Abbey Lane

Abbey Lane numbers among the most scenic and iconic parts of the campus of Belmont Abbey College. Originally a public road, in 1885 Abbey Lane was made a private road linking the college to the nearby town of Belmont. Abbey Lane remained open to traffic in the decades ahead, but today is open only to pedestrians. The tree-lined path cuts through the heart of the old campus, extending from Robert Lee Stowe Hall to the William Gaston Science Building.

At the head of Abbey Lane is the seal of Belmont Abbey College, a symbol that tells the story of the college’s history. A Latin phrase encircling the symbol connotes the “Seal of Belmont Abbey College” and the college’s founding year of 1876. To the sides of the interior shield are two laurel branches, an ancient emblem for education. Above the shield is an abbreviated Latin phrase, U.I.O.G.D., associated with the Benedictine order: Ut in omibus glorificetur Deus (That in all things God may be glorified). In the interior of the shield are ten stars. These symbolize the first ten choir monks of the Abbey of Mary Help of Christians (the future Belmont Abbey). The lion represents and of Abbot Leo Haid, the first abbot of the monastery (and a play on the Latin word for lion, leo). 

A special procession down Abbey Lane marks the end of the academic year: graduation. In May the year’s graduates proceed down the heart of the old campus to the front of the Abbey Basilica, to receive their degrees and academic honors. This annual event connects the students of today with those first students who arrived to campus in 1876.

Registration Form, Belmont Abbey Historic District, National Register of Historic Places. May 26, 1993. North Carolina State Preservation Office. http://www.hpo.ncdcr.gov/nr/gs0020.pdf