• Monastery & Co is a re-imagined department store supporting businesses that reshape the local economy.

  • Through creating and nurturing Community Interest Companies (CICs), we uplift our local community by reinvesting profits into the people we serve and foster environments where both individuals and ideas can flourish.

  • We are steadfast in our commitment to crafting a space that reshapes the local economy while addressing injustices and inequalities.

  • Founded on principles of diversity, optimism, hard work, and forgiveness, Monastery & Co serves as an economic engine of blended people with ambitious ideas.

  • Through collective effort, we aspire to help free people from oppressive systems and choices offering opportunities for transformed lives.

  • Monastery & Co has the heart of a charity but the body of a business.

  • Reimagine | Restore | Revive

WE EXIST TO BRING THE FOLLOWING WORDS TO LIFE IN OUR COMMUNITY

“To show the vulnerable that change is possible. To help free people who feel trapped and tell the world a new way of living, to help free people from the things, systems and choices that oppress us, and to proclaim a new start, a second chance of a transformed life.”

In this vision, we see an ancient articulation of an economy recentred around the needs of the most marginalised.

Why ‘Monastery & Co’ ?

MONASTERY

OLD CONCEPTS

Since The Grace Network was founded in 2015, we have been inspired by the vision laid out by Jesus in Luke 4 of an economy rebuilt around the needs of the most marginalised. To achieve this, we look to the ancient model of the monastery, a centre of economic activity, learning and personal growth.

Historically, monasteries served as self-sustaining communities providing sanctuary, distributing supplies, offering hospitality, and pursuing wisdom. They were economic engines and places of peace, often transforming society during times of unrest.

While our hub is not a traditional monastery, we have adopted the monastery framework to structure our spaces, describe our work and live out our vision. We think of ourselves as a ‘Secular Modern Day Monastery’.

Monastery & Co will feature Seven Sacred Spaces—The Market Place, Library, Retreat, Refectory, Sanctuary, Cloister, and Chapter House—each meticulously designed to serve its own unique purpose. These spaces promote welcome, hospitality, rest, productivity, connection, sharing, reflection, and learning. We are a diverse, blended community committed to making the world better.

& CO

NEW APPROACHES

As a social enterprise hub, we support Community Interest Companies (CICs) by offering business advice, retail space, investment, skill sharing, and leadership training. Our growth comes from social entrepreneurs joining our network, staff launching their own businesses, and our team developing new social enterprise models. The CICs in Monastery & Co include The Long Table, The Bike Drop, Kids Stuff, and The Home Remedy. Through collective effort we aspire to create a strong community and company cooperative.

  • The bustling spaces of commerce and connection. It fosters productivity, unity, and purpose, offering a sense of identity, belonging, and fulfilment.

  • A place of learning and knowledge where people can access and share what they know with others. We want to learn how to live life well, how to be fully alive and how to increase our skills and capacity.

  • A space for quiet solitude and reflection, promoting practices like mindfulness, prayer, or meditation for daily introspection.

  • This is a precious space for hospitality and eating together. Done well, the shared meal becomes a place for fun, mutual support, sharing ideas and making friends.

  • Spaces for welcoming visitors and daily interactions. These spaces foster a sense of belonging and demonstrate the community's larger vision, encouraging visitors to become active participants.

  • A place of gratitude and worship, inclusive to all. The Sanctuary space is about coming together as a group and exploring our collective humanity and collective spirituality. This can include practices like meditation and gratitude, and Christian spirituality like communion or Lectio Divina.

  • A space for meetings, corporate decision-making, and ensuring alignment with values. It provides a safe environment for sharing struggles and ideas and embodies both a physical location and an approach to decision-making within the community and businesses.

Seven Sacred Spaces

Our physical spaces are essential, facilitating meaningful interactions and reflecting our commitment to the physical and spiritual well-being of everyone. The integration of these Seven Sacred Spaces forms the framework of our vision and promotes human flourishing.

Empowered by The Grace Network

The Grace Network takes over large buildings and moves in social enterprises. All the businesses at Monastery & Co are part owned by The Grace Network and part owned by the local enterprise community hub, with profits reinvested into the local community. 

Monastery & Co is the network’s third hub, and more will open in the very near future #WATCHTHISSPACE.

Find out more about The Grace Network’s vision, mission and history.

Grace Network Hubs

  • Based in Stroud, this hub is home to the following Community Interest Companies: The Long Table, Kids Stuff, The Bike Drop and The Furniture Bank.

    Download Impact Report

  • Based in Minchinhampton, the Aston Down hub operates our non-retail Community Interest Companies which are: The Great Plate, Kitchen Companions and Gloucestershire House Clearances.

  • Based in Cirencester, this hub will be home to the following Community Interest Companies: The Long Table, Kids Stuff, The Bike Drop and The Furniture Bank.