Anderson was appointed superior, being elected abbot in 1863, and he led the community for thirty years - the longest tenure of any monk, as head of the community. Three of his brothers were also monks of Mount St Bernard. Abbot Anderson oversaw a number of additions made to the monastery buildings, including the Clock Tower and the octagonal Chapter House. He had a particular interest in ecumenicalism and was involved with the Association for the Promotion of the Unity of Christendom. The extension of such courtesy to non-Catholics was unusual at that time and among the guests welcomed by the abbot was the prime minister, William Gladstone, who paid a visit in 1873. Two members of the community at this time were well-known: Brother Anselm Baker, a noted heraldic artist, and Father Austin Collins, a writer of books and hymns. In 1890, Dom Wilfred Hipwood became abbot. Described as a gentle and scholarly man, he had formerly been a professor at St Mary's College, Oscott. His twenty years as abbot were marred by almost constant ill-health and he was confined to his room during the last ten years of his life. His tenure saw a decline in numbers; by the time of his death in 1910, the community numbered fewer than thirty monks. In 1910, Father Louis Carew was sent to Mount St Bernard as provisional superior. In 1889, Father Louis had been appointed as superior of New Melleray Abbey in Iowa and later became a definitor of the order. Noted for the firmness of his discipline, an indication of the regard in which he was held occurred in 1915, when John Hedley, Bishop of Newport and Menevia summoned Father Louis as his director, to prepare him for death. However, numbers remained low during his period of governance. Father Louis died in 1927, whilst on holiday in Ireland. Father Louis was succeeded as superior of Mount St Bernard by the prior of Mount Melleray Abbey, Father Celsus O'Connell. The community began to grow almost immediately and by 1929 it was again possible to hold an abbatial election at the monastery. Dom Celsus was elected as the new abbot, but after four years, he moved back to Mount Melleray, when he was elected abbot of that house. Fortunately, the monastery's revival continued under his successor, Dom Malachy Brasil - the third Irishman to rule the abbey, who took charge in