During Lent we’re invited to shed what is superfluous and enter into the desert with Christ.
April 17, 2025 @ 3:00 pm - April 20, 2025 @ 2:00 pm
Easter Triduum Retreat 2025
The Franciscan Centre Ashstead Lane, Godalming, United Kingdom
Come join us at the Franciscan Centre Ladywell for our Easter triduum: Holy Thursday Evening to East Sunday.
Join our community as we celebrate the Easter Triduum, as we recall and journey with Jesus in his last days, from his final meal with His disciples to His resurrection from the tomb.
May 25, 2025 @ 4:00 pm - May 30, 2025 @ 11:00 am
Icon Painting Workshop
The Franciscan Centre Ashstead Lane, Godalming, United Kingdom
Icon Workshop- Painting and Prayer with Sr Annette Lawrence
A prayerful experience of painting an icon of your own.
Each day includes input about icons, a meditation on an icon and painting your own icon with plenty of instruction and demonstrations. All are welcome – artistically talented or not!
By Still Waters led by Christopher Chapman
11-13 July 2025 4pm Friday to 2pm Sunday
A meditation on the 23rd Psalm
The 23rdPsalm is an expression of what it is to be in relationship with God. Whether we are in green pastures or dark valleys, God is alongside us as our guide and provider. Wherever – or however – we are, God’s goodness and mercy seek us out. By Still Waters will explore how we can become open to God’s creative and compassionate presence within the complexity of daily life.
August 17, 2025 @ 4:00 pm - August 22, 2025 @ 10:00 am
Charged with the Grandeur of God: Walking the Spiritual Path of Beauty
The Franciscan Centre Ashstead Lane, Godalming, United Kingdom
Come away to the beautiful surroundings of Ladywell, steeped in God's creation, surrounded by awe-inspiring beauty and journey into greater depths with our Creator.
Jesuit poet Gerard Manley Hopkins captures his experience of the spiritual path when he claims ‘The world is charged with the grandeur of God.’ Throughout his poetry, Hopkins celebrates the wealth of beauty that surrounds us, forming a spiritual path of transformation. This retreat focuses on the centrality of Beauty as a pathway to God. In addition to Hopkins, important Franciscan saints will be our guides: Francis and Clare of Assisi, Bonaventure of Bagnoregio, and Blessed John Duns Scotus. As we experience the abundant power of God’s love, we enter into a transformative dynamic to become artists of beauty in our world.
Through the Door of Hope led by Christopher Chapman
14-16 November 2025 4pm Friday to 2pm Sunday
Stepping into hope within challenging times
Hope has its roots in a God who is always moving into how things are. The door of hope is open and God steps through it with purpose and compassion. Through this same door we can step out in God into all that is broken apart. Over this weekend we will explore what hope is and how we can move with it when meeting our own challenges and those of our time.
December 5, 2025 @ 4:00 pm - December 7, 2025 @ 2:00 pm
Advent Retreat 2025
The Franciscan Centre Ashstead Lane, Godalming, United Kingdom
Join the Franciscan Centre Team for an Advent retreat, in preparation for the incarnation when God chose, out of deep love to become human and live and walk among us in order to draw closer to us and for us to come to know Him personally.
In these days, listen to input, pray together, take time to reflect and celebrate the sacraments surrounded by the beauty and tranquillity of the Franciscan Centre Ladywell.
Retreat Centre Location
Franciscan Centre Ladywell, Ashstead Lane, Godalming GU7 1ST, UK