Laurentia McLachlan

Dame Laurentia McLachlan, OSB, née Margaret McLachlan, (11 January 1866 – 23 August 1953) was a Scottish Benedictine nun, Abbess of Stanbrook Abbey, and an authority on church music. She became posthumously known to a wide public when portrayed on the stage in a 1988 play, The Best of Friends.

Life and work McLachlan was born in Coatbridge, Lanarkshire, Scotland, the youngest of seven children of Henry McLachlan, an accountant, and his wife, Mary née McAleese.

She was a pioneer in the restoration of the Gregorian chant in England and a leading authority on music and medieval manuscripts. In 1934, her work was recognised by Pope Pius XI who bestowed on her the Benemerenti medal for her contribution to Church music.

Dame Laurentia died in 1953 at Stanbrook Abbey, having spent seventy of her 87 years within the enclosed monastery. She was one of five figures chosen to represent one thousand years of "the inspired Christian life" at Worcester Cathedral's "Window of the Millennium". in a 2006 revival at the Hampstead Theatre, Patricia Routledge played the part.